July 21 - rest awhile - Today's sermon reflection

9 Pentecost/Year B – July 21, 2024

Jeremiah 23:1-6; Psalm 23; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Opening Prayer: (adapted from a Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals)

Lord, grant us the ability to think with your mind, to hear with your ears, to see with your eyes, to speak with your mouth, to walk with your feet, to love with your heart…so that we too can be compassionate instruments of your healing for those around us and for ourselves.  We ask this through Jesus Christ, our loving and compassionate Shepherd of our souls. Amen.

It is so good to be with all of you today. It’s been quite a few weeks for Loyd and I with travelling long-distance for the general convention, and for another long-distance trip for a shorter trip to visit with family. It’s been quite a couple of months, for all of us here, with the death of 4 St Peter’s related loved ones…as well as several beloved community member deaths. It’s been quite a year, looking back on others who have been affected by the loss of their close loved ones, and for those struggling with ongoing health issues this past year.

All of this, mixed in with the collective grief and division that is playing out across the world…is a lot to bear…is a lot to comprehend…is a lot to even know where to begin… and so we are often left to wonder if there’s anything we can do to help ease the pain and the worries of so many folks, or if there is really any possibility of hope to restore peace in the lives of those that continue to be shattered by violence of every kind.

The good news is yes…there is hope…healing is possible, peace can be restored in our hearts and in the lives of all God’s people…

Yes, to all of this…when we strive to set aside time on a regular basis, to rest awhile with Jesus. Not just learn from him, and follow him in going out to offer healing to others…but to set aside time to just be with him and let the healing grace of his love and compassion heal our grieving hearts, soothe our worries, and remind us…that we don’t walk alone in this world…and we weren’t created to live in such a way…

We were created to live in love with God and one another…so this also means continually discerning ways to ensure that all people have this same opportunity to rest awhile in the presence of a loving and compassionate Shepherd for all of our souls…

We live in such a time, where a lot of folks think we can just fix everything that is broken quickly or even worse…just set aside our grief, bury it, and just keep on keeping on…Yet that’s not how true healing can ever happen…

In the gospel reading today Jesus invites the apostle’s to come away with him to rest for a awhile…and yes, after a very short time…they were approached by those who needed healing once again…and this pattern comes up throughout the gospels, with Jesus modeling a time to set aside for prayer, to draw on the strength and Spirit of God, to be able to go out and attend to the ongoing needs of the world…

Yet, even though there will always be interruptions…the key to restoring our souls for the work we are being called to do, is in our returning over and over again to a time of rest by the still waters…

So, striving to balance time to be with Jesus, and time to be like Jesus in how we go about bringing true healing to our collective lives…is a life-long way of love, walking in this world with one another…not just something we commit to for a day, a week, a month, a year…

The good news in Psalm 23, which is an excellent daily prayer to use, reminds us that God’s goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives…and that we will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.   

So, let us pause today, and use this time to be with Jesus and pray for healing for ourselves and all of God’s people…

I will offer up a closing prayer using the words of a hymn entitled “Heal me, hands of Jesus”, and as I’m playing the music to these words, I invite you to go to the baptismal font for a short prayer of healing and anointing with oil by Mim and Nancy Jo.

Let us pray:

Closing Prayer/Hymn: (WLP) 733 - Heal me, hands of Jesus

1        Heal me, hands of Jesus,

                   and search out all my pain:

          restore my hope, remove my fear

                   and bring me peace again.

2        Cleanse me, blood of Jesus,

                   take bitterness away;

          let me forgive as one forgiven

                   and bring me peace today.

3        Know me, mind of Jesus,

                   and show me all my sin;

          dispel the memories of guilt,

                   and bring me peace within.

4        Fill me, joy of Jesus:

                   anxiety shall cease

          and heaven’s serenity be mine,

                   or Jesus brings me peace!

Heal me, hands of Jesus, #773 from Wonder Love and Praise — Words: Michael Perry. Music: Sharpe, Carl Haywood (b. 1949), from Tunes for Grace.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sunday Sermon - St Peter's by the Sea - July 14 2024

Today’s sermon by Chip Camden - July 14, 2024

Readings: Amos 7:7-15; Psalm 85:8-13; Mark 6:14-29

Our lesson from the Book of Amos today begins with a vision:  Amos sees the Lord standing by a wall with a plumb line in his hand.  A plumb line is a cord with a weight suspended at the end of it used to form a true vertical by which to align an upright wall.  We are told that the wall in the vision is a "plumb wall" -- a wall that was made with a plumb line.  In the vision, the wall represents the nation of Israel, and the Lord will set a plumb line in their midst, to see if they are still upright.

This passage follows visions of two disasters: locusts and fire, both of which are threatened as judgment for Israel's sins, but in both cases Amos pleads for mercy and the Lord grants it.  With this third vision, however, the Lord says, "I will not pass by them any more."  The truth revealed by the plumb line will not be ignored.

Interestingly, the plumb line will be set "in the midst" of the people of Israel.  Normally one expects a plumb line to be held alongside a wall, but here the metaphor breaks down.  The Hebrew word for “midst” (קרב, qerebh) is often used for internal organs of a person or an animal.  Applied to the nation, it indicates that this measure of the people will come from within.

