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.

2024 Sun March 10

Sunday’s Thoughts – March 10, 2024

The scriptures this week especially from Numbers and John concentrate on what God is doing. It is definitely the God show. As Lawrence writes, “God is turning the world around, redeeming even the worst of the worst, swords into ploughshares, serpents into salves, crosses into trees of life — making all things new.” We have no way to affect it, change it o alter it.

There is much summary. Luther called John 3:16 “the Gospel in a nutshell. ” Tom’s sermon this week said as much. It covers “the fullness of the word of God to us because it lays out for us God’s purposes of God’s love and God’s plan for eternity.”

Sometimes I wonder why the certain weeks of the lectionary are placed where they are. This one takes the story of Jesus past the naming him as God’s son, the various healings that he did like Peter’s mother-in-law to consider his overall role and purpose. Last week it was transforming the temple into more than a building. This week it is about mission involving God, his son and man which involves life beyond Easter. As Lawrence wrote “to correct what can be corrected and makes all things new.”

It was all about the larger issues of life. One of the last segments of God’s Garden took up the “golden rule”. The children reflected the difficulty of applying this to their own family members but much easier to their outside friends.

Sermon, March 10, 2024- Rev. Tom Hughes – “It’s part of the journey. It begins now.”

Sermon is transcribed from the video.

Good morning  everybody. I want to start out by underlining some  things. if you turn back to the Gospel reading that we just  had – “for God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life.”

That’s really the bottom  line, that really is the fullness of the word of God to us because it lays out for us God’s purposes of God’s love and God’s plan for eternity.

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“Letting Go” – Diocese of Atlanta, Week 4

Letting Go of Condemnation

If God had a tattoo, like some of us do, across God’s strong forearm it would read, “I love the world.” Everything God seems to do flows from that reality. God loves the world so much, God responded by giving God’s self, God’s son, to the world. Jesus coming among us is God’s love-errand, so that we wouldn’t “perish” or be “condemned” but have “eternal life.” That is life beyond biological definition now, and life so long and deep that years fail as a measurement tool.

The purpose of God coming among was/is not to “condemn” but to “save.” If that is so, I’m pretty sure that means as recipients of this gracious purpose and act of God, we have to let go of the right to condemn others. Decades ago I was a U.S. Navy Search and Rescue Diver. We were deployed in helicopters when things went really bad. We were deployed for rescue not to condemn people for being in situations that required rescue.

Forgoing condemnation of others or even ourselves is deeper than performing politeness toward others or better, kinder, self-talk. Letting go of condemnation is about the appreciation of how God uses power. And, mercy is a sublime expression of power. Having received mercy, our pride and insistence on one-upmanship is purged and real relationship is now possible.

Concerts at St. Peter’s

The recent concert series began in 2013 as a way of inviting people into St Peter’s and to the town of Port Royal and to provide additional inreach for our own congregation. Our church with its excellent acoustics are attractive to both performers and audience. We have enjoyed vocal ensembles, guitarists and other string instruments. Past concerts have included:

9. Beausoir, Oct. 14, 2022

8. The Philharmonia, Nov. 2, 2019

7. 13 concert Feb. 11, 2018

6. Magical Strings in Concert April 22, 2017

5. Lyra – Sept 23, 2016

4. Portland Guitar Duo -April 15, 2016

3. Flamenco Concert – Sept 15, 2015

2. Lyra Sept 16, 2014

1. The Thirteen Oct 22, 2013

Earlier Concerts Most of the concerts in this time period were during Nell Clarke’s tenure as organist (1982-2000).

The Creeds Class, Part 3, March 6, 2024

We had 8 participants. Thanks to all who attended.

The second part of the creed deals with Jesus  (Who do you say that I am?)  Look at the creed, The first part of section 2)

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one Being with the Father.  Through him all things were made. 

Lord—The very oldest Christian creed is one sentence.  “Jesus is Lord.”  (I Corinthians 12:3) The Greek term is Kyrios, which means Sir, this term is also used for pagan gods.  When early Christians confessed that Jesus was their Lord, they deliberately rejected the many lords and at some personal risk, also challenged the claims to dominion on the part of secular rulers.  To call Jesus Lord is to testify that our lives are oriented around Jesus and his teaching about the will of God for our lives. 

The name Jesus—comes from the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua, meaning Yahweh is salvation.  Both Matthew and Luke write in their gospels that Mary’s son be given this name. 

Christ, Greek Christos, is a translation of the Hebrew Messiah, the anointed one.  A king, descended from David, who would conquer the enemies of Israel in a decisive battle,  and establish a universal kingdom of peace and justice for all.  We can’t know precisely why the early Christians called Jesus the Messiah, but it is clear that they found his kingship to be other than a geographical realm on earth.  “My Kingdom is not from this world.” 

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Portland Guitar, April 19 concert

They will be performing music written for two guitars at St. Peter’s, Friday, April 19 at 7pm as part of our annual concert series. (Reception 6:15pm in the Parish House.)

The concert is free but donations gratefully accepted for future concerts, held yearly since 2013. This is our 10th concert.

The Portland Guitar Duo are James Manuele and Foti Lycouridis and have been playing together since 1999.

Foti shared some of the details of the concert – “This time we will do a program of 19th century music on copies of period instruments. It will be mostly transcriptions of piano music of the period along with a few duets and solos written for guitar/guitars. We will also talk about the guitar history of that particular time. As performers and researchers we are very interested in music of other media that we can play on guitar, and piano music of that period has a very rich repertoire to draw from.”

