1. Prelude
2. Gospel
3. Sermon
4. Prayers of the People
5. Blessing
2023 Sun May 14
Sunday links, Easter 6, May 14, 2023 – Rogation Sunday, Mother’s Day
Flowers, May 7, 2023
Coming up!
Dispose of sensitive documents safely and securely, and free up needed space at home or work.
Rogation Sunday
Rogation Sunday, a time of celebration and prayer, is a time set aside to appreciate and recognize our dependence upon the land for our food and most importantly upon our dependence of God for the miracles of sprouting seeds, growing plants, and maturing harvest.
The Rogation Days, the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Day, originated in Vienne, France in 470 after a series of natural disasters had caused much suffering among the people. Originally, the Christian observance of Rogation was taken over from Graeco-Roman religion, where an annual procession invoked divine favour to protect crops against mildew. Archbishop Mamertus proclaimed a fast and ordered that special litanies and prayers be said as the population processed around their fields, asking God’s protection and blessing on the crops that were just beginning to sprout.
The Latin word rogare means “to ask”, thus these were “rogation” processions. The tradition grew of using processional litanies, often around the parish boundaries, for the blessing of the land. These processions concluded with a mass. The Rogation procession was suppressed at the Reformation, but it was restored in 1559. The poet George Herbert interpreted the procession as a means of asking for God’s blessing on the land, of preserving boundaries, of encouraging fellowship between neighbours with the reconciling of differences, and of charitable giving to the poor. The tradition of ‘beating the bounds’ has been preserved in some communities. In the latter a group of old and young members of the community would walk the boundaries of the parish, usually led by the parish priest and church officials, to share the knowledge of where they lay, and to pray for protection and blessings for the lands. Others maintain the traditional use of the Litany within worship. In more recent times, the scope of Rogation has been widened to include petition for the world of work and for accountable stewardship, and prayer for local communities, whether rural or urban.
The Sunday before the Rogation Days came to be considered a part of Rogationtide (or “Rogantide”) and was known as Rogation Sunday. The Gospel formerly appointed for that day was from John 16, where Jesus tells his disciples to ask, and ye shall receive.
SALT’S Lectionary Commentary- Easter 6
Easter 6 (Year A): John 14:15-21 and Acts 17:22-31
Takeaways:
1) Jesus is saying, in effect, Don’t worry, the best is yet to come. I’m leaving, but I’m not abandoning you. We’ll still be together — and what’s more, God will send you another Advocate as well, the Spirit of truth. In other words, what’s coming isn’t distance but rather a radical closeness, a companionship so intimate as to blur any sharp distinction between companions.
2) Reading this passage from John together with the passage from Acts, what emerges is a series of nested spheres: the Spirit indwelling us (the Spirit “will be in you”); us indwelling Jesus (“abide in me”); Jesus indwelling God the Creator (“I am in my Father”); and all of creation, too, indwelling God, the One in whom “we live, and move, and have our being” (John 14:17; 15:4; 14:20; Acts 17:28). God is indeed “out there” — and also “in here,” within and without, as far away as the farthest star and as near as — nearer than! — our own breath. As Paul puts it, God “is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27).
3) A human relationship with God, then, isn’t about relating to a far-off presence. Nor is it about relating to a merely “interior” one. Nor is it a matter of luring God to “come closer.” If we take Paul’s speech at the Areopagus seriously, God is already there, already here; it’s we who need to become more “present” and attentive. The divine life is swirling in and through and around all things, all the time, all the way out to the edges of creation and beyond. A prayer, for example, to borrow C.S. Lewis’ classic image, isn’t a telegram sent to a faraway deity but rather a “stepping in” to the ongoing divine dance: praying with God the Child, through God the Spirit, and to God the Father, Mother of us all. We can’t enhance the degree to which we “have our being” in God; the very fact that “we are” in any given moment we owe to God’s ongoing generosity. But we can enhance the degree to which we’re aware of this symbiosis, the degree to which we’re thankful for it, and the degree to which we live and act accordingly.
4) And speaking of action: in this passage in John, Jesus makes clear that “keeping my commandments” is important — but it’s not the most important thing. The most important thing, he says, is mutual indwelling, this intimate life together with God; “keeping commandments” will follow, as the night the day, from that symbiosis. Jesus doesn’t say, Keep my commandments, and then I’ll let you abide in me. Rather, he says, Abide in me, as I abide in you; love me as I have loved you; come close to me and live in me in love, and you will, by virtue of that closeness, keep my commandments. Love’s symbiosis comes first, and everything else flows from that wellspring. Our good works, then, don’t earn our way into God’s love; rather, they’re expressions of truly living with and in the God of Love. And the Spirit, the Advocate, the Helper “called alongside” us, is here to help us do just that — precisely so we might, in turn, come alongside a broken, beloved world.
