Frontpage, April 26, 2020

April 26, 2020 – Easter 3

Check out our Earth Day and bread powerpoints for Easter 3 and the

News from Sunday, April 26

The Week Ahead…

April 29 – 10:00am – Ecumenical Bible Study through Zoom

May 3 – 10:00am – Join here at 9:30am for gathering – service starts at 10am

May 3 – 11:15am – National Cathedral church service online

 We are in Eastertide until Pentecost, May 31

Eastertide is the period of fifty days, seven Sundays from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. Easter is not a day but a season and it is one to examine the Resurrection, more broadly and deeply.  There are a number of questions.

Is Resurrection just about death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-56) ? Is Resurrection of Jesus is a precursor to your own resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) ? Does it say something about our own ability to expect to see Jesus (Luke 24) ? How does the new Christian community begin to function making Christ the central part of daily life ? (Acts 2)  

Jesus physically appears in Easter 2 and 3 making the Resurection tangible. The shepherding part of his ministry is explored in Easter 4. From Easter 5-7, Jesus must prepare the disciples for his departure. He is going to leave them. Jesus prepares his disciples for continuing his ministry without his physical presence.  Themes explored include the holy spirit, the Prayer of Jesus and God’s glory through His Son and the church.

Christ ascends on the 40th day with his disciples watching (Thursday, May 5th). The weekdays after the Ascension until the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive are a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.This fifty days comes to an end on Pentecost Sunday, which commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the beginnings of the Church and its mission to all  peoples and nation.  Note that the Old Testament lessons are replaced by selections from the Book of Acts, recognizing the important of the growth of the church.  

Jesus’ Appearances

Sunday April 26 had one of the most famous post-resurrection appearances of Jesus with the “Road to Emmaus” story. One Easter 2 we had the story of Thomas. Here is a timeline but there is complete account here.

Support an alternative food ministry

Support a feeding ministry during the time that we aren’t doing our own food distribution. Check out The Underground Kitchen

Consider writing a card to someone who will receive a meal from Underground Kitchen, a collaborative group in the Richmond area who prepares meals for many different groups of people including hospital workers, those in facilities where out of towners stay near needed medical facilities, families who are unable to leave their
homes, a Latina community, isolated community members. The notes can be whatever is on your heart—a few lines, favorite quote, Scripture passage, prayer, art work. They can be generic or specific to the groups mentioned above. These notes are deeply appreciated by those who receive them.

You can mail your cards to The Rev. Deacon Barbara Ambrose, 501 Roseneath Rd, Richmond, VA 23221, and she will get them to the Underground Kitchen for delivery with the meal packages.

#GivingTuesdayNow, Tuesday May 5

This day is sponsored by the same group that schedules the Tuesday after Thanksgiving to support non-profits . Our Village Harvest has benefited from it. GivingTuesdayNow is different “This is a Day of Global Action for Giving and Unity in Response to COVID-19”. We are channeling our donations not to support our ministries but those who are leading the fight against the Pandemic.

Meet the heroes courtesy of Time Magazine

A global threat like COVID-19 affects more than just the infected. A pandemic like this touches every person on the planet, and it presents an opportunity to come together as a global community.

Our donations will go the Community Relief Fund created by the Community Foundation of the Rappahannock Region which supports Caroline County and the counties surrounding Fredericksburg.

The Community Relief Fund was established in October 2019 to prepare for any possible future disaster threat to our community. “Our goal is to work collaboratively with the nonprofit, government, philanthropic and private sectors to accelerate recovery for a thriving, resilient and even stronger Rappahannock River region. We will support organizations that are addressing immediate needs, longer-term effects of the pandemic, and community recovery.”

