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

The greatest gift is sharing our relationship with God with others – reflection and sermon from 10/29/2023

Administrator — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 19:48:53 +0000

Good afternoon from the Rector’s Study at St. John’s Chuckatuck. We have had a good couple weeks at worship as we begin to reflect on what the future holds for us. It was bright and sunny this morning and, for reasons only known to Southern Virginia, it has returned to early-Fall conditions. But, we won’t complain because things will change. We invite you to have a wonderful week ahead with Halloween, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day. Likewise, please join us for worship next Sunday as we celebrate All Saints’ in church.

As we worshipped today we were reminded that God’s gifts to us are faith, hope, and charity. We realize these gifts when we share them with others in relationships built on the promises given by God through Jesus. Our lesson from Hebrew Scripture today was the closing of Deuteronomy when Moses is shown all of Israel by God and Moses’ responsibility as leader of Israel is transferred to Joshua. We see the orderly transition of leadership when the time came. The Psalmist sang a song reminding us that this present moment is ours to live while God’s sense of time is fluid and outside our comprehension. In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians tells us that our motive needs to be love – a life of relationship not specifically affection. Paul’s ministry is solely to bring glory to God not to himself.

Our sermon was based on the gospel reading from Matthew. In this, we hear the Pharisees try to trip Jesus up again with the question “what is the greatest commandment?” Jesus reminded them that our job is to love God and our neighbor. The greatest gift we have received is the relationship we have with God and that we freely share with others. Jesus makes a difference in all we do and is the greatest thing we have to share with others.

How are you challenged to use our greatest gift, today and forever? I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 22:34-46

Listen at: https://audiomack.com/fatherles-1/song/22-pentecost-sermon

Video of worship: https://youtu.be/0KzZteibuW0

Video of sermon: https://youtu.be/af2QC2tk-ys

God’s directive: tell others about our relationship with God – reflection and sermon from 7/30/2023

Administrator — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 19:51:16 +0000

Happy 5th Sunday in July after a break from the sauna which is Southern Virginia. It has been a relatively difficult week with the state of affairs with the air condition in the sanctuary. We have done our best and we have been resilient. We moved worship to the Parish Hall, because conditions are more predictable in the Parish Hall. Hopefully we will resolve the issues quickly, regardless, we will be resilient and flexible. May you be blessed as July moves to August.

Note, there was an issue with the microphone which arose in the New Testament reading and persisted until after the Gospel reading. As such, the two readings were recorded after service and appended into the video.

In worship we began by offering a prayer that reminds us that God’s guidance helps us live in this world but only to prepare ourselves for our eternal life. God provides us strength to thrive in our earthly existence. Our reading from Hebrew Scripture we heard the story of Laban and Jacob in Genesis. That Laban was capricious in his interaction with Jacob, but Jacob was able to persist because God had called him to do certain things. Our Psalmist sings the song that reminds us of God’s constancy and God’s part in the covenant. Paul reminded us in his letter to the Romans, that nothing in or of this world separates us from the love of God. Our gospel today was Matthew’s “rapid fire” series of “the kingdom of God is like…” which serves as a reminder that we need to be able to tell our story so others can understand.

The point, Jesus offers parables to help people understand about the kingdom of God. It is through our parables that we convey the truth about a relationship with God. That (1) God’s standards and requirements never change, and (2) that nothing of this world can separate us from God except our hesitance.

I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: Genesis 29:15-28; Psalm 105:1-11, 45b; Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Listen at: https://audiomack.com/fatherles-1/song/9th-sunday-after-pentecost-sermon

Video of worship: https://youtu.be/s2zu6-Xr7aQ

Video of sermon: https://youtu.be/_X2-OlpwTGk

Meaningful relationship involve risk – reflection and sermon from Trinity Sunday 2022

Administrator — Sun, 12 Jun 2022 19:14:47 +0000

Happy rainy Trinity Sunday (at least in Southside Virginia), a day where I successfully avoided committing heresy again. Our week was filled with interesting events and continued our journey and reflection about where we are being called to evolve in our ministry in and with Chuckatuck. If things work as planned, there will be some brick work done on the sanctuary beginning this week – the first detailed work in almost 100 years. May the early part of June, including graduations, go smoothly.