Rogation readings
I.Theme – The Stewardship of Abundance
"The Mustard Seed"
First Reading – Deuteronomy 11:10-15
Psalm – Psalm 147
Epistle –Romans 8:18-25
Gospel – Mark 4:26-32
The readings this week are for Rogation One and not Easter 6! . This is an option in the BCP. There is Rogation Sunday which is celebrated on Easter 6 and then 3 days afterward in the week of Ascension. Rogation Monday is for fruitful seasons, Rogation Tuesday for commerce and industry and Rogation Wednesday for the stewardship of creation. We look at the Monday readings.
The Collect provides the overall ecological feeling to the readings. God is the source of fruitful seasons, the source of abundance and we must be “faithful stewards of your good gift.” As stewards we provide all our knowledge resources, time, talent and funds and use them in service to take care of what belongs to God.
We are the managers but as our first reading in Deuteronomy states God is watching this management . “The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year”. We must heed his commandments and God will provide – rain, grass for the fields and as a result “you will eat your fill” As the Psalm maintains God is in control of both the weather – weather – rain, hail, frost, snow, wind – which can determine your abundance but also the end product – “satisfying with the finest of wheat.”
Background – Israel was called a land of barley and wheat (Deuteronomy 8:7-8). The spring wheat and barley harvest preceded the major harvest in the fall, the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16, 34:22). Both the spring and the fall harvest were dependent upon the rains coming at the right time. The fall rains are called the early rain. The spring rains are called the latter rain. The early rain is spoken of in Deuteronomy 11:10-15, and Joel 2:23. The rain is prophetic of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon people’s lives individually as they accept Jesus into their lives and allow the Holy Spirit to teach and instruct them concerning the ways of God. The early rain and the latter rain also teach us about the pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit in a corporate way upon all flesh. The early rain refers to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during Christ’s first coming and the latter rain refers to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during Christ’s second coming.
Psalm 147:12-20 sings of God’s work in creation as well as God’s work of protection and safety for the people. God is the one who has given ordinances and statutes to Israel, and to them, God relates to them in a special way, unique, unlike any other people. Those who know God’s ways know the assurance of God’s presence.
Psalm 147 is a praise psalm and broadens the work of God. It sings the praises of God who binds up the brokenhearted, gathers the outcasts, and brings in the marginalized. God cares for all of creation and provides for all the creatures, and God cares for all of the people. God is not impressed with feats of strength or greatness, but rather humility and awe of God.
The Gospel is the parable of the mustard seed, the “smallest of all the seeds on earth” which yet becomes “the greatest of all shrubs”. This allows us to find additional meanings.
When we open ourselves to God’s possibilities, it is often the tiniest change that opens up a new trajectory, weak at first, but then growing stronger, until it overcomes resistance, obstacles, habitual behavior. The mustard seed metaphor stands on its own, but there are so many more organic images that reinforce the point—such as the Mississippi River, which starts as a stream in northern Minnesota small enough to step over and becomes progressively wider, until it spreads through the Louisiana delta to the Gulf of Mexico. Wherever we are in journey, God is always ready to gurgle up from underground, to plant a small seed, to open us to more than we can imagine.
God does allow us to grow on this earth, interacting with this world, and does not pull us out of danger or harm, or shield us from mistakes. But the kingdom or reign of God is built and created out of all of us. We do not know how each of us will grow, but we know we grow based on our experiences here on earth, and grow beyond our earthly experience. How we grow, and grow together, helps determine how and when we will be harvested, gathered together with God
The Romans reading provides a dose of reality into our growing from seeds into bushes when we face difficult life situations.
In other words, there is a parallel experience going on between creation and the children of God. There is the ultimate plan of freedom alongside the distressful life experiences.
As Christians we are caught in the frailty of our human bodies. They have not experienced redemption even though our souls have. Our real potential is hidden behind the weakness of our human bodies
We inherently know and long for the full realization of all of God’s promises. There is a pattern very clearly set in verses 19-25
Note this pattern:
Romans 8:19-22 – Creation suffers and waits glorification-> God’s children suffers and waits glorication
Romans 8:23-25 – Jesus suffered and was glorified -> God’s children suffer and will be glorified
Paul is addressing God’s children living on the edge of two worlds, one group of people are caught in the web of sin and death and the other have stepped into life and light ( Romans 5). Christians, however, like those bound in darkness are still suffering even though they have escaped the curse of sin through justification. Perhaps Paul sensed the impending persecution against Christians. In any case, the Roman Christians greatly suffered and needed a theology to take them through.