Next follows an interesting scene in which Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, first complains to Jeroboam (the king of Israel) about Amos, and then confronts Amos directly.  Amaziah warns the king that Amos is conspiring against him in the center of the house of Israel.  The word translated "center" in our reading is again the Hebrew word qerebh, and I believe that it is used here specifically to indicate that Amos’ message is the plumb line of the vision immediately preceding.

The job of the prophet is to uphold the truth in the midst of a people who have embraced falsehood.  But Amaziah seeks to trivialize Amos' message by casting it as nothing more than partisan politics.  Some background will help make this clear.

At this period (the eighth century BC), there were two Israelite kingdoms.  According to the received history, the northern tribes had split from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin after the death of Solomon, almost two centuries before our current narrative.  This northern kingdom was often called Israel, while the southern kingdom was called Judah.  Because worship of Yahweh had been (again, according to the received tradition) centralized in Jerusalem, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel supposedly established the worship centers at Bethel and Dan, at either end of that kingdom.  The southern kingdom of Judah considered these sites to be illegitimate, and thus a religious schism overlaid the political division.

The office of prophet had also become politicized.  The "sons of the prophets" were essentially a guild supported by the state to act as advisers to the throne in matters both religious and political.  The story of the prophets who advised Ahab to go to war against Ramoth Gilead in I Kings 22 illustrates this role, as well as clearly indicating how political self-interest could cloud the vision of the professional prophets.

Amaziah presumptively accuses Amos of being just such a seer from the south with a political agenda to discredit the northern kingdom.  He says, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom."

Amos replies that he isn't a professional prophet at all. "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel."  Amos does not represent any political faction, but instead is called by God to speak truth to power.

What exactly has Israel done that merits Amos' message of doom?  The accusations are many, but a good sample can be found in Amos 2:6-7, "...because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; they trample on the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and deny justice to the oppressed."  In other words, money and power had become more important than justice and compassion. 

Friends, our nation is in grave danger of falling under the same condemnation today.

The prophet does not predict an unconditional future.  As William Maccall wrote in 1852, prophets are “forthtellers, not foretellers” – they warn of what will happen if things continue on their current course, but they also hold out hope of respite if their audience will listen and change their ways.  Amos, in chapter 5 verse 6 says “Seek the LORD and you will live, lest he break out like a fire in the house of Joseph, and there be no one to quench it in Bethel.”  There is still time to measure up to that plumb line, but time is running out.

John the Baptist was another prophetic plumb line for his time, and because he spoke the truth to power he paid for it with his life.  Even though Herod believed that John was righteous, and even though he tried to protect John and enjoyed listening to him speak despite the difficulties raised by his message, Herod was unable or unwilling to save John from the machinations of those who did not want that message to be heard.  

Unlike the false prophets who told Ahab what he wanted to hear, Amos and John and many other true prophets risked their lives and property to tell the truth, hoping to avert disaster for others.  We can learn much from their examples.  When we hear exhortations that favor a comfortable situation for the speaker, we should doubt its prophetic origin.  When we hear messages that make us comfortable with the way things are, we should look out for the wool being pulled over our eyes.  When we see injustice and decide to keep quiet, we should ask ourselves if we are quenching the spirit of prophecy within us.  The path of life is a path of growth and transformation, not a path of ease and comfort.  "Narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way that leads to life," Jesus said.  May we heed the prophetic voices that call us on that path.

July 7 2024 Sermon - Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours

7 Pentecost/Year B – July 7, 2024

Ezekiel 2:1-5; Psalm 123; Mark 6:1-13

Opening Prayer:

O Lord of light and vision, open our eyes to behold your presence, to perceive your love and to see your purpose for us; that rejoicing in your presence and strengthened by your love we may do your will and become what you have called us to be; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen

In the opening verses from our gospel reading today, we hear that the people were astounded by Jesus’ teachings in the synagogue. They were initially amazed and shocked all at once by what they were hearing and by whom they were hearing it from.

When was the last time you were astounded by something? I mean…really amazed and shocked by something so unbelievably wonderful… Something too good to be true? In a time when the world is feeling very heavy for so many people, I have a feeling that quite a few of us gathered here might have to think on that question for a minute.

Oftentimes, despair creeps up on us and threatens to crush our spirits, and dulls our receptivity of anything amazing and wonderful. And often times, it seems the more knowledge we acquire, and the more experiences we have in life…. the amazing and wonder factor in our spirits can often be dimmed…we tend to default on the side of not being “wowed or shocked” by anything anymore.

Children, on the other hand…seem to be the experts at being amazed, especially toddlers. I think about the non-stop energy they have, and how often they jump from one activity to the next, never tiring of the discovery of something new.

And they don’t seem to be satisfied with just one or two amazing things…they want more…and they will keep looking, keep searching, until their eyes can no longer stay open.

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.(Matthew 18:3)

As disciples and followers of Christ…what lessons could we learn again, by “becoming like children?”

Perhaps, we begin with allowing ourselves to be amazed and astounded…and not “think” ourselves out of it. Adopt some spiritual practices that help us find peace and comfort in the midst of your sorrows or despair. Make room in our hearts to be amazed and be astounded by the Good News shared by Jesus…allow the amazement to lead us to more questions that will lead us to new discoveries….

