St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Port Royal, VA
We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.
Ben Hicks “As unique as Mary is, you have so much in common with her. Down through the ages, there has been no one else who was asked to give birth to and bear what she was called to. And so too for you, especially at those moments when you say, like she did: “How can I face this, do this, bear this, survive what is coming at me?” Mary is your companion. Build on that relationship.”
Br. Curtis Almquist, Sociey of St. John the Evancelist (SSJE)
From Songs in Waiting
It is a song that speaks profoundly about being "childlike." Luke focuses his entire Christmas narrative around the person of Mary, who was probably just a child, a young girl who was perhaps twelve to fourteen years old, as it was customary for Jewish girls to marry just after puberty
In this light, the Christmas story is of a child having The Child
When people begin to bring their children to Jesus for his blessing, the disciples send them away, seeing the children as a waste of his precious time. But Jesus rebukes them, saying, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14), He is saying that the deepest spiritual knowledge, while hidden from the wise and learned, is revealed to children. He even goes so far as to say that in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must become like children: "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). Jesus often refers to us all as "children of God"
The name Magnificat comes from the first word in the Latin Vulgate translation of this song, "magnify" or "glorify." Most probably a compilation of phrases from the Psalms, various Old Testament prophetic books, and Hannah’s Song in 1 Samuel, the Magnificat has been part of Christian liturgy at least since the time of Saint Benedict in the fifth and sixth centuries.
The Magnificat has been recited every day for centuries by Christians, chanted by monks, and set to music by composers of every age, perhaps the most famous being Johann Sebastian Bach’s composition, which he wrote for Christmas Day 1725
It is on behalf of this baby that majestic buildings like Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris have been constructed and great saints like Francis of Assisi or Mother Teresa have so wholeheartedly dedicated their lives to the service of God and humankind. It is to the glory of the one whose birth we celebrate that Bach composed, El Greco painted, Augustine of Hippo preached, and Pascal wrote, and because Jesus the Christ was born countless individuals would receive comfort as they went serenely to their martyrdom years after his own death. Knowing all this, it is a deeply moving experience to stand today in Nazareth, in the Church of the Annunciation, the site where it is believed Mary was first confronted by the angel. The lines in the first scene of Shakespeare’s Hamlet seem to say it best: "So hallowed and so gracious is the time."
However, more than just being a song of a child about a child, this song is a call to each of us who desire to be followers of Christ, leading us toward becoming more childlike in our responses and relationship with our Creator. Out of the depth of her joy, Mary sings of the crucial qualities of childlike-ness that the Christ Child, when he became an adult, urged his followers to embrace.
12th Sunday After Pentecost Aug. 11, 11am
3 years ago on the river
Twelth Sunday after Pentecost, Aug. 11
I. Theme – Nurture and Community
“The Breadline” – Grigori Grigorjewitsch Mjassojedow (1872)
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – 1 Kings 19:4-8
Psalm – Psalm 34:1-8
Epistle –Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Gospel – John 6:35, 41-51
Today’s readings constellate around the themes of nurture and community.
We learn from David’s story (Tract 1, not in our readings) that violence breeds violence, that injustice must be brought to light. We know this is not easy
In 1 Kings God nourishes Elijah for a journey that takes forty days and forty nights and he is constantly on the brink of not continuing it. Poor Elijah was ready to die as he ran into hiding to escape persecution, violence and injustice. In Psalm 34, the righteous also cry for help, for they are afflicted, broken-hearted and crushed in spirit.
When the author of Ephesians says, “Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us,” he reminds us of God’s providence. Christ’s extraordinary sacrifice on our behalf manifested God’s love and power once again and gave us safe passage into a new life with God. These acts demand a response from us. We are challenged as much by God’s gifts as we are by the lack of them. Our conduct toward each other must reflect God’s outpouring of love toward us. The author encourages Christians to be as loving as Christ to one another.
The Gospel emphasizes God’s sustenance through Jesus who gives himself for us. Jesus promises that he will save all who come to him. But God will renew our strength, will give us courage and will continue to encourage us. Jesus calls us into this new life, in which we must stand against injustice but in nonviolent ways. We are called to lead by example, to love and forgive, to use our anger at injustice to bring about justice through peaceful means. We are called into this new life.
Jesus points out that the Israelites ate manna in the wilderness and they died. He is reminding the people that people do not live by bread alone—true life comes from the word of God. Jesus identifies himself with God. Those “taught by God” will come to Jesus to be fed the living bread for eternal life in that long-promised land where there will never be scarcity. Anyone who tastes this bread will never die.
We need spiritual soul food not superficial fast food. We need the bread of heaven, embodied in earthly relationships; not spiritual quick fixes and easy answers. We feast on the Spirit when we see God in all things and all things in God. We come to the unsearchable mystery of the eucharist with a joyful hush of thanksgiving in our hearts. Jesus sustains our souls with his life now and forever.
Consider: How can I imitate Jesus example of total, selfless giving?
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For the first 3 weeks in Aug, 2024, we hear the “Bread of Life” discourse in John Chapter 6. It is a discussion led by Jesus with later responses from the people following him. The discourse uses the metaphor of bread to emphasize faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. Jesus compares himself to bread, which is essential for life, and says that he is spiritual bread that provides eternal life. It takes the people beyond the physical bread the they received in the “Feeding of the 5,000” (July 28, 2024) into something more. The discourse becomes the basis for Holy Communion. While communion was introduced as a practice during Holy Week, these passages explore the meaning.
At the beginning of the discourse, Jesus takes the crowd beyond mere food they received in the “Feeding of the 5,000”. The bread from heaven that the people ate in the wilderness met the people’s needs daily, but Jesus meets the needs of our whole lives.
