The Holy Spirit is calling us out of our comfort zone...

The Day of Pentecost/Year C

June 5, 2022

Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25-35, 37; John 14:8-17, (25-27)

The Day of Pentecost….which we celebrate today…marks the end of the fifty days of the Easter season… Jesus has ascended to heaven…and today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised would be sent to us to continue to teach us everything, and remind us of all that Jesus had said to the disciples and us in the hearing of the scriptures each week in word, prayer, song and silence…

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles that we heard today…is the scripture we hear every year on the Day of Pentecost…

Yet, every year, I’m struck anew, that the Holy Spirit that descended among those gathered in the house that day…wasn’t the gentle dove image that I usually associate the Holy Spirit with…the image I think of in Jesus’ baptism…and our own…I know this image of comfort, is indeed one gift of the Holy Spirit that helps to remind us of the Spirit of peace that can be found in the center of our hearts to calm our fears and our worries…and maybe that’s why I cling to the image more…because there’s plenty of fears and worries that threaten our peace of mind every day…

The image of a violent wind, and divided tongues, as of fire, resting upon all who were there, that describes the coming of the Holy Spirit in the reading from Acts today…surely wakes me up to be reminded, once again (every year!) that the Holy Spirit is much more than just a comforter….If anything…it moves us way out of our comfort zone…and calls us and equips us to go out and change and transform the world by loving God, and loving others, as Jesus taught us and showed us in his birth, his life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension to heaven, and in the fulfillment of the promise to ask God to send us another Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, to abide in us…and to be with us forever….

And in this reading from Acts today…it is smack dab in the midst of the chaos, that the Holy Spirit does her best work…we are told that even though people were speaking and hearing about God’s deeds of Power, in their native languages, many different languages…that somehow…everyone was able to understand each other…How can this be? What does it all mean?

The Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, that abides in us…can help us discern this throughout our lifetimes…as we adopt a regular practice of wondering aloud, engaging in scripture, prayer, song, and silence; and as we make a commitment to build up our relationships with one another as a gathered community…as a people who strives to listen to one another, seeks to understand one another, and makes a vow to respect the dignity of every human being…

Jesus calls us to enter into a new way of life, again and again…a way of love that calls us out of our comfort zones…It means there will be opportunities for us to repent, turn around, make changes in our own hearts and lives, so that we can look outside of ourselves to help transform our own lives and the lives and livelihood of all God’s beloved children and creatures we share this earthly home with…

We are not left alone to navigate all these changes throughout our lifetime…we’ve been given an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to abide in us, and to be with us forever…  

We know that we are faced every day with fear and worries and uncertainties that threaten our peace of mind, and keep us awake at night…

We know that changes are continually happening all around us, every day, and in every season of our lives, which often leave us wondering…how can this be? What does it all mean? What can I, what can we, possibly do to make a difference in one another’s  lives? Will we rest only in the comfort of the Holy Spirit…or will our rest in the comfort of the Holy Spirit inspire us and awaken in us the desire to go out and change and transform the world by loving God, and loving others, through the power of the Holy Spirit that abides in us?

I’d like to close this morning with a story for children of all ages…

It’s entitled Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem… written by Amanda Gorman and Pictures by Loren Long…

On the description page about the story, it says this: Anything is possible when our voices join together…As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes – big or small – in the world, in the communities, and most importantly in themselves…Change Sings is a triumphant call to action for everyone to use their abilities to make a difference…

Read the book - “Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem”

(Words by Amanda Gorman and Pictures by Loren Long)

We all hear change strumming.

Won’t you sing along?

I hope you will. For the children. For all God’s beloved children.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Hymn after sermon: I’m Goin’-a Sing When the Spirit Says Sing (verses edited)

(This recording sung by choir from Wells United Methodist Church)

I’m goin’-a sing when the Spirit says sing (x3)

and obey the Spirit of the Lord.

I’m goin’-a pray when the Spirit says pray (x3)

and obey the Spirit of the Lord.

I’m goin’-a moan when the Spirit says moan (x3)

and obey the Spirit of the Lord.

 I’m goin’-a shout when the Spirit says shout (x3)

and obey the Spirit of the Lord.       

I’m goin’-a love when the Spirit says love (x3)

and obey the Spirit of the Lord.

I’m goin’-a go when the Spirit says go (x3)

and obey the Spirit of the Lord.