In the well-known Sunday school curriculum called Godly play... it is suggested to begin a reflection on the scriptures starting with these words: “I wonder”…

In our gospel reading…the disciples were initially amazed by what Jesus was saying, but then they started to question their own response with the explanation that Jesus was “just a carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon…and they took offense at him.

“I wonder” about the disciples’ secondary response had they followed their initial response to Jesus’ words …and allowed their amazement to lead them to consider something new…and acted on that hope... instead of defaulting back to what they already knew…and shut it down as not possible..

“I wonder” if we can open up our minds a little more – to allow ourselves to believe in something new – every day…just as little children are eager and open to all the new experiences in their daily lives…

Perhaps we can learn to pray in a way that we really do believe God hears our prayers, even when things don’t seem to go the way we want them to…maybe we open up our minds a little more to understand that oftentimes, there is so much good that can come out of our times of weakness and suffering…

“I wonder” if we can open up our hearts a little more to allow ourselves to consider just how wide God’s love is for all people, and trust as little children trust in the unconditional love of the people who care for them every day…

“I wonder” if we can imagine opening up our hearts a little wider to love others, as Jesus has loved us and shown us…

And as I imagine this radical and amazing kind of love…I imagine the kind of love that jars us out of our sleepiness, and out of the daily routine of life that dulls our senses, and closes our hearts and minds to the daily miracles and amazing things happening all around us…

I imagine this radical and amazing kind of love that can help us hear God’s Word, and be transformed by it…and to be inspired to go where God is calling us to go to love and serve one another, rejoicing in the power of the One who sends us out…Jesus.

Jesus tells us…you don’t need anything else…no bread, no bag, no money…just go…you have what you need to plant the seeds of love in every heart of every person you meet along the way. Even when those seem to turn you away, you have done as Jesus has asked…you have reached out to the people with love…you may be the one person that day who touches a person’s life that moves them from despair to hope…

Jesus has the power to do amazing things in this world. But he needs our hands, our feet, our hearts, our God-given gifts to go out into the world to share this amazing love of God with the world…

Go to the ones that are hungry, go to the ones that are lonely, go to the ones that are hurting, go to the ones who are not often seen or acknowledged, go to the ones whom we disagree with, go to the ones who need to hear the good news! (That would be all of us!)

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582) gives us some beautiful words to remind us that it is through our hands and feet and hearts now that the amazing and wondrous love of God made known to us in Jesus, can help us heal and transform the world, to be a place of welcome and belonging for all God’s people.

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Closing Prayer/Hymn: Love astounding (VF 143)

1        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.

2        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.

June 23 sermon - Jesus is Lord

When in our music God is glorified - Sunday reflection

4 Pentecost Year B/6/16/24

Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14; 2 Corinthians 5:6-17; Mark 4:26-34

Opening Prayer: For Church Musicians and Artists

O God, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven: Be ever present with your servants who seek through art and music to perfect the praises offered by your people on earth; and grant to them even now glimpses of your beauty, and make them worthy at length to behold it unveiled for evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The psalm we heard today, psalm 92, often has a sub-title under the heading in the bible versions – The sub-title reads:  A psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day. According to a commentary that I reviewed this week, this psalm, is the only one that specifically makes reference to the Sabbath Day. So, it is a good and joyful occasion that we read this psalm today.

This psalm: This song for the Sabbath day, is full of words proclaiming boldly: thanksgiving, praise, loving-kindness, faithfulness, music, joy, gladness, righteousness, growth, steadfastness…..it reminds us of the abundant fruits of the Spirit, the fruits of God’s Kingdom, as they have been described in Paul’s letter to the Galatians 5:22-23 as: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

The Sabbath Day is set aside to celebrate and proclaim the abundant fruits of God’s kingdom - His work, and his creation! We do this as we join together on Sundays as a community of God’s beloved, to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). We do this with our liturgy, the work of the people, by coming together to pray, praise and give thanks for the goodness of God.

And one of the most wonderful ways we glorify and give thanks to God, is in our music.

St Peter’s has a rich history of glorifying God with its music. We have been blessed beyond measure by those who have shared their musical talents with the people who have gathered here, over the years…those who have played the organ, piano, violin, and other instruments…and those who have sung their hearts out…they have truly used the gifts God has given them, to uplift all of us, to rejoice, to renew our lives, and to give thanks to God, for his Son, Jesus Christ.

I am very grateful to St Peter’s choir for all the ways they are helping to keep the music alive in this time together. They’ve had to adjust how they go about leading us all in the service music without a full time organist/pianist to guide them. And I think back to our time of covid, too…when they got together to record hymns to use for our weekly online services when we were unable to worship in person.

The music in our Sunday services and in our daily lives has a way of encouraging us to walk by faith, not by sight. Music has a way of uniting us in understanding, beyond the barriers of language, or culture. Music has a way of calling us up and out of the depths of grief and suffering. Music has a way of creating something new…when we don’t quite see the way, yet. It calms, it comforts, it encourages and uplifts us, into new life.  And so it is with Jesus Christ: For if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new! 

