5th Sunday after Pentecost/Year C
Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Psalm 25:1-9; Luke 10:25-37
Collect of the Day: O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
4 Pentecost/Year C - 7/3/22
Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm 66:1-8; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
I always enjoy exploring the scriptures and reflections by other faith leaders and teachers and lay persons on the upcoming gospels each week…It’s wonderful to see and hear what parts of the stories they highlight and write about…It’s particularly a helpful practice for me each week, especially when the gospel reading is one of the more familiar ones…and I wonder what new revelations will come up this time around…
In the Episcopal tradition, we believe that the scriptures are the living Word of God…which means every time we read them and meditate on them, the Holy Spirit is always at work in us, helping us to discern and understand God’s Word and message for us today…
And the scriptures are most often brought to life and understanding even more, when we meditate and reflect on the scriptures, gathered in community, as we are today, and in conversations with others…
So, sometimes there is just a subtle shift, when the Spirit nudges me gently to go deeper on a particular scripture verse…other times, the Holy Spirit reveals something completely different than I have ever considered before…
This week was one of those times…The Holy Spirit, through the words of another preacher, shed a new, bright and delightful light on a section of today’s gospel reading…more generally, around the word “Peace”…
Preacher girl Kate, as she goes by on her website, is an Episcopal priest and blogger who writes a daily reflection on the upcoming gospels for the week…This past week she wrote one called “Boomerang Peace”….
She writes: I tend to think of peace as a static thing; I associate it with stillness, stability, rootedness. The way Jesus describes peace, though, it is dynamic, bouncing from person to person, house to house, community to community. This peace sounds downright restless: “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.”
She goes on to describe this “Peace of God” as being filled with power, purpose and presence…much different than ordinary “human peace”…she describes the peace of God as a pure gift…
She talks about how world-changing the sharing of this greeting, “Peace to this house” could be, if we shared it in every encounter we had with others…and really meant it…
Or how powerful it might be to simply say, “Peace” instead of “hello”…and as we were saying it, to pray for the person to be filled with the same peace of God, that we experience at times…
And here’s where the “boomerang peace” illustration kicks in…
She writes, That’s all we would need to do. If the person had no interest in the peace we have to give, it would bounce back to us. But if we don’t even offer it, someone who really needs God’s peace might miss out
You can ask Loyd to verify this, but I so wanted to buy enough boomerangs this week, to give to every one of you today…I went to store after store after store trying to find some…but no luck…(I did find a couple at one place – but that was all)…
This boomerang peace illustration just brought me so much joy…and a delightful new way to think about how we can all find ways to spread God’ peace, and love and joy with everyone we encounter…and not be dismayed, when someone does not receive it or welcome the offering…
It also prompted me to think more on the unintentional ways, a simple encounter, and exchange of peace with someone could change a life…If any of you have had experience with trying to throw a boomerang…you know that it takes lots of practice and patience….and even after lots of practice…many of us never get the hang of it…We are often with someone else when we are trying it out…maybe someone is just there with us, or teaching us how to do it…we try to throw it out there, in hopes that it circles its way back to us…but often it ends up hitting another innocent bystander who is on the sidelines watching….
Then I thought to myself…Maybe that’s not such a terrible thing, if the peace we are sending out to someone…gets deflected over to someone else…that’s just one more person who has the opportunity to be changed and transformed by the love and peace of God…And then maybe that person tries to throw that boomerang of peace out there and maybe it comes back to them….or maybe it lands in someone else’s hands…
Imagine, what healing and peace would be possible in our world, if we did the same with love, with forgiveness, with gentleness, with kindness, with generosity, with joy…Imagine, if all of these fruits of the Holy Spirit, landed in someone else’s hands…
In today’s gospel reading, I think Jesus is trying to tell us, to just go…go now to put peace into each other’s hearts and hands… begin there…carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, (he doesn’t mention no boomerang); and don’t stop and get distracted on the way…just go to the places and people the Holy Spirit is nudging you to go….filled with the power, purpose, presence of God’s pure gift of peace, to share the good news of God’s love for all those you meet, with a simple greeting of peace… “Peace to this house!”