I’m goin’-a sing when the Spirit says sing (x3)

and obey the Spirit of the Lord.

May we learn to follow God's call, in love for God and for each other...

Easter 7 - May 29, 2022

Readings: Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21; John 17:20-26

I arrived early to the little chapel where an early music concert was to be held.  The door was open, so I went in.  I admired the stained glass renditions of the stations of the cross, all done in a modern style.  Near the altar, I noticed an inscription bearing part of our gospel lesson for today: "That they all may be one."  Sad and ironic it seemed to me, because this was St. Ann's Chapel in Palo Alto, which is "part of the Anglican Province of Christ the King, a traditional Anglican jurisdiction established in 1977" -- splitting off from the Episcopal Church in opposition to "sweeping changes...that forced an ever-increasing secularization of the church" -- including the ordination of women.

How, I thought, could you have this prayer of Christ for unity front and center in a church that was established on schism?  Perhaps, I thought, they see the Episcopal Church as the ones who have departed from the true path.  After all, there are at least two ways to achieve unity: you can find common ground, or you can force conformity and expel anyone who refuses to be assimilated.  In the history of Christianity, the latter has been far more common than the former, hence the plethora of Christian denominations.  The Episcopal Church itself split from the Anglican Church, which split from the Roman Church, which parted ways with the Orthodox churches.  We seem to be answering Jesus' prayer by making us all one... per church.

Perhaps you've heard the following, voted Best God Joke Ever on Ship of Fools in 2005, from comedian Emo Philips:

    Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"

    He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"

    He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!"

    "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.

This joke is nearly forty years old, and today we might object to the exclusion of Islam and other religions (or non-religions) from the options for believing in God, as well as the dichotomy of  Catholic vs. Protestant in Christianity.  Never mind that most of Emo's subdivisions of Baptist don't exist.  The point of the joke, though, is much more accurate than its details.  The closer we are to each other in our faith, the less tolerant we tend to be of differences.  We can't believe that someone who thinks so much like we do could be so wrong on that one issue.  Perhaps it's an unspoken fear that we could be the ones who are wrong -- or worse yet, that the issue isn't all that important.

Our first lesson today from Acts includes the story of Paul and Silas in prison.  When an earthquake frees them from their bonds and the jailer discovers that they haven't fled, he is so impressed with their faith that he asks, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"  They answer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."  

A fairly thick slice of Christianity has latched onto that verse as a one-time cure-all, fire insurance policy, wrist stamp for admission to heaven, Get out of Hell Free card.  There's the contract, written in God's Holy Word, so that's all I have to do.  Never mind that the gospels and all the epistles including Paul's teach that the Christian life is a difficult path that leads through the cross in a lifelong transformation into the image of Christ.  What does the jailer mean by "saved" here, anyway?  Certainly it must have something to do with exercising the same self-denial for the sake of others that Paul and Silas just evidenced by not leaving the prison.  Believing in Jesus is only the first step that leads to following Jesus, and following Jesus is where salvation lies.

But that's a lot harder to sell than the quick fix that fits so much better with our transactional, automated, set it and forget it culture.  If there's a problem to be solved, we want easy answers.  We don't want a life-long commitment to transformation that challenges us at each step of the way to let go of the precious systems we have constructed around the previous step.  That's too hard, and it's mostly out of our control.  We have too many other things to tend to, so we need something simpler, something that makes us feel good about ourselves.  We want God, but we want God on our terms.

This isn't limited to conservative evangelical Christians.  Christian progressives often have their own little box for God.  God help God if God wasn't in favor of our progressive causes -- we'd have absolutely no use for Him, Her, It, or Them.  We, too, want to use God as a tool for solving problems or our own choosing, instead of surrendering to God's call.

Christian mystics, too, often fall into the utilitarian trap.  Without saying so even to ourselves, we want God to help us achieve some form of enlightenment, some end game in the spiritual contest.  But once we've reached that level of perfection, what need will we have for God?  We've forgotten that the pearl of great price is a relationship, not an achievement.

The Psalm today begins with "The LORD is King" and continues with a lot of other dominator culture imagery that is quite out of vogue with progressive Christians these days.  Kingship went out of style in the US around 1776, but the rule of the powerful over the weak by means of legitimized force has continued in various forms down to the present day.  Our progressive awakening to these realities makes us uncomfortable with depicting God as a male ruler who "burns up his enemies on every side".