It is often in our music, that we can see God at his best, in the ways in which music can create in us, new life. As we reflect on the different styles of music over the years, the new creations never cease. If you had the chance to attend the Sitka Summer Music festival this past week/weekend, you would understand what I mean about new creations in music. The Simply Three Trio was described in the program as (Classically Trained. Pop Influenced. String Driven). The piano player, Matt Herskowitz this weekend, breathed new life into some Chopin pieces, with jazz arrangements. Most likely a new creation beyond anything that Chopin would have imagined in his day.

As I looked around the room, while enjoying the concert, just about everyone there had a smile on their face. The energy was so uplifting, and you couldn’t help but be moved in some way.

If you ever check out any of the music programs offered through the Sitka Fine Arts Camp and throughout the year in our schools, you can see signs of new life and new creations in all the music lifted up for us to enjoy.

The different ways in which music is shared and enjoyed, seems to be ongoing… there always seems to be the creating of a new masterpiece, in the works. That’s what God’s kingdom is like. He is always creating, renewing and providing for us, all that we ever need.  New seeds are scattered every day by us. He uses us to tend to his kingdom, to take care of each other, and to allow his work of creating new life, in us…to come to fruition…

But then, he says to us, after many days of working and creating… I’ve done all of this for you…sit for a moment….be still…be quiet…take a look, listen, enjoy…

 2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:2-3)

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).

For it is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to His Name….Psalm 92:1

Closing Hymn/Prayer: When in our music God is glorified

My Heart Sings Out, #140 – vs 1,2,5

Music: Mayflower, Marty Haugen (b. 1950

1        When in our music God is glorified,

          and adoration leaves no room for pride,

          it is as though the whole creation cried:

          Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

2        How often, making music, we have found

          a new dimension in the world of sound,

          as worship moved us to a more profound

          Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

5        Let every instrument be tuned for praise!

          Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise!

          And may God give us faith to sing always:

          Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Rev. Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

All are welcome

3 Pentecost: Proper 5/Year B/June 9, 2024

Genesis 3:8-15; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35

Opening Prayer: (A NZ Prayer Book)

Almighty and everloving God, your Son Jesus Christ shared at Nazareth the life of an earthly home; grant that we and all your children may live together in peace and joy, until we come to that eternal home which you have prepared for those that love you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In this time of graduation ceremonies winding down,  and with the recent deaths of 2 long time St Peter’s family members, I’ve been thinking a lot about family this week…not my immediate family only...but other families I come in contact with… families that I hear about in the community… families I am still getting to know here at church…families with young children or grown children, families that I haven’t met personally, but have heard their stories…families who have been struggling with chronic health issues, aging parents, or the recent death of a loved one…

What I noticed was everyone has some good memories, everyone has stories of trials and triumph, everyone has stories of heartbreak and despair, everyone has stories that bring smiles to their faces, and tears to their eyes, and just about everyone I’ve had the pleasure of listening to, has a story about someone, who was not from their immediate family, who inspired them, encouraged them, and left a heart-print on their life…someone who welcomed them into their heart, into their life and into their “family” circle….someone who helped them to know that they mattered, they were loved, and they belonged..

I remember attending High School graduation ceremonies of my own children and other youth in recent years and listening to the keynote speakers, adults and youth, who often spoke about being encouraged by many, not just their immediate family members, but their grandparents, their teachers, their coaches, their friends, their church community….

And as I looked all around at the variety of families and the seniors sitting up front waiting to graduate…I wondered what their story was, too…Could they agree with the speakers that there are people who care about them; are there people in their lives who encourage them?

Are there people in their lives who gave them second and third chances when they made mistakes? Are there people in their lives who have forgiven them, and loved them, unconditionally? Was there someone who told them, you are important, you matter?

In God’s family…we let one another know that they are loved, that they matter, that they belong…not just in word…but through our everyday actions and interactions with one another…

This is one thing Jesus highlights in today’s closing verses from the gospel reading…While Jesus was gathered with a crowd of people, he was told that outside his mother, his brothers and sisters were asking for him. He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers? And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother”.

Jesus is not turning away from his own mother or brothers and sisters, he just might be suggesting that the meaning of family is expanded and widened, and opened radically, when we all work together to do the will of God, through loving one another, as we have been loved…welcoming one another as we have been welcomed with open arms and experienced the joy in a place of belonging…

It’s not just about me, my family, my mother, my father...it’s about God’s family…it’s about welcoming every person as family…a family who strives to love one another, encourage one another, and forgive one another…

It’s about striving to make “LOVE the main thing” in our lives… as I quoted Nancy Rickett’s in her funeral service this weekend and watching it grow and expand over the years…and watching it grow and widen our definition of who family is… 

There are too many children of all ages growing up in this world today, who don’t feel like they belong, who live in households where drugs and alcohol are present, physical and verbal abuse is a daily occurrence, growing up in war zones, food is scarce, love is not spoken in their home…It should grieve us immensely to imagine that children of any age, and their families are struggling in so many ways.