Trials are to be expected. Suffering is part of this life. We are to keep our faith and even strengthen our trust in Him during times of trials for God will create a greater good out of it.
The creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God" and
"But also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body."
Shred-it, May 19, an Essential Ministry
Above – From Left to right, top to bottom – 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022
Please note the change of date from Wed, May 10 to Fri, May 19
Shred-it is an essential ministry because it involves a number of people around a common necessary task that is best accomplished by professionals.
Shred-it’s goal is to safely dispose of records no longer needed. It may be old Tax returns, bank statements, investment records, any expired document etc. They lie around gathering dust and may contain personal information that needs to be kept secured even if the records are no longer pertinent or useful. For obvious reasons we don’t want to put them in the regular trash or even recycling bin.
There is also the environmental benefit for having these documents shred rather than lying in some landfill. We don’t need any more paper cluttering our lives!
Shred-it is a fellowship event as well that goes beyond the church. It is a community event We get to see people who come around once a year from the community. We might ask “What’s new ? How has your life changed over the year ? Have you seen so and so from the neighborhood” and then .”Thanks for contributing to St. Peter’s ministries.” Andrea usually had food to encourage the fellowship.
It is also a time to remember those no longer part of our lives whether due to relocation, sickness, death or some other reason. It is another event that is part of the scrapbook of our lives.
It is also a fundraiser for our outreach ministries. We have netted $2,570 over the last 10 years for outreach ministries.
Finally, Shred-it is another opportunity to thank Andrea Pogue who came up with the idea and has organized it since. For all these reasons here it is a great ministry!
So I am encouraging you to check your valuable records, stuff that needs to go that you don’t want to entrust with your regular garbage or recycling services and plan to bring it to St. Peter’s on May 10 to let the professionals dispose of it securely. Publicize it to your friends!
Sermon, Easter 6, May 14, 2023 – Praying for God to fill our imaginations
Have you ever wondered about what is going to happen to church as we know it? What is going to happen to St Peter’s after we are gone?
Like many churches, we now have fewer people here at St Peter’s. Even the huge denomination of Southern Baptists has declined by over three million members since 2006, losing almost half a million members in just this past year.
The signs of the decline of what we can broadly term Christendom are everywhere.
We ask ourselves how many people we can lose and keep going. Maybe we ought to spend our money differently. Do we need to change our worship services? We are puzzled, clueless and troubled when we think about these things. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want St Peter’s, after a long slow decline, to someday be deconsecrated so that it can be sold and turned into yet another Port Royal antique shop!
The disciples had some of the same questions we do. They wondered what would happen to them when Jesus was gone. They were worried about how they’d continue without him.
Bulletin, Easter 6, May 14, 2023
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Easter 6, Year A
I.Theme – We will know Jesus after his resurrection in the Holy Spirit. This Spirit, the Spirit of Truth will abide in us as Jesus abides in us.
"The Advocate" –Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Acts 17:22-31
Psalm – Psalm 66:7-18 Page 674, BCP
Epistle –1 Peter 3:13-22
Gospel – John 14:15-21
This week is somewhat philosophical in the search for meaning – who will support the disciples after Jesus is gone ?
Paul goes to Athens and tries to build a common basis with Greek philosophy and Christ though Christ divinity was hard to muster with the Athenians. There is an appeal to universal wisdom.
So too does the writer of first Peter by presenting Jesus as proclaiming salvation to the lost souls in Hades during the time between Good Friday and Easter morning. The writer tries to ease the suffering of those at his time saying "even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed." This week brings in the Holy Spirit. 1st Peter says "He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit."
John’s Gospel tries to provide of meaning of the Holy Spirit. The readings are shifting from Jesus physical presence to the presence of the Holy Spirit which will help the disciples carry on his work. The Holy Spirit is called the advocate, communicating the truth and to be a consistent presence with both the community and the disciple. This Spirit will abide in us as Jesus abides in us.
The Spirit is sent in Jesus’ name and reminds us of what he taught. The spirit is the advocate – one who will support, help and intercede for them. The Paraclete (counselor, helper) comes to speak to us for Jesus. Jesus emphasizes the intimate unity of Jesus, God, the Spirit, and the believer.