Rev. Julie Platson, Rector
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, Alaska
Hymn after sermon: Put peace into each other’s hands (WLP) 790
Put peace into each other’s hands and like a treasure hold it.
Protect it like a candle flame with tenderness enfold it.
Put peace into each other’s hands with living expectation;
be gentle in your words and ways, in touch with God’s creation.
Put peace into each other’s hands, like bread we break for sharing;
look people warmly in the eye; our life is meant for caring.
As at communion, shape your hands into a waiting cradle;
the gift of Christ receive, revere, united round the table.
Put Christ into each other’s hands, he is love’s deepest measure;
in love make peace, give peace a chance and share it like a treasure
3 Pentecost/Year C
June 26, 2022
Galatians 5:1,13-25; Psalm 16; Luke 9:51-62
We continue this week…with some questions and confusion about what it looks like to say yes to following Jesus…
Last week, I invited you to consider how you were being drawn into the gospel we heard on Sunday…I pointed out that there were a variety of ways, that all of us sitting here today, would be drawn into the story…
I expanded on that thought by saying… It’s not such a simple thing…when we all sit here and listen to a story together… we don’t necessarily have a common understanding right away of what we just heard…(here in the church or in our communities, or in our national conversations with one another)…We don’t all hear the story in the same way, we don’t all have the same backstory that we bring to the current conversation…and we don’t all leave this place after having heard the stories shared…in the same way…
And that in every story being told…there are a variety of voices…some are heard…some are not…There are a variety of people, striving to tell the story of their experience…some are seen…and some are not…
All of this to say…that I think last week’s gospel story as well as this week’s gospel story has a lot to teach us about the healing and reconciling work that Jesus invites us to follow him in… And today – we hear how important living a life by the Spirit and be guided by the Spirit is in choosing to follow Jesus…
In today’s gospel, Jesus is continuing in his travels on the way towards Jerusalem…with the disciples…He sends the disciple ahead of him…and on their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
The disciples were ready to exact revenge on those who didn’t welcome him and believe in him...but Jesus rebukes them…
As they continue in their travels, others tell Jesus they want to follow him…but Jesus responds to them in a way that seems a little harsh on the surface… Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.
Yet, it seems as though Jesus is trying to remind them once again…that they are focusing on the desires of the flesh, as we heard about in our reading from Paul’s letter to the Galatians this morning…They seem to fixed on gratifying the desires of the flesh, instead of trusting and following him…following him in a way of life that will bring God’s diverse people together, and in a way of life that will proclaims freedom, justice, healing, hope, joy and peace for all God’s diverse and beloved children…
For us today, as those who want to follow Jesus, Living in the Spirit and being guided by the Holy Spirit…is how we discern where Jesus is calling us to go…when he says “Follow Me”…
How do we know we are following Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to be our guide and our compass in thought, word and deed?
We will know by these signs…
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
It is not such a simple thing, as I mentioned before…but we can turn and begin again, day by day, to times of prayer, alone and in community with others, and call upon the Holy Spirit for the wisdom and the strength and the guidance…to live by the Spirit and to say Yes...to trust and follow Jesus in the way of love…a way of life and love that leads us to join together with others in the healing and reconciling work he is calling us to do…
Today’s psalm… (Psalm 16) would be a perfect prayer meditation to begin with… You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:11)
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, AK
Hymn after sermon: If you believe and I believe – WLP 806
If you believe and I believe and we together pray,
the Holy Spirit must come down and set God’s people free,
and set God’s people free, and set God’s people free;
the Holy Spirit must come down and set God’s people free.
2 Pentecost/Year C
June 19, 2022
Isaiah 65:1-9; Psalm 22:18-27; Luke 8:26-39
Heal me, cleanse me, know me, fill me…
Those are the words that begin each verse in the hymn I’ll play at the conclusion of my sermon this morning…
Heal me, hands of Jesus
Cleanse me, blood of Jesus
Know me, mind of Jesus
Fill me, joy of Jesus…
These opening phrases in the 4 verses of this hymn from the Wonder Love and Praise hymnal came to mind as I read and reflected this past week on the gospel lesson, we just heard this morning…
Heal me, cleanse me, know me, fill me…
Hold on to those words for a few moments…as I share some thoughts on today’s gospel reading…
There is so much going on in this passage today…so many different ways that one might be drawn into the story…What’s catching your attention today?