Our church families struggle at times, also, to love one another, in the way that Jesus has shown us. We have hurt others with our words and our actions, and others have hurt us, in a similar way. Being a family…is messy and sometimes very difficult. But, as we pray from the depths of our hearts, our prayers for forgiveness and healing are always heard by our Lord, and he opens a new way for us to move forward in hope and with new direction and guidance, in doing the will of God.

Jesus came to live among us to call our attention to something new...he came to break open all our ideas about what family is…He came to show us what real forgiveness looks like…He came to show us that healing is possible…He came to show us what love is and how love acts…

He came to show us, what family can really be about…when we all strive to the do the will of God… through loving one another, as we have been loved, by welcoming one another into the wide embrace of God’s love and care…and by continually striving for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity and worth of every human being…so that one day…everyone will have a story to share of someone who helped them to know that they mattered, that they were loved, and that they have an opportunity to experience the joy in a place of belonging, too…

My prayer today is that all of us, sitting here, will open up our hearts and minds a little wider this day…and dare to imagine a world, where we are all united in love as siblings in Christ, and where all know they are welcomed into the loving embrace of God’s family…

Closing Prayer/Hymn (#292/Bind Us Together/RENEW!)

Bind us together, Lord, bind us together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind us together, Lord, bind us together, bind us together in love. There is only one God, there is only one King; there is only one body, that is why we sing:  Bind us together, Lord, bind us together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind us together, Lord, bind us together, bind us together in love. Amen

Rev Julie Platson, Rector

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

Sabbath rest and healing - June 2 sermon

2 Pentecost: Proper 4/Year B/June 2, 2024

Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Psalm 81:1-10; 2 Corinthians 4:5-12; Mark 2:23-3:6

I invite you to settle into a moment of sabbath rest and silence as I begin with this prayer…

Opening Prayer: For Quiet Confidence (BCP 832)

O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray you to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Pause for time of silence…

How hard was that for you? How awkward did it feel? Was your mind still racing and working overtime as we sat in silence? Were you getting anxious for me to end this time of silence? Or did you welcome this moment of quiet? Did you allow your mind to cease from its’ worry for just a short while? Did you feel your body slowly relaxing or not?

It has become harder and harder for folks in our face-paced, information overload, consumer driven society, to truly embrace the Sabbath that God has commanded of us. If we allow ourselves to get caught up in it all, it never ends…we have everything at our disposal 24 hours a day: keeping up with the national news, shopping online or in person, the ability to keep up with work no matter where we are…the ability to search for all kinds of answers and information that we think is important for us to know or be in the know about because they are just a fingertip swipe across our iPhone screens or on our computers…

You know what else never ends…if we continue to be “on” 24 hours a day? The worries, the fears, the anxiety of never having enough, the growing sense of hopelessness because of all that is happening around the world, and in our own neighborhoods, the oppression of others, the continuance of systems that perpetually separate us from one another, and exploit people’s lives, and allows no time of rest or healing for all of God’s people…

In today’s gospel, Jesus makes it clear what keeping the Sabbath is about…it’s about setting aside time for rest and healing for all God’s people…not just a select few…it’s about taking time to focus on what truly matters in this life…attending to our relationships with God, one another, and all of creation.

We can’t do that if we are continually fixing our attention on all the 24 hour temptations and distractions that seek to separate us, instead of unite us to one another…we can’t do that until we can make it a regular practice in our own lives to get off the 24 hour runaway train…to be still and know that God is God, and we are not…so that in returning and rest we all shall be saved…and in quietness and confidence, we can remember where the strength to heal our relationships with one another in the world comes from…the God of love and light made known to us in the face of Jesus Christ, and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who invites us to settle in to those moments of sabbath rest…true rest for our restless hearts…

So, that rested, grounded in the love and light and hope and peace of God…we can go out into the world to love one another in such a way that allows for others to have that same pleasure of rest and healing…all for the sake of God’s love and abundant joy that is intended for all God’s people…

As we move into a new season of the church year and summer season, I invite you to think about how you might go about being more intentional about keeping the sabbath…as one whole day…or as small sabbath moments throughout the week…

Maybe that looks like taking a leisurely stroll somewhere, or relaxing and watching some favorite old movies, or picking up a book to read and dozing between chapters…Maybe it means enjoying an afternoon or evening music concert…Maybe it means you turn off all electronics for a time…or making a decision not to buy anything…

Maybe it looks like setting aside time to focus on one simple prayer, using the one I opened up my sermon with today, maybe it’s other prayers in our book of common prayer that invite us to pray for those who work while we sleep, to pray for children and families growing up in uncertain times, to pray for those struggling with addiction, to pray for those whose increasing years bring them weakness, distress, or isolation; maybe your sabbath times will be through your experiences of worship this summer, as we alternate between quiet services and services with music…as we incorporate more intentional times of silence in the midst of our various worship services…maybe you will join with others on Mondays @ 11am in the See House….practicing reading and praying the Sunday gospels, in a slow, reflective way…maybe you will try out the short noonday prayer service held on zoom every Wednesday…or maybe you will join others on the Scripture Walks through Totem Park on the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays of the month…

This summer, I encourage you to explore and seek ways, new ways perhaps, that will enable you to enter into the sabbath rest and healing of God… So, that rested, grounded in the love and light and hope and peace of God…you can go out into the world to love one another in such a way that allows for others to have that same pleasure of rest and healing…all for the sake of God’s love and abundant joy that is intended for all God’s people…

Closing Prayer/Hymn: Still, still with thee (vs 1-3)

Voices Found, #30

1        Still, still with thee, when purple morning breaketh,

          when the bird waketh, and the shadows flee;

          fairer than morning, lovelier than the daylight,

          dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with thee.