The last few verses, though, touch on a theme that runs throughout the Psalms: God defends the righteous from the wicked.  In many Psalms, the wicked are also the powerful, and the righteous are the powerless: the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger.  It is precisely their lack of power that gives them no hope but in God.  God's kingship, in this context, assures that God has the power to overcome evil.

Verses 7 and 9 seem to digress, bringing other gods into the picture, but this is actually a key point in the Psalm.  Gods that are formed by human hands are false gods.  The Psalm doesn't say that other gods don't exist -- in fact, verse 7 implies that they do: "Bow down before him, all you gods."  But they aren't on the same level with God.  Ancient Hebrew is a very concrete language.  I think we can extend what is being said here: gods that are formed by human minds are also false gods.  Like physical idols, they can be held and controlled.  We use them to legitimize following lesser goals than the life to which God calls us.  They are only an image of our smaller self, so they allow us to remain as we are -- while the true God is far beyond us, and calls us to grow into God's image.  In the ancient Hebrew culture, there was no power greater than that of a king.  That God is king in this Psalm is a concrete way to describe God as transcendent.

The Bible, as inspired by God as it is, was written by humans to humans.  It thus communicates in human terms, and in the terms of its historical context.  It's a type of incarnation.  Incarnation means God coming to us in our mode of existence.  In that sense, the whole world is the first incarnation, spoken into being by God and revealing God through its wondrous diversity of imperfect creatures.  The second incarnation is when Jesus came in human flesh. Jesus had a frail human body -- a body that suffered all the limitations of our bodies -- a body that was capable of dying.  Likewise, the Bible comes to us in the form of human thought and language, which is always imperfect and evolving, because any perfect formulation, if it were even possible, would be incomprehensible to us.  In the world, in Jesus and in the Bible, God comes to us in our terms.  In our terms, but not on our terms.  God invades our existence, to call us to grow into a better one.

What is that better way?  God for God's sake, and one another for each other's sake.  So we come back around to our gospel lesson: "that they may be one, as we are one."  If we really understand how limited our scope of understanding is, how all too human it is, we might learn something about humility.  If we then also realize that God, knowing us as we are, is willing to enter into our imperfection out of love for us, accepting us as we are while also seeking to lead us to divine union, then the path to unity with each other also becomes clearer.  We must learn to accept each other in love, even if we disagree -- to see each other's growth towards union with God as the real goal -- and in our humility to let God be the judge of what furthers that.  This isn't easy, and requires discernment through prayer.  There is no quick fix or magic formula.  May God grant us ears to hear the Spirit. May we learn to follow God's call, in love for God and for each other.  Amen.

Chip Camden

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

A gift of peace...

6 Easter Year C

May 22, 2022

Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; John 14:23-29

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid…

How many of us have ever needed to hear these words of comfort from Jesus?

I would guess that most of us over the years, especially the past few years, and at other times throughout our lives, have needed these words of assurance.

At this place in John’s gospel today, Jesus is continuing with his final instructions for the disciples (as he knows his time on earth will be coming to an end soon)…he’s sharing some final words of love and encouragement with them as he tries to prepare them and give them a vision of hope for what is yet to come…

The disciples’ world was changing fast; it had been a whirlwind of highs and lows in their time with Jesus. And now, as they were just getting comfortable in their relationship and understanding of some of Jesus’ teachings, and growing daily in their love for him, he gives them the bad news, “I am going away”. Jesus knew that this news would be devastating to the disciples. But he didn’t just walk away without some words of comfort. He didn’t just throw his arms up in the air, and say, “Oh, well, life is tough, get over it.” He didn’t turn his back on them, and just walk away. This is what we might expect from the world. Not from Jesus.

In the face of uncertainty and change, Jesus gives them a gift, the gift of peace. With a deep abiding breath, he speaks these words to them…  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives."

It may seem a strange gift to speak of in the middle of this talk of leaving, of death, and of persecution. But there it is. And it's far more than what we mean by peace being the absence of conflict, more than mere calmness or tranquility but rather the wholeness that is captured by the word Shalom. Unlike the world that would give a peace that is only a pause in the conflict. The gift that Jesus would give, the deep abiding peace of Christ, would keep on giving in the difficult days ahead.

And with that promise of peace, came the words of assurance that have been spoken to countless people throughout the ages, "Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the disciples about the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, the comforter, whom God would send in his name, the One who will continue to teach them, and to continue to remind them of everything he had said to them.