The crowd the day after the “Feeding of the 5,000” finds Jesus in Capernaum where He introduces Himself as the Bread of Life, teaching that whoever comes to Him will never go hungry or thirsty, and whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. Jesus is instructing them on the importance of Holy Communion and receiving him in the bread and wind. It is not just a daily meal!
In Week 1, there is the first Bread of Life statement “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
By Week 2 Jesus expands the “Bread of life” to provide more clarification. ” I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The people were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” The listeners knew that Jesus, by claiming to come from heaven, was declaring that he was God. He was the real Bread of Heaven—the ever-present daily Manna—the lifegiving, eternal source of provision for today, tomorrow, and all eternity.
Week 2 ended with “…the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” which is repeated and expanded in Week 3
Then in Week 3 he starts where he ended in Week 2 by repeating verse 51. In verse 51 “Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The people’s reaction turned to revulsion when Jesus explained that he had come to give his flesh and blood—to sacrifice His life—so that the world could have eternal life. Eating flesh and drinking blood seemed an affront to the Jewish faith.
Many disciples find Jesus’ teaching hard to accept and decide to leave Him. When Jesus asks the Twelve if they want to leave too, Simon Peter in Verse 68-69 affirms their faith in Jesus as the Holy One of God. He saved the day. ” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
“We are constantly relearning Jesus” (Gospel of John: A Commentary – Frederick Dale Bruner). “Sometimes Jesus removes himself from us, though he still wants us, until we learn to accept him on his own terms, as he defines himself — which self-defining is exactly what happens in the Bread Sermon that follows.”
Reference – Gospel reading for Aug. 11
There are three parts to this reading:
The Gospel starts (part one) with a repeat of the last sentence from Aug 4, the first week of three in the “Bread of Life Discourse.” Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” So there is a sense of continuity, The third part is the lead in for Week 3 on Aug 18.
The second part is the heart of the reading. In part one, those who listened responded. “They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” A key word in this section is “complain.” Now he gets complaints from the “Jews” when he asserts “I am the bread of life” The Jews may indicate a subset of the crowd or it may tie back to those who crucified him.
Those who complain only know him as the carpenter’s son and the mother and father whom they know. So how can he assert “I am the bread who came down from heaven”? He should be talking about carpentry!
Introduction- In 2012 St. Peter’s began participating in a Bible Study at Peumansend Jail near Bowling Green, VA.
The facility opened in September 1999 as the Peumansend Creek Regional Jail and features a campus style layout, designed to operate as a fourth-generation direct supervision facility. Low custody inmates from six jurisdictions and the Virginia Department of Corrections were housed at the facility until March 2017 when it closed .
Catherine’s sermon for this Sunday in 2012 used the ministry as a main focus to consider Ephesians 4:25-5:2:
“This past Thursday night at our monthly jail Bible Study, a prisoner started off our discussion with this question.
“So if you were challenged by someone who was going to take your life depending on whether or not you were a Christian, and you said you were, and then they killed you because you’d said you were Christian, would you go straight to heaven?”
“The ten men there pretty much agreed that yes, the person would go to heaven because he had died professing his belief in Jesus.
“But then another prisoner pointed out that it’s not just what we say we believe, but it’s how we live out those beliefs, because how we live reflects what we truly believe.
The painting fits our Gospel reading this week. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” – John 6:51
The fact that its “Salvador Mundi” by Leonardo da Vinci makes it even the more special. The discovering of a new Leonardo painting shook the art world in 2011. There were only some fourteen surviving Leonardo paintings in the world and the last one to be discovered was the “Benois Madonna” more than 100 years ago. This one was thought to exist only in copies.
This painting is small, 2×1.5 feet with cracked wooden frame and had suffered from centuries of neglect and poor restorations.The panel had also been subjected — unsuccessfully — to a forced flattening, and then glued to another backing. The worst offenses were crude areas of overpainting, in an attempt to hide the botched panel repair. And then there was plain old dirt and grime.
It shows Christ facing facing forwards with two fingers of his right hand raised in blessing and a crystal globe in his left hand. “Salvator Mundi” (Savior of the World) painted in 1500 is known to have been owned by English king, Charles I before moving around various private collections until 2005, when the current owner brought it to Robert Simon of Robert Simon Fine Art to study.
There were three immediate clues of the true painter:
1 One was a so-called “pentimento,” an alteration in the painting showing traces of previous work
2 The other was the painting of Christ’s curls. Leonardo’s St. John the Baptist at the Louvre had the same curls.
3 The fingers were especially significant because, as Oxford Leonardo expert Martin Kemp put it, “All the versions of the ‘Salvator Mundi’ have rather tubular fingers. What Leonardo had done, and the copyists and imitators didn’t pick up, was to get just how the knuckle sort of sits underneath the skin.”
It was compared to two preparatory drawings, housed in the Royal Library at Windsor, that Leonardo made for it. It was also compared to some 20 known copies and found to be superior to all of them. The new owners desired to build a consensus for this conclusion that it was a Leonardo da Vinci.
Leonardo provided an original treatment of this subject. Look at the orb or world resting in Christ’s left palm. Normally this orb was painted as brass or gold, may have had vague landforms mapped on it, and was topped by a crucifix. We know that Leonardo was a Roman Catholic, as were all of his patrons. However, he creates what appears to be a sphere of rock crystal. It reflects Leonardos studies what later became optics. Looking through it shows the natural distortion of looking through glass or crystal. Fundamentally, Leonardo was always trying to connect the natural and spiritual worlds together. No one had created a world like this which was very realistic!