Born in California, James Manuele began playing the guitar at age eleven. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree at Mansfield University, where he also studied voice and viola. Later, he earned his Masters of Music in Guitar Performance at Portland State University and has taught in colleges -Clark College in Vancouver and at Concordia in Portland.

Foti Lycouridis was born in Egypt of Greek parents. In 1981, he started his music education at the University of Portland. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Guitar Performance and a Master’s in Music Theory. He also can perform on a 10-string guitar and Baroque lute.

A. Here is a 3 minute summary of the Duo:
B. Live
1. Part 1 of a set for the Portland Community Media.
2. Part 2 of a set for the Portland Community Media.
3. “Miller’s Dance” by Manuel de Falla
4. At Oregon State University. “Spanish Dance no. 2 ‘Oriental'” by E. Granados”
5. “The Caprice” by Isaac Albeniz

Portland Guitar Duo – Web site

10 Ways of Understanding the Cross

This is a blog episode for the SALT project. SALT is an Emmy Award winning, not-for-profit production company dedicated to the craft of visual storytelling

It is hosted by SALT’s Matthew Myer Boulton, who’s spent twenty years teaching the Bible and theology to students at Harvard Divinity School and seminaries in New England and the Midwest,

There is a part 2 of their 7 part series “Undertanding Easter” titled “10 Ways of Understanding the Cross”

Links

1. Audio file
2. Text

Lectionary – Lent 4, Year B, March 10, 2023

I.Theme –   Rebellion and Redemption

 "Saving grace to all humankind"  – stained glass, Washington Cathedral

The lectionary readings are here  or individually:

Old Testament – Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm – Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 Page 746, BCP
Epistle –Ephesians 2:1-10
Gospel – John 3:14-21 

We hear of snakes in the desert (Numbers 21, John 3:14), shipwrecks at sea (Psalm 107), and grace, faith, and good works (Ephesians 2). In the midst of all this is the most well-known verse in the Bible, John 3:16.

This week of Lent, we take a slight break from the journey through the covenants of the Hebrew Scriptures. Instead, we read this strange story in Numbers, in which the people one last time complain about the journey to the promised land. The formula occurs for the final time: the people complain, God gets angry, God sends some sort of plague or force against the people to dwindle their numbers, the people cry out to Moses for help, Moses calls out to God, and God responds to Moses, relenting from whatever misfortune has occurred and offering deliverance. In this case, poisonous snakes are sent, and the remedy is for Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole, and whoever lifts their eyes up to the pole would live if they were bitten by the serpent. We are reminded that God’s desire for us is always life, not death, and restoration, not punishment.

Psalm 107 reminds us that God brings deliverance to all, even those who sin and go astray. God always provides a way when we seek it. The psalmist sings the story of the people of Israel, and sings our story–when we sin, we are not well–it is as if we are sick, and God brings healing and restoration, hope and a way home.

John 3:14-21 begins by echoing the passage from Numbers. It seems a strange reference, but the writer of John is linking how the people’s only way of hope was to look up to the serpent, and now their only way of hope is to look to Jesus, who will be raised up on a cross as well as raised up from the dead.

So many of us have memorized John 3:16 from our youth, but have forgotten John 3:17, in which we are reminded that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to save the world. Jesus goes on to share that there is condemnation for those who reject the light of God, but that God’s desire is not rejection but salvation. God’s desire for us is to live into God’s light and become light in the world, not to live in darkness, where we know only ourselves, focus only on our own desires and own gain, but in the light, we see the needs of our brothers and sisters and see the world God has created, as well as God’s desire for us, which is light, life, and love.

Ephesians 2:1-10 reminds us of the darkness of the world–the sin that we have lived in is the sin of our own desires for our own self-satisfaction. Sin leads us to death, but God has given us the great gift of Jesus, who gives us the promise of new life now and the hope of resurrection. We are reminded that in God’s creation, we were created good, and that God has created us in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life (vs. 10).

The way of the world is sin that leads to death. When we desire only to seek self-satisfaction, our own success and gain, we are dead to the world’s pain, dead to the suffering of others, and dead to relationships. We cannot seek relationship with God when we have no relationships with others. But when we repent–we turn away from sin, turn towards the way of God, care for our neighbors and those in need, live in the way of Christ and not for our own gain–we are alive. We live in the light of God. We remember our true created intention: to do good works, which we were created to do.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (vs. 8). We need to remember the great verses of John 3:16-17–God sent us the greatest gift, God’s only son, Jesus, not to condemn the world, but that we might be saved through Christ. It is a gift. For there is nothing we can do to earn grace, and yet there is nothing we can do to be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

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Old Testament – Lifted Up

Lifted up

The verses before the familiar John 3:16 recall the text from Numbers 21 that is the Lent 4B reading from Hebrew scripture. Moses is instructed to make a metal snake and place it on a pole. That episode is what is called to mind before we are reminded of how much God loved the world (John 3:13-22).

Mount Nebo is an elevated ridge or hill approximately 2680 feet above sea level in what is now western Jordan. There are great views from the summit providing a panorama of the Holy Land and, to the north, a more limited view of the River Jordan Valley. According to scholars, Mount Nebo is where Moses was given a view of the promised land given to the Jews by God. "And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho." (Deuteronomy 34:1).

Today, atop Mount Nebo is a sculpture by Italian artist Giovanni Fantoni. Mount Nebo is identified in the last chapter of Deuteronomy as the vantage point from which Moses is given a view into the Promised Land. Fantoni’s sculpture, called the Brazen Serpent Sculpture (also Serpent Cross Sculpture), illustrates the story from Numbers but overlays it with Christ’s crucifixion. The large metal piece features simplified forms expressed through various textures, lines and combinations of forms.