Wow! 54 people on Labor Day Sunday on a humid, generally overcast day. Lots of visitors – Johnny’s family, Tom and Jan from St. George’s as well as Wendy and Alan.
After two Sundays of Morning Prayer, it was good to get back to the Eucharist. It was good to have so many youth participating in the service
This was also "Mission Presentation Sunday." The Sermon recognized the team in their blue shirts, and there was a Powerpoint presentation as well as items from the trip during coffee hour. The team was available for conversations.
The sermon recognized us all as missionaries. Here we are:
We think of Labor Day as a transition between summer and fall. However, the crepe myrtle were just bloomng in yards surrounding St. Peter’s and there were butterflys in the grave yard. Here is a bee on a crepe myrtle in an adjoining yard:
We celebrated the 48th anniversary of Dave and Dutchy as well as the birthdays of the Pannells and Cheyenne.
Coffee hour was prepared by Elizabeth and Marilyn and had assorted fruits and muffins. Cookie brought a fig cake and the Meredith brought cookies.
Here is a pictures of those watching the Mission Team presentation
Display of items from the Mission team:
The sermon focused on the passage from James. James, the brother of Jesus, work has had a sketchy history in the church. Some people think that it’s more like Jewish wisdom literature than the Christian gospel. Except for two passing references (1:1 and 2:1), there’s no mention of Jesus. Others have said that James’ emphasis on human works contradicts Paul’s insistence on divine grace. James does provide some practical advice
What do we do and say produced a ripple effect that affects others – it never exists in isolation. As the sermon reminds us "What we do matters, even after we’re dead and buried, because the ripple effects of our actions will continue –our actions affect our children and our children’s children–until at last human history is gathered up on that last day into God’s heavenly kingdom, come down to earth."
James mentions several deceptions – and this is one. "Don’t be deceived," writes James (1:16). All the good gifts in your life "come from the Father above." In a striking description, James says that "God gives generously to all without finding fault." In the Christian scheme of things, the myth of the self-made person is just that, a myth. It’s a self-deception.
So what religion should we undertake. Pure and undefiled religion, according to James, is this:
1. caring for orphans and widows in their distress. (The care of "orphans and widows" is a synecdoche for actions taken on behalf of the less fortunate, since in the ancient world widows and orphans were the most vulnerable members of society, singled out for special consideration also in biblical law and prophetic pronouncements.)
2. keeping oneself unstained from the world
The second item is a summary statement from what he wrote earlier in the passage – to be unstained we be "quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls." And a second deception – you deceive yourself if you consider yourself religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on your tongue
We would measure our faith by our personal relationships, both in our habits of speech and our relationships with others in the community. James encourages us not just to think the faith (and be "deceived", the third deception) , but to do it. In the gospel for this week Jesus similarly contrasts external ritual purity with genuine interior piety, vainly honoring God with our lips while our hearts are badly estranged from him. Don’t be deceived; listening and doing are different things.
And not just to do these things on Sunday! James, thus has both a vision and a rationale for participation with others in community – which is a good message as we begin the transition to fall. All of these things are within our reach.
The readings are here as well as the bulletin