Jeremiah – St. John's Episcopal Church, Suffolk, VA

No matter how we got here, God will bring us home – reflection and sermon for 1/5/2020

Administrator — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 21:53:59 +0000

Happy 2020! Today was our first gathering of the new year and we enjoyed one last day of Christmas greens before Epiphany begins. We had our Parish annual meeting today (if you weren’t there a question asked was: “what’s the difference between a Parish and a congregation?” – I invite your responses to that question). Of course, we also had a potluck between worship and meeting – lots of good food and fellowship to go around. Tomorrow we will celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany – the journey begins.

We began our journey this Sunday with the reminder that God’s desire is that we share the divine life with Jesus, God Incarnate. Matthew avoids the long discussion of the magi by reminding us that Jesus’ family traveled in response to God’s warnings and the threat of destruction. The writer to the Ephesians encourages us to remember we were chosen to be in a relationship with God before the world began. Our Psalm served the reminder that it was better to spend one day with God than a thousand lifetimes separated from God. But our sermon focused on Jeremiah’s lesson; probably written to a community of people who at their lowest point, some “just” deported, some enslaved in exile, and some who fled in fear for their life. Jeremiah’s message to them, and to us, is God cares less about how they found themselves where they are, rather that they wanted to be related to God in God’s kingdom. That truth still applies today. Are you able to remember God’s truth in your struggle?

I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: Jeremiah 31:7-14; Psalm 84; Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

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Being present where we are – reflection and sermon from 10/13/19

Administrator — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 18:48:00 +0000

We pray you are well as fall settles down in Southside. We have been blessed with nice weather and some much-needed rain around Suffolk; not a lot but enough to turn the yard green. It’s hard to believe we’re almost at the middle of October and are about 10 weeks from the end of the year. It was nice to see some we have been praying for in church this morning – there is plenty of recovery ahead but we celebrate the health and hope she shows us.

In worship today we continued our journey in the season of Pentecost. We heard Jesus’ parable about the 10 lepers and the 1 who returned to give thanks; an encouragement to give thanks no matter where we are in life’s journey and no matter where we feel associated with the “in” group. Paul reminded Timothy to not wrangle over words – because parsing words and fighting over words will just frustrate us and not invite others to join us. Our sermon today focused on Jeremiah and the proclamation to live where we are. We, like the Jews, faced uncertainty and doubt and the tension between the promised better times and the present difficulty. But Jeremiah reminds us – pray for success where you are. If we don’t succeed here we won’t have a future. That’s the hope we have for tomorrow.

I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-11; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19

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Change leads to renewal by God – reflection and sermon from 9/29/19

Administrator — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 18:13:40 +0000

Greetings from the revenge of Summer in Chuckatuck. October is just around the corner and it feels (and looks) like July outside. Haze, humidity, and general YUCK! But we celebrated in worship today none the less. It was a blessing to share space at God’s table and to fellowship over a lunch, pasta casserole, bread, salad, and angel food cake (what else?). May your journey into October be a blessing.

Our lessons today helped continue the discussion about change and asking ourselves where we go from here. We also heard about using the things we have, not to hoard but to serve God (the love of money is A root of many evils). Our Timothy passage reminds us that having a lot doesn’t always solve problems, often it only delays them. The gospel took a look at Lazarus and the rich man – the way we treat others should be enough to change the minds of those closest to us. Last, Jeremiah was offered the change to redeem his family’s heritage; he did so. Not just for the present but for the future that lies ahead. We are benefactors of the confidence shown by Jeremiah – God is leading us to a place where we will recognize our redemption.

I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31

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Prayer leads change – reflection and sermon from 9/22/19

Administrator — Sun, 22 Sep 2019 20:15:23 +0000

I send greetings from Chuckatuck on the first full day of fall – a wonderful time to be at St. John’s. Much has transpired over the past few days as we pray for our bishop-elect, the Rev. Susan Haynes. There is much to do between now and her consecration but her election helps us usher a new beginning in the life of our diocese and hopefully a re-dedication to our ministry at St. John’s. It was nice to fellowship this afternoon on barbecue and chicken as we helped support CAPS and their ministry.

In worship today we heard the diverse stories of scripture. Luke recounted Jesus’ story about the dishonest manager and his shrewd (yet underhanded) behavior and the commentary that we can’t squander the gifts given us by God. The letter to Timothy reminds us that we are supposed to offer our prayers for all people (including us) that we all might be touched by the Holy Spirit. Today’s sermon began with a look at Jeremiah and the beginning of the end for Israel. They believed they were chosen and thus they didn’t need to change to stay with God. The story we know is the life we live with God is about prayerful change into what God calls us to become. Where are you called to change today?

I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1; Psalm 79:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13

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Without hope we have nothing – reflection and sermon from 9/15/19

Administrator — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 18:42:16 +0000

After a week away it was nice to be back in the pulpit. It appears that Dorian was little more than some wind and rain in Suffolk – and we were lucky. Our prayers are offered for those who are recovering from Dorian and possibly staring down a new storm this weekend. Today was filled with blessings as some of our more seasoned members were all in worship together – rejoice and give thanks. And to think – September is almost halfway over. A correction from today’s sermon, or better stated, the quote I left out of my notes from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ‘His Journals’ was “Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.” An important lesson for everyone… still.

In worship we were greeted on the Sunday after Holy Cross day with a mixture of scripture and song. In our gospel reading today, we were reminded that God rejoices when one who is lost is found and returns to the family – and God is willing to search even when others think there is no hope. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy we were also reminded that the principle purpose for Jesus coming to creation is to save us from our sin. The hardest lesson today came from Jeremiah. Jeremiah reminded his time, and us, that God looks upon creation and sees what we aren’t doing to further the kingdom. But Jeremiah reminds us that God’s judgement is assured, our side of God’s judgement will be determined at the final accounting and is not fixed in stone – we have hope because we know that we can change – if we look to God for help. What are your thoughts?

I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalm 14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10

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