One of the great works of the Holy Spirit is to reinforce in our hearts and minds and bodies what Jesus did and is still doing in our lives today.

One of the great works of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of Jesus’ peace, to remind us of this parting gift that Jesus gave to us, and to assure us that this was a gift that the world cannot take away…As relentless as the world and its people and its trials and sufferings and never-ending changes can be in attempting to steal it from us….this gift of the Holy Spirit is a gift given for eternity… She will remind us, always, of the love and the peace of God that is here to stay with us… the deep, abiding peace of Christ that unites us to God and one another…forever..

In the next couple of weeks, as we wind down our season of Easter, and recall Jesus’ ascension to heaven this coming Thursday, and as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, once again, on the Day of Pentecost, June 5th...hold fast to Jesus’ words and vision of hope for what is yet to come: “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom God will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”

Hold Jesus’ words of hope and comfort close to your heart, for whenever you might need them…Breathe in and receive the deep abiding peace that Jesus wants to give you… Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid…

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Hymn after sermon: (Voices Found) #53 - Spirit of God, unseen

RECORDING OF HYMN HERE

Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,

gentle as is the dove:

teach us the truth and help us believe,

show us the Saviour’s love!

You spoke to us long, long ago,

gave us the written word;

we read it still, needing its truth,

through it God’s voice is heard.

Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,

gentle as is the dove:

teach us the truth and help us believe,

show us the Saviour’s love!

Without your help we fail our Lord,

we cannot live his way;

we need your power, we need your strength,

following Christ each day.

Spirit of God, unseen as the wind,

gentle as is the dove:

teach us the truth and help us believe,

show us the Saviour’s love!

Margaret Old (1932-2002)

A new commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you…

5 Easter Year C

May 15, 2022

Acts 11:1-18; Psalm 148; John 13:31-35

A new commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you… 

Jesus said, And now, I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” We hear these words during Holy Week…on Maundy Thursday…too…

In our service and scriptures on that evening, we commemorate the Last Supper and Jesus’ institution of the Eucharist on the night Jesus was betrayed by Judas…The service also includes the scriptures about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet… Jesus gives the disciples gathered with him in the upper room that evening an example of what they too should do…the disciples are given a new commandment…

Love one another as I have loved you.

This new commandment…wasn’t just to love one another…but to love one another as Jesus has loved them…as Jesus has shown them…not just in the example of the foot-washing, but by the many examples of his love in action revealed through his: teaching, healing, praying, serving and welcoming of all people….

The washing of the disciple’s feet that evening…was just one way that Jesus chose to show the disciples what that new commandment was all about…a different kind of love than the world boasts of…a different kind of love that invites one to love others, through humble sacrifice and service…a love that reminds us, that it is a love which is to be offered for all people….a generous, abundant offering of love for another human being…for another beloved child of God…

At this time of the year, when children are finishing up school, students are transitioning from one school to another, and students are graduating from high school and colleges, and even here in the church, where some of the regular and seasonal programs are finishing up and new summer offerings, are set to begin soon:

I can’t help but be reminded of the teachers, here in the church, in our schools, in our community and in other places, who have taken this new commandment to heart and lived it out daily in their personal lives and in their workplaces…giving selflessly and with seemingly unending wells of love…for the children of all ages…These past couple of years of the pandemic have certainly brought to light, just how much love and sacrifice teachers have made for the well-being of children growing up in these unsteady times…

I can’t help but be reminded of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and others who gather here in the church and in the community…who have also reached out to love and nurture the young people who have been entrusted to their care, and who have opened up their hands and hearts to love and support them, in a variety of ways…Like the teachers, these adults have poured out their unconditional love in all the ways they possible could in these past couple of years of the pandemic…learning to love in new ways…that they had even yet to imagine was possible…

Yet, there are still many children and teens who are struggling… there are children and teens fleeing places of war and violence…there are children and teens growing up in a world where acts of hate and gun violence are in the daily news. There are children and teens growing up in abusive homes…there are children and teens struggling with mental health issues…So, the need is even greater, now, for more caring adults to love, support and nurture the children, teens, and their family members as we continue to move through these troubling and uncertain times…and seek some much-needed healing for the entire human family…

All children deserve to be loved and nurtured and welcomed into the family of God…All children deserve to be loved and respected and cared for and accepted…as the beloved child, God created them to be…

I am thankful, that the church family can be a safe and welcoming place for children and youth to look to the adults and elders here…for signs of love, and support and guidance…

I am thankful, that the church can be a place where we practice what it means to love one another….not just any kind of love for one another…but the love that Jesus has shown us….by His walking in the way of love…blazing a path of love before us …and by His inviting and encouraging us to do the same, not only here in the church…but when we walk out the doors of this church building to all the places that are need of the healing power of God’s love and touch….