Please send your checks to St. Peter’s with the memo line “GivingTuesdayNow”

“When Giving Is All We Have” Alberto Ríos – 1952-

We give because someone gave to us.
We give because nobody gave to us.
We give because giving has changed us.
We give because giving could have changed us.
We have been better for it,
We have been wounded by it—
Giving has many faces: It is loud and quiet,
Big, though small, diamond in wood-nails.
Its story is old, the plot worn and the pages too,
But we read this book, anyway, over and again:
Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand,
Mine to yours, yours to mine.
You gave me blue and I gave you yellow.
Together we are simple green. You gave me
What you did not have, and I gave you
What I had to give—together, we made
Something greater from the difference.

 Lectionary, May 3, Easter 4

I.Theme –   Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the many ways this is fulfilled.

 "Jesus the Good Shepherd" Jacques Le Breton and Jean Gaudin (1933)

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Acts 2:42-47
Psalm – Psalm 23, Page 612
Epistle –1 Peter 2:19-25
Gospel – John 10:1-10 

The first weeks from Easter were different lenses on the resurrection and appearances of the Risen Lord, first with Thomas and then the Road to Emmaus. After this Sunday attention will turn to the teachings of the departing Jesus and the role of the Holy Spirit in preparation for Pentecost. But this week its the shepherd/ sheep image as a way of talking about the enduring and deep connection of Jesus and those who follow him

Psalm 23 provides the role of God as good shepherd in terms of  defense (protection amd care and the idea we having nothing to fear) but also in direction ( guidance, reviving our lives).  

The final verse of the Epistle makes the connection to Good Shepherd Sunday. "For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls." Suffering isolates. This passage and Christian faith connect and keep us connected when suffering.

John’s reading speaks of Jesus as both the Shepherd and the gate. The connection is both personal and loving.   "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."   We have to listen to his voice and watch out for strangers. There are those who are false shepherds, who are more interested in themselves than in caring for the sheep.

The final verse, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" is a good corrective to what can be an overemphasis on selflessness, self-sacrifice, deprivation and denial as the sign of true faith.  Jesus speaks of abundance not in terms of material goods but a fullness in life.

Read more from the lectionary 

 Maximilian Kolbe, a shepherd caring for his people

From a sermon by Rev. William D. Oldland, "Jesus is the Shepherd and the Gate"  about Maximiliam Kolbe 

"His life exemplifies the role of a caring shepherd for his flock. His life is also a gate or perhaps a gateway through which we can see the effect of the incredible love of God.  

"The priest’s name was Maximilian Kolbe. He was born in 1894 in Poland. His parents were poor. His father was a weaver. At an early age he had a vision. He had prayed to Mary and asked what was to become of him. In response Mary came to him in this vision holding two crowns. One was red and the other was white. The white one symbolized perseverance in purity and the red one meant martyrdom. She asked which one he would choose. He said he would accept them both. This decision shaped his future actions and would one day come true.  

" In 1910, he entered the Franciscan order and he was ordained a priest in 1919 in Rome. On his return to Poland he was a teacher of church history and he built a friary outside of Warsaw. The friary grew until it housed 762 Franciscans. He went to Japan and India and started friaries there as well. In 1936, he returned to supervise the friary in Warsaw. When Germany invaded he sent the friars home to protect them. He was a good shepherd to his flock. He was imprisoned for a while. But when he was released he went back to the friary where he took in three thousand refugees. 2,000 of these refugees were Jewish. Those friars who worked with him shared all they had with the refugees. They shared their clothing, the little food that they had, and anything else that was useful.

As you can imagine the Germans became suspicious and in 1941 they closed the friary arresting Maximilian and four other brothers. They were all transported to Auschwitz. At the camp Maximilian endured many hardships. No one had enough food. Clothing was inadequate for the cold. Shelter was not much help from the cold either. Maximilian was known to move among the prisoners with gentleness. At night he did not rest. He moved from bunk to bunk identifying himself as a priest and asking if they needed anything from him. He listened to confessions and heard their pleas for consolation. He continued to be a shepherd to his flock. 

Read the rest of the story about Father Kolbe