2        Alone with thee, amid the mystic shadows,

          the solemn hush of nature newly born;

          alone with thee in breathless adoration,

          in the calm dew and freshness of the morn.

3        When sinks the soul, subdued by toil, to slumber,

          its closing eye looks up to thee in prayer;

          sweet the repose beneath thy wings over shading,

          but sweeter still to wake and find thee there.

Rev Julie Platson, Rector

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

May 26 - A reflection for Trinity Sunday

The 1st Sunday after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday/Year B/May 26, 2024

Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; John 3:1-7

Opening Prayer: (A New Zealand Prayer Book)

God of unchangeable power, you have revealed yourself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit; keep us firm in this faith that we may praise and bless your holy name; for you are one God now and for ever. Amen.

On the church calendar, today is marked as Trinity Sunday…the day we set aside to recognize our foundational belief and understanding of the mystery of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…It’s one of those Sundays, that we often try to understand something that doesn’t make logical sense, by our standards; we try to put something into words that no words could adequately describe, we try to put God and everything about God in one small and tidy space…

Problem with that is…God could never be contained in a box, or described in one short definition in a dictionary or catechism, or even one large book of scriptures….God is not one to be contained…God is one to be experienced, one to be in relationship with, one to be loved by, one to be strengthened by, one to be led by, one to be amazed by, one to be renewed by, one to be blessed by, and one to praise and glorify!

In our first reading from Isaiah today, we hear the account of Isaiah seeing God….and it is described as an amazing visual revelation…And in Isaiah’s amazement of the whole experience, he questioned what he saw…how he was unworthy of such an experience…but instead of turning away in disbelief or fear of what he just experienced, he believed that his sins had been blotted out, and then his ears were open to hear the voice of the Lord saying…. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”  And Isaiah answered… “Here am I; send me”.

You have to wonder what Isaiah was really thinking at this moment…

Where did this strength and courage come from to respond to what he heard…
something from somewhere deep within must have confirmed in Isaiah’s heart…I can do it….send me….I like to think that if he had allowed himself to rationalize what was happening in his mind, he probably would have missed the boat… but instead, he dared to imagine something so different, that was worth going for…

In our gospel reading today, Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above”. Nicodemus didn’t get it. How can someone be born again after growing old? How can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born? Totally, makes no logical sense. Nicodemus was thinking most literally. But Jesus tries to explain it in a different way – it’s about being born of water and Spirit. It’s about being cleansed from sin and born again by the Holy Spirit and continuing forever in the risen life of Jesus...It’s about being marked as Christ’s own forever. 

Jesus tries to explain to Nicodemus that “You must be born from above”. The wind, he continues, blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes…So, it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

Nicodemus continues with more questions, and Jesus patiently continues to try and help him understand. It is so difficult, Jesus reminds him, that he can barely understand and believe the earthly things, never mind the heavenly things.

Perhaps Nicodemus could learn a lesson from Isaiah today. Isaiah didn’t try to figure out what was going on, he didn’t ask for all kinds of explanations, he didn’t keep pressing for more answers until he got his proof. Isaiah seemed to “born again from above”. Something blew into that room on that day, something entered his heart that day, that caused him to be born anew – inspired him to take a risk, encouraged him to go forth into the world, where God was calling him…

Think about this for a moment….as we get older, we settle into the world of having lots of knowledge, experience in life, we’ve been there, done that; we can find any answer we want to in a reference book, on the computer, Wikipedia, or on our I-pads or cell phones. Our children are growing up in a world where information and knowledge is just a swipe away on their smart-phones…

Any answer we need is available…we just have to look for it…there’s an answer for everything, we like to tell ourselves.…

But, is there really a quick easy answer to everything that comes through a click on the computer or a swipe across the I-phone screen?

Is there an answer for the mother and father who lose their only child way too early in life because of gun violence and war or by suicide? Is there a clear answer as to why families are being torn apart and separated from each other for all kinds of reasons? Is there one definitive answer just a click away to explain why so many children and families, living in our own neighborhoods, and many other places around the world, are without food and shelter?

The answers to these types of questions are not just a click away….

As people of faith, the answers to these types of questions, can only be addressed in the heart, through a loving relationship with God and one another… by listening for the voice of God, the Father and creator of all, among all the voices around us that shout out words that are often empty and meaningless;  through talking with God, the Son, as a friend, one who knows our hearts, and one who cares; and through pondering all these things by opening our hearts, allowing God, the Holy Spirit, to re-new our hearts and minds, re-new our lives, re-new our hope….transforming our life, and the lives of all around us…

It’s about being born again, from above...It’s about re-living that Pentecost moment…when the Holy Spirit was sent down upon us to transform us through the power of God’s love…and then send us out to proclaim the love of God, with our words and actions…

The Trinity is often simply described as God in three persons…God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit…but it can all be summed up in this way, too…God is love…and we are called to walk in Love with Him…with one another…and with all of creation…

God’s love is always the answer…it is always the answer that can lead us into freedom and abundant life…It’s what heals and mends broken hearts and makes our joy complete….