We are called every day to go out into the world to love one another: Just as Jesus has loved you, you also should love one another. 

Jesus said, “If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

Everyone, young and old…will see God’s love and healing at work in the world, through the love and loving actions of each one of us…

A love that we can believe in, hope in, and trust in, for all the days of our lives…in this life and in the life we have yet to fully imagine, in the presence of the Glory of God.

I invite you to prayerfully consider how you might be called to love and nurture and support the children and families in our church and by reaching out to those in the community and beyond, as we continue to move through these uncertain times, these times of transitions and new beginnings, these times of opportunity to work together to bring to fruition some much needed healing for the entire human family…

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Hymn at the conclusion of sermon:

The Servant Song

St Peter’s Episcopal Church, Savannah, GA

Aubrey Brawner, cantor, Tim McKee, organist

Celebrating God's Creation

Celebrating God’s Creation

May 8, 2022

Canticle 12 (II: The Earth and its Creatures); Job 12:7-10; Psalm 96:1-11; Luke 12:22-34  

Opening prayer: (New Zealand Prayer Book)

God of unchangeable power, when you fashioned the world, the morning stars sang together and the host of heaven shouted for joy; open our eyes to the wonders of creation and teach us to see all things for good, to the honor of your glorious name. Amen.

Today, we are simply pausing to give thanks…and to celebrate God’s beautiful Creation…

We are taking time in the service today, in the hearing of our scriptures, through our prayers, and in our music…to re-focus our attention on being mindful and grateful for the abundant gifts of God, found in creation, given to us and for us, and shown to us everywhere we look and listen…

We are taking time today, to remember our call to share and care for these treasures, for the gifts all around us…and to reflect on ways we might become better stewards of the gifts in Creation…so that our children, and our children’s children, and all generations to come…will be sustained, and fed, and nourished and filled with the fruits and foods of the earth and the waters, and will be filled with the joy and wonders of Creation that never cease to delight us…

Every day, we are faced with worrisome circumstances that happen in our lives, that threaten to steal from our hearts, the joy and wonders found in Creation, that God so wants to fill our daily lives with….

Yet, in our gospel reading today…we are reminded in Jesus’ words of assurance, that we need only turn, and return our gaze once again to all of Creation and God’s creatures we share this world with…to see that God is always with us…and that we need not worry…

 Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 

Here’s another little story that remind us, not to worry...and reminds us that God is present and persistent with inviting us to return our focus again and again to all of Creation and God’s creatures we share this world with…

God, speak to me (unknown)

‘The man whispered, “God, speak to me” and a meadowlark sang. But, the man did not hear. So, the man yelled, “God, speak to me” and the thunder rolled across the sky. But, the man did not listen. The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you” and a star shone brightly. But, the man did not see. And the man shouted, “God, show me a miracle” and a life was born. But, the man did not notice. So, the man cried out in despair, “Touch me, God”, and let me know you’re here; whereupon God reached down and touched the man. But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.’

Everywhere we walk, God is here…

Everywhere we open our eyes and look… up to the skies, the mountains and the hilltops, God is here…

Everywhere we open our ears to listen, to hear the meadowlark, the roaring of thunder, God is here…

Everywhere we are present to new life all around us, God is here….

Everywhere we are touched by the love of God, through other human beings, through the birds, the bees, the flowers, the fishes, the trees, the earth, the waters, the night-time skies, the rising sun at the break of dawn, the grass beneath our feet, and the beauty and gentleness of the brush of a butterfly’s wings…God is here…

Today, and other times throughout the week and coming months and years….I invite you to simply pause and give thanks…and celebrate God’s beautiful Creation, where-ever you are…

Let us pray: A Prayer of Joy (Becca Stevens, Love Heals)

Let the sun set in bands of orange and pink. Let the waves move like an alleluia choir. Let the dandelions scatter confetti seeds in celebration. Let the moon smile as it wanes. Let the children’s songs be heard. Let my heart feel the joy it was meant to hold. Amen.