In worship, we took a journey into the incomprehensible world of the Trinity. While we celebrate and profess a belief in the doctrine of the Trinity, we are no closer to understanding what it actually means. Our collect helps us by saying what we can’t, that God’s presence is united and that God’s grace comes in and through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Our Hebrew scripture today was a passage from Proverbs. The writer describes (woman) wisdom as being present since before time, with God: Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. The Psalmist sang a song that proclaims God’s prominence and sovereignty over creation. But not just as one who dominates, but as one who is connected with creation. Our Gospel was from John and was part of the commissioning of the disciples and introducing them to the Holy Spirit and the one who will lead them after Jesus is gone.

Our sermon was based on the reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul introduces the premise that we are justified by faith and we find wholeness in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We recognize God’s interconnectedness in the Trinity and the Trinity shows us our interconnectedness with God. Our character and strength comes from risking a part of ourselves to be part of a meaningful relationship with followers of God in community.

I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

Video of Worship: https://youtu.be/XXPORmWwFv8

Video of Sermon: https://youtu.be/KaEHPC6uUdU

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Love is not an emotion, it is a statement of relationship – reflection and sermon from 2/20/2022

Administrator — Sun, 20 Feb 2022 20:46:40 +0000

Blessings to all from Chuckatuck as February begins to wind down and Presidents’ Day is tomorrow. We have spent a lot of the last weeks and months considering our ministry and our engagement in the community. We are looking for new connections and ways that we might be able to share our grounds with our community – there is a place of peace and connection at St. John’s that is ours to share as a sanctuary. We look forward to the coming season of Lent and the opportunity to reflect on our connection to God and community.

In worship, today was a day where we are reminded that love is the centerpiece of all that we are as a community of faith. That without love, nothing we do is a real worth. Our ability to reflect God’s love is what makes us different and inviting. Our Hebrew Scripture was taken from the book of Genesis and relates the revelation of Joseph to his brothers in Egypt during the famine. Joseph sees the truth, that the family’s relationship and longevity is possible because of his relationship with God and not breaking relationship with his family. The Psalmist sings the song of reminders that we should not be jealous of those who get ahead while they do wrong; rather, we should trust in the eternal work of God. Our Epistle was taken from first Corinthians, the things that last forever are not flesh and blood, but they are the things that come from and celebrate the life of God.

Our sermon was loosely based on the gospel reading from Luke. His lesson is a bit misunderstood from time to time – while it is important to love relationship is more important. While someone may steal from you, if they choose to leave then that is on them. Likewise, while we are not supposed to “sit in judgement” we are still responsible for upholding God’s requirements – do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: Genesis 45:3-11; Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42; 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38

Video of worship: https://youtu.be/hVKTM7a4KNA

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The life of faith is a real life filled with relationships – sermon from Trinity Sunday 2021

Administrator — Sun, 30 May 2021 20:03:12 +0000

Grace and peace to you on Memorial Day weekend. We are thankful that we received some much-needed rain yesterday and overnight; but the rain has left our Sunday celebration a little dreary. Today saw the return of our hummingbird, drinking from the feeder outside my office window – such a lovely part of creation. We do remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their countries and pray we might see a day when wars cease. But until that day, we gather for spiritual nourishment and fellowship among friends so we might be able to pause to remember God’s presence.

Today is the celebration of Trinity Sunday – one of the most complicated days in the church year. We celebrate the simplicity of the unity of God – creator, redeemer, and sustainer – alongside the diversity of all believers and ways we experience God’s enduring presence. Our reading from the Prophet Isaiah was Isaiah’s call story. The imagery is of a “regular” person who is cleansed from their sin and their response of moving forward as a voice for God in the world. Sinfulness to redemption to action. The psalmist painted what appear to be absurd pictures of mountains and nations frolicking like lambs and young cattle. Yet, the reality is being touched by God makes all things possible. Paul’s letter to the Romans highlights the nature of the believers, once we become aligned with God through Christ there is no turning back. Our gospel reading from John included one of the most recognizable verses in the Gospels. But that’s not the bottom line, Jesus and Nicodemus exchange questions and responses that allow Nicodemus to gather more understanding.

In the end, the life we live is filled with mystery. The mystery is not something to be solved but something to appreciate and unpack. As we live in the mystery we are invited to move from a life which demands on concrete solutions to a life that is filled with life-giving concepts. All based on the real life lived in relationship with God.

I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17

Video of worship: https://youtu.be/3ryZAOf4pVI

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