It’s what strengthens us and gives us courage…It’s what dares us to imagine something better for our communities and our world…It’s what brings us peace in our hearts and unity with one another….

It’s what washes over us as grace and mercy to help us begin again and again…It’s what empowers us to be love bearers, light-bringers, hope bearers to a world in desperate need of all of this…

We are surrounded and encircled by God’s love and presence…God is the beginning, the end, the everlasting One. Jesus walked among us to teach us how to embody this love in the world. The Holy Spirit was sent to us to remind us and enable us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and to be God’s eyes and ears, heart and mind, and hands and feet, in this world now. The Holy Spirit was sent to remind us that we are surrounded and encircled by God’s love and presence today…and always…

As we move into another season of the church year, with new questions and new wonderings of how God is calling us to be the church in 2024 and in the near future, let us pray together and re-commit ourselves to embody the love of God made known to us in Jesus, in all our relationships with one another;  and let us pray fervently that our hearts will be set on fire once again to go out into the world, spreading the Good news of God’s love for the whole world and her people…so that one day, as Presiding Bishop Michael Curry often reminds us…. our world will be changed from the nightmare it sometimes is, and transformed into the dream God intended…a world created out of love, for love…love of God, love for one another, love for all of creation…

Glory to the holy and undivided Trinity, one God, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Prayer/Hymn: Santo, santo, santo [Holy, holy, holy] Wonder Love and Praise, #785

Holy, holy, holy, my heart, my heart adores you!

My heart is glad to say the words: you are holy, Lord.

Rev Julie Platson, Rector

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

The Day of Pentecost and Baptisms sermon

The Day of Pentecost/Year B/May 19, 2024

Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25-35, 37; John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

(Today’s service included the baptism of 2 year old twins)

Opening Prayer:

Creator of speech and silence, Holy Spirit of water, fire, and wind, we give you thanks for all the languages of the earth; fill our souls and the Church with your holy flame and bless our tongues to tell the world of the love that unites us all. Amen.  (Common Prayer for Children and Families, Jennifer Gambler & Timothy J,S. Seamans)

Today we celebrate the Day of Pentecost…marking the end of the 50 day season of Easter….and marking the day we celebrate the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to his disciples (and us) concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit…the Advocate, the Spirit of truth that would be sent to us after Jesus ascended to heaven, to guide us, lead us, comfort us, encourage us, inspire us, equip us, fill us, strengthen us, transform us, and move us to tell the world of the love that unites us all…move us to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ (Jesus)…

You might recognize those words as one of the baptismal promises we make at the time of our own baptisms or spoken on behalf of the young children who are being presented for baptism…

It is one of several promises that the parents, godparents, and all of us gathered together as a community of faith make on behalf of the children who rely on us, the adults, to teach them the good news about God’s love for the whole world and all its people and all of creation, to teach them about who Jesus is, and how his life, death, and resurrection has changed and transformed your life and the way you strive to love one another as Jesus has so loved you, and to teach them about how the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, was sent to us, to open our eyes, and ears, and hearts and minds to see the signs and reminders of God’s love, Jesus’ love and presence in the world, everywhere we turn…. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, that enables us to do that…

I’d like to share this story with you this morning…that I think gives us a good starting point to imagine and wonder aloud together, about some of the ways the Holy Spirit, the Advocate can help us get to know what God and Jesus’ love is like… and to help us see reminders of their presence in the world around us…everywhere we are…

***Read the Book: What is God like? By Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner, illustrated by Ying Hui Tan.

May we never tire of calling upon the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, to help us tell the world of the love that unites us to one another ….Let us never tire of being an advocate of God’s love in the world around us…so that the children of all ages among us will keep seeking, searching, wondering and learning about God’s love for them and for the whole world…so that they too can go out and tell the world of the love that unites us all…and be moved to proclaim by word and example the Good News of Christ (Jesus)..in all times, and in all places, to the end of the ages…

Closing Prayer/Hymn: Jesus loves me…(VF) 163

Rev Julie Platson, Rector

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Praying for one another...

7 Easter/Year B/May 12, 2024

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26; Psalm 1; 1 John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19

Opening Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ,

who prayed for your disciples that they might be one,

even as you are one with the Father;

draw us to yourself,

that in common love and obedience to you

we may be united to one another,

in the fellowship of the one Spirit,

that the world may believe that you are Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.  Amen.

— written by William Temple (1881-1944).

In today’s gospel reading, we hear Jesus praying to His Heavenly Father for his disciples with deep compassion and unwavering love for them, lifting them up into God’s presence and protection…as he knows the time is drawing near, that he will depart from this earthly life… Jesus’ fervent prayer and purpose could be summed up in this way today: “May they all be one”…One in Love for God, one in Love for each other, one in love for all of creation.