 Rev Julie Platson

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

Hymn after the sermon reflection: How Great Thou Art (vs 1 & 2)

1 O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,

I see the stars I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to Thee;

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

2 When through the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to Thee;

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Love is a verb…it requires movement…

3 Easter/Year C

May 1, 2022

Acts 9:1-6, (7-20); Psalm 30; John 21:1-19

Today’s readings gave me the feeling of being swept up in a great movement…a movement that keeps propelling me forward…to keep going…to keep travelling down this resurrection road with Jesus…to see what Jesus sees, to hear what Jesus hears, to offer forgiveness and mercy like Jesus does, to offer compassion and healing like Jesus does, to give others glimpses of hope like Jesus does…to love like Jesus loves us and has taught us to love him and one another…by the ways we reach out and care for one another…

In the conversation between Jesus and Simon Peter today, Jesus reminds him that love is a verb… Feed my lambs…tend my sheep…feed my sheep…

And that love…requires movement…a movement that takes us on a lifelong journey with Jesus, accepting his call to follow him in a Way of love that proclaims hope and the Way of Love that has the power to transform the world around us, one person at a time, one moment at a time, one step at a time…

In our 1st reading today…Saul, was known as a persecutor and an enemy of Jesus and his followers; he was intent on punishing anyone who believed that Jesus had risen from the dead, or believed any of the wonderful stories that others were proclaiming about him…No-one would have ever believed, that Saul, who later became known as Paul, would become one of Jesus’ most faithful and persistent followers…But as we heard in today’s reading in the Acts of the Apostles, something unexpectedly changed Saul when he was on the road to Damascus… Saul was traveling on the road to Damascus and, on the way, he is blinded for three days from a bright light from heaven. Upon receiving his sight again and then becoming baptized, he became a true follower of Christ and began traveling the world preaching only the good news. (Faith at Home)...the Good news of God’s love, being revealed to him, through Jesus, and with the laying of hands upon him by Ananias, on his way to Damascus…

Saul, was changed and transformed by the love and touch of God… His travels and journeys with Jesus were just beginning…

In our gospel reading today we see a lot of movement too…from empty nets to full nets, from doubt to renewed belief, from work to rest, from a limited view of what love looks like to a reminder from Jesus…that love is a verb…it requires movement…a movement that takes us on a lifelong journey with Jesus…

The guys are fishing, and their nets are coming up empty…but some guy (that they didn’t know was Jesus yet) calls out to them from the beach, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” And they answered, “No”.  Jesus tells them to cast their net to the right side of the boat, and that they would catch some fish…and they did. So much fish…that they could barely haul it in. One of the disciples called out to Peter – “It is the Lord!”

Jesus invites them to come to the shore, and to have breakfast with him. He breaks the bread, does the same with the fish and gave it to them. They sit down and shre a meal together…

This is now the 3rd time, that Jesus has appeared to them after he was raised from the dead.

And this won’t be the last.

Today’s gospel reading ends with Jesus reminding them all…that love is a verb…It takes movement. That we are not only called to say we love Jesus…but we are called to love like Jesus loves us and has taught us to love others… Feed my lambs…tend my sheep…feed my sheep

There are a lot of hungry and hurting people everywhere we turn – including ourselves…there is no shortage of ways that we are being called from wherever we are today…to be an instrument of God’s love and compassion, to be an instrument of Christ’s mercy and forgiveness, and to be an instrument used for sharing the Holy Spirit’s healing balm…

The last words in today’s gospel were these words of invitation from Jesus… “Follow me.”

That invitation is for us, today, too. And it will require us to make the next move…to take the next step to embark on a lifelong journey with Jesus, accepting his call to follow him in a Way of love that proclaims hope and a way of Love that has the power to transform the world around us, one person at a time, one moment at a time, one step at a time…

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Hymn after the sermon: My Heart Sings Out - #127 - One more step along the world I go

Once more step along the world I go,

one more step along the world I go;

from the old things to the new

keep me traveling along with you:

and it’s from the old I travel to the new; keep me traveling along with you.

Round the corner of the world I turn,

more and more about the world I learn;

all the new things that I see

you’ll be looking at along with me:

and it’s from the old I travel to the new; keep me traveling along with you.

