Adventures at sea, part 2

Good evening sisters and brothers,
Having prophesied disaster and been ignored, Paul is unable to refrain from saying, "I told you so." Even through this failing, he is able to offer some comfort to his fellow travelers. It's also interesting that his vision is so specific, and that, having seen Paul be right about the big picture, the commander is now convinced by Paul's ability and follows his advice. May we keep up our courage when the going gets rough too.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 27:21-32

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, ‘Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss. ²²I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, ²⁴and he said, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.” ²⁵So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. ²⁶But we will have to run aground on some island.’

27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. ²⁸So they took soundings and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on they took soundings again and found fifteen fathoms. ²⁹Fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. ³⁰But when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and had lowered the boat into the sea, on the pretext of putting out anchors from the bow, ³¹Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, ‘Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.’ ³²Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and set it adrift.

on the road again

Good morning friends,
Yesterday we read about how some of the Jewish leaders plotted to kill Paul, but the plot was overheard by Paul's nephew. He told the Tribune what was happening and our story continues from there today. Paul is sent under heavy guard to Caesarea, which was the seat of Roman authority for the region. He went with a letter from the Tribune to the Roman Governor explaining the situation. We often think of the Roman Empire as persecutors of the church, and certainly that was the case later. At this point, we'll see that the Empire was also an important source of protection for Paul and others, and Paul will use that protection to continue his mission of preaching the gospel. May we also always use the power and opportunities we have to live and share our faith.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 23:23-35

23 Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, ‘Get ready to leave by nine o’clock tonight for Caesarea with two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen. ²⁴Also provide mounts for Paul to ride, and take him safely to Felix the governor.’ ²⁵He wrote a letter to this effect:

26 ‘Claudius Lysias to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. ²⁷This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, but when I had learned that he was a Roman citizen, I came with the guard and rescued him. ²⁸Since I wanted to know the charge for which they accused him, I had him brought to their council. ²⁹I found that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but was charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. ³⁰When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.’

31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him during the night to Antipatris. ³²The next day they let the horsemen go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. ³³When they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. ³⁴On reading the letter, he asked what province he belonged to, and when he learned that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵he said, ‘I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.’ Then he ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod’s headquarters.

a great prayer

Good morning brothers and sisters,
First two quick announcements/reminders: today from 2-4 is Laurelton's Big Lunch chicken barbecue. Not only will we serve free chicken and fixins from 2-4 (or so, we may go through the food earlier if lots of people show up), we'll also be hosting The Mighty High and Dry for some awesome live music. It would be great to see you. If you can come a little early (anytime from 11 on) to help with food prep and set up, that would be great. If you have a large cooler you can bring, that would also be great.

The second announcement is about Sunday. We'll be starting what I hope will be an exciting series on the early church and the Book of Acts so Sunday is an introduction to the book. We'll also be electing officers for the church, so if you're an active member, your vote is very important tomorrow.

Today's reading is the beginning of what Bible scholars call Jesus' "Great High Priestly prayer." Jesus talks to God on behalf of the disciples, including us. He asks God to bless and protect these folks as they prepare to continue Jesus' work. The prayer is a little challenging to read, but it's beautiful and inspiring. It's pretty cool to have this extended prayer of Jesus to his Father.

I hope the prayer and the weekend are a blessing to you,
Sam

John 17:1-10

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, ²since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

⁶”I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.

Sam Picard

Pastor, Laurelton United Presbyterian Church

laureltonchurch.org

Daily Bible readings in interactive format: laureltonpastor.blogspot.com

Sermons: laureltonsermons.blogspot.com

power of fear

Good evening friends,
Today many of our Orthodox brothers and sisters are celebrating Christmas, so it's a great night to give thanks for their rich tradition of faith and ritual. Our reading for today continues yesterday's reading about the visit of the wise men to the baby Jesus. We see King Herod's desperation to hold on to power. The power of fear is a terrible thing. May we trust God and leave fear aside.

God bless,
Sam


Matthew 2:13-23
¹³Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. ¹⁷Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: ¹⁸“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

¹⁹When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ²⁰“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” ²¹Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. ²³There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

let the children come

Good night/good morning brothers and sisters,
This passage may be familiar to many of us, but it's a great fit for this week as we consider children and the church's responsibility to support kids, healthy families and communities. The disciples try to protect Jesus' time or dignity or something in the face of parents bringing their children to Jesus for a blessing. I'm not sure what their concern was. In some way, they seemed to feel that children were not worthy of their great teacher's attention. As we see, Jesus felt differently. In fact, a child's curiosity, engagement and openness provides a model for how all of us should approach the kingdom of God. How can we do better? I hope many of you will join UPT for prayer in front of the school board offices (131 W. Broad) on Sunday morning at 8. I'd also like to invite all children/youth and the young at heart to join in a youth led worship service at Brockport Presbyterian Church. We continue Jesus' legacy by honoring, protecting, and ministering with children today.
God bless,
Sam

Mark 10:13-16

¹³People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

protecting the vulnerable

Good morning sisters and brothers,
The laws we read today from Deuteronomy further emphasize that God loves justice and watches out for the powerless in society. Not only does the law protect those forced to borrow money, it also commands employers to pay their employees quickly and fairly. For those of us who have never lived on a farm, the paragraph about harvesting crops and leaving left-over olives or grain behind might seem strange. We're used to efficiency and thoroughness being extremely important values. In this case, the produce left behind on the first pass through the field is left for those in need. We see this system in action in the book of Ruth, where two widows depend on gleaning (gathering the left-behind) to survive. Our calling is still to look out for those who are vulnerable in society.

God bless,
Sam

¹⁴You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. ¹⁵You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt. 

¹⁶Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their parents; only for their own crimes may persons be put to death. ¹⁷You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge. ¹⁸Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

¹⁹When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings. ²⁰When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. ²¹When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. ²²Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this.

final prayer

Good morning brothers and sisters,

We continue Jesus’ prayer today. There’s a lot going on in this section of Jesus’ prayer: even with a couple of times through it I still haven’t taken it all in. Some of the major ideas to look out for are the fact that following Jesus, and speaking his word separates us from the rest of the world and often