Maybe you’re curious about Jesus and his disciple’s travels to Gerasenes…maybe you want to know more about this man of the city, who had demons, yet was the first person we are told Jesus met, when he stepped out on land… Maybe you want to know more about where he lived…not in a house…but in the tombs… Maybe you are wondering how this man knows Jesus’ name…Maybe it’s making you squirm with all this talk about demons…
Maybe it’s troubling you to think about someone begging for Jesus not to torment him…Maybe it’s too much to think about and digest that this human being, who has a name, Legion…was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.
Maybe you were shaking your head as you listened to the part of the story about the demons entering into the swine, and running off the steep bank into the lake, and drowning…Maybe you are wondering what story and details the swineherds actually shared with others when they went back to the city and the country to tell others what they had witnessed…Maybe you are confused about why some of those who saw that the man with the demons had been healed, were afraid…afraid of Jesus…and sent him away…
Maybe you are wondering why Jesus tells the man that he can’t go with him…but tells him instead… “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." Maybe…you wish you were a “fly on the wall”…listening to the stories that the healed man was proclaiming throughout the city about how much Jesus had done for him….
So, why did I just go through this gospel reading, practically line by line and invite you to consider what was catching your attention today?
I think it highlights, in our communal lives, the varied wonderings, experiences, questions, voices heard and unheard, that we as individuals bring to every conversation or gathering with others…I think it reveals a little bit about why its such difficult work to reconcile with one another when we have differing opinions and perspective on so many things…what to do about gun violence, what to do about racial reconciliation, what to do about prison reform, what to do about hunger and food security issues, what to do about women and children’s health care…just to name a few…
It’s not such a simple thing…when we all sit here and listen to a story together… we don’t necessarily have a common understanding right away of what we just heard…(here in the church or in our communities, or in our national conversations with one another)…We don’t all hear the story in the same way, we don’t all have the same backstory that we bring to the current conversation…and we don’t all leave this place after having heard the stories shared…in the same way…
In every story being told…there are a variety of voices…some are heard…some are not…There are a variety of people, striving to tell the story of their experience…some are seen…and some are not…
All of this to say…that I think today’s gospel story has a lot to teach us about the healing and reconciling work that Jesus invites us to follow him in…not by getting into the boat with him…but to go to the places and people that Jesus is calling us to go…with an openness of our hearts and minds to hear the stories of others, to listen deeply, to wrestle with and sit in the uncomfortable moments with one another, to name our fears, to learn each other’s names, and to bring with us, our authentic healing story of the power of Christ’s love and loving-kindness we believe has transformed our lives…and inspires in us to want the same for others…
And so, maybe that’s where we might begin today…by recognizing perhaps our own need of healing and forgiveness, and our own desire to be seen and heard, and our own desires and hopes to be filled with the peace, and hope and joy and love of God…as revealed to us in the life of Jesus, and through the inspiration and strength of the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in a way of love that brings God’s diverse people together, and in a way of life that proclaims freedom, justice, healing, hope, joy and peace for all God’s diverse and beloved children…
There are so many ways to be drawn into the story of God’s beloved family…
What’s catching your attention today?
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK
Hymn after sermon: Heal me, hands of Jesus – WLP 773
Heal me, hands of Jesus, and search out all my pain:
restore my hope, remove my fear and bring me peace again.
Cleanse me, blood of Jesus, take bitterness away;
let me forgive as one forgiven and bring me peace today.
Know me, mind of Jesus, and show me all my sin;
dispel the memories of guilt,and bring me peace within.
Fill me, joy of Jesus: anxiety shall cease
and heaven’s serenity be mine, or Jesus brings me peace!
Scriptures for today:
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8 ; John 16:12-15
Today’s collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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.
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
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)
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:
St Peter’s Episcopal Church, Savannah, GA
Aubrey Brawner, cantor, Tim McKee, organist
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!