As I travel through the bad and good,

keep me traveling the way I should;

where I see no way to go

you’ll be telling me the way, I know:

and it’s from the old I travel to the new; keep me traveling along with you.

Give me courage when the world is rough,

keep me loving though the world is tough;

leap and sing in all I do,

keep me traveling along with you:

and it’s from the old I travel to the new; keep me traveling along with you.

You are older than the world can be,

you are younger than the life in me;

ever old and ever new,

keep me traveling along with you:

and it’s from the old I travel to the new; keep me traveling along with you.

An astounding Love

2 Easter/Year C

April 24, 2022

Acts 5:27-32; Psalm 150; John 20:19-31

Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of the Easter Resurrection story that we heard last Sunday from the Gospel of John. The reading ended with Mary Magdalene announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord".

The story continues today with the disciples and their evening encounter with Jesus, and their telling Thomas (who was not with them at the time),“We have seen the Lord”.

Thomas doesn’t believe them at first…because he didn’t see Jesus for himself as we heard him respond in today’s reading, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

Today’s story is often referred to as the Doubting Thomas story…and every year…I always wonder why Thomas gets this special title…There are so many other references in the scriptures that point out other people’s doubts…including the disciples who eventually proclaim in the gospel of John today… “We have seen the Lord”.

Just yesterday, the gospel reading from Mark for the Saturday in Easter Week, gave us this look into some moments of doubt and disbelief in others’ first reports of their encounter with the risen Jesus…

Listen to these words from Mark (16: 9-14) - After Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.

Hmmmm…So, this year…as we just finished listening to the story about the disciples and Thomas’ encounter with Jesus….I’m wondering what keeps us from believing something new the first time it is told to us…In the Mark reading, Jesus comes right out and mentions their lack of faith and stubbornness…But, I wonder what else gets in the way of us daring to believe that something new is possible… especially as one strives to make sense of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead…and especially as we wonder what this ancient story about Jesus’ resurrection means for us, today…in 2022…

I can think of a few things that cause us to close our eyes, and our ears, and hearts and our minds to believe something new…grief, suffering, loss upon loss, worry, uncertainty, illness, betrayal, change and more change and more change…loss of all that was familiar…loss of control of what we’ve always known and believed…we get used to being let down…and our hearts become numb to imagine anything new and hopeful…The pandemic and social unrest the past few years, has surely brought all of this to the surface.

So, here’s the thing, the Good News that stands out for me today…It is exactly into those moments of heartache and uncertainty and disbelief, that Jesus shows up with a Word that draw us to him… “Peace be with you” and with a love so astounding, that it contains all the promise, and the power to change the trajectory of our path of despair and doubt to open a way for us to come to believe…to come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing we may have life in his name…New life, new joys, new dreams, new hopes…

My thoughts turn back to Thomas…as he can hardly contain his joy, when Jesus shows up again with a Word to draw him in, “Peace be with you” and an astounding Love and presence that compels Thomas to move from doubt to belief as he excitedly proclaims when he recognizes Jesus  -  “My Lord and my God!"

It took Thomas and the others awhile to come to believe…and I imagine there were many times that they wrestled with doubt in difficult times…We might not fully believe or grasp this good news either on the 1st or 2nd or 3rd time or 100th time! And we may wrestle with our faith and doubts, too.  It takes practice and prayer and encouragement and persistent love and patience with ourselves and one another…as we strive to believe and come to believe throughout all the changes and experiences in our lifetimes…that Jesus is indeed the One…the One whose death and resurrection has paved a way of love for us to live a life that is full of the promises of new life, new joys, new dreams and new hopes….

Today, my prayer and my hope is that you will come to know, trust, and believe in the astounding love of God, made known to us in Jesus’ death and resurrection…a love that has the power to change the trajectory of our lives from doubt to belief, transforming us into a new creation, each and every new day….

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Hymn after the sermon:

Love Astounding, Love Confounding" feat. members of the St Columba Singers

Love astounding, love confounding limits fearful minds impose.

Love renewing, love pursuing every heart until it knows

love's transforming, healing goodness, love's abiding, gentle grace,

love's endurance, love's assurance, love's consoling, strong embrace.

Love receiving, love believing, we rejoice with thanks and song,

faith regaining, hope proclaiming; love has taught us, we belong

safe within love's tender keeping, safe from fear's persistent call.

Love defending, love unending, love of God enfolding all.

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