As we listen to this part of his prayer today, line by line, I envision the embrace of God’s love, expanding and ever-widening…with no end in sight as to how large this beloved community could become…when we are united as one…in love for God, one another, and all of creation…

This all-encompassing love, this love that has the power to unite us so that we all may be one…has been made known to us, through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ…and by the power of the Holy Spirit…

Jesus has given us so many examples of how to love one another, serve one another, and care for another…

In today’s Gospel reading, we are given another example of how to love one another, by praying for one another, encouraging one another, lifting up one another into the embrace of God’s protection, and God’s love…with the same love and compassion and fervor that Jesus prayed for his first disciples…

In Jesus’ prayer for his disciples today…we too are invited to hear through his Words, that this prayer is for us, too…

Jesus lifts up his disciples in prayer to God…knowing that he will no longer be there with them, physically…

Jesus prays as the One who reconciles us to God and one another…

Jesus prays for his people as He faced his death upon the cross.

Jesus prays that the Father would protect his disciples in the world…He prays that God would be with us in the world…

Jesus prays that the church will show the same oneness that exists between Jesus and the Father….

Jesus prays that we experience joy, complete joy, in the midst of all that pulls us in different directions in the world in which we live…

And Jesus’ final request in the prayer today, is that his disciples will be sanctified…consecrated, set apart for something special, made holy…transformed by His love, for the work we are all being called to do…

Jesus said: “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

It seems apparent through Jesus’ model of prayer we hear today, his intercessory prayer, that we are being called to do the same for one another…Just as Jesus has prayed for all of us…we are now being sent out into the world….to pray for one another…That we may all be one…

Intercessory prayer is the kind of prayer we pray when we want to bring before God the needs of others…

I don’t think that there is anyone sitting here today who does not know someone or some troubling issue that needs to be lifted up in prayer...to be transformed by the love of God and the assurance of God’s love and presence in the midst of whatever is troubling them…

I have so often heard people say, “I can’t do anything anymore”… “all I can do is pray”…as if prayer is a last resort, and as if prayer is what we do, when we don’t know what to do for someone…so we may as well just pray…not always believing that it might make a difference…

Prayer is number one. Prayer aligns us with God’s will and purpose. Prayer strengthens, supports, comforts, encourages, and encompasses so much more. Prayer unites us, lifts us up, as one family, through the power of God’s love…as revealed to us in Christ Jesus…and through the gift of the Holy Spirit that was promised and fulfilled in the scriptures we listen to every year, on the Day of Pentecost.

As Jesus has set an example of praying, and serving others, and just as Jesus has sent his disciples out into the world, he sends us out into the world. And one way, all of us – the young, the busy, the retired, the home-bound – no matter who we are - we can be a servant in this world, through the ministry of prayer.

In our Catechism section, An Outline of our Faith, on page 856 in our Book of Common Prayer, there is a section all about Prayer and Worship and it begins with this first question: “What is prayer?” The answer noted is this: Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.

I love this opening question and answer, because it doesn’t define prayer, as needing to have all of our words perfectly formed, or sounding elegant, as many of the prayers in our book of common prayer do. It doesn’t define prayer as only an idle spiritual practice. It doesn’t define prayer to limit how we are being called to pray at various times throughout our lives. It encompasses all the possible ways we can pray and respond to God’s invitation to love and serve one another…whether it’s with thoughts or deeds, or with or without words…

Sometimes, the most powerful prayer, is offered in moments of silence – moments when we sit quietly, responding to God, acknowledging His presence.

Sometimes, the most powerful prayer, comes streaming down our faces, with tears of sorrow, or tears of joy and gratitude for those we love…

Sometimes, the most powerful prayer is offered in our music, or the sounds we hear while strolling through the forest, or down by the waterfront.

Sometimes, the most powerful moments in prayer are when we are the recipients of people praying for us.

When we are on the receiving end, we are truly being given a gift – the gift of God’s love, and the assurance that in the midst of all that may be uncertain and unsettling to comprehend...that God is with us always…

Jesus’ words in the scriptures on Ascension Day, as he was getting ready to depart this world,  affirm that when he says.  “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." 

Yes...it’s wonderful to be on the receiving end of prayer…especially as we think of Jesus praying for his disciples and us…Yet, one of the amazing things about prayer...is that when we pray for others, the gift and assurance is for us, too…

 One of the mysteries of prayer is that while and when our intentions may be directed to another, we will receive a portion of God’s grace as well. (David Haas)

God’s grace, the gift of his love, is intended for all people…

This gift is revealed to us, through the love of Jesus and the many examples he has set before us…teaching us how to love one another, as he has loved us…how to pray for one another, as he has prayed for us…

We are now being sent out into the world to follow his example that he has given us…to pray for one another, by thought and by deeds, with or without words…that God’s will may be done…here on earth…as in heaven…May it be so.

Let us take a few moments now…in the silence of your heart…to present your own needs, and to bring before God, the needs of others…

Closing Prayer/Hymn: Hear Our Prayer, O Lord

Lift Every Voice and Sing II, #249

Hear our prayer, O Lord, hear our prayer, O Lord;

Incline thine ear to us, and grant us thy peace. Amen.

Rev Julie Platson, Rector

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

****photo of St Peter’s and aurora taken by Dan Evans…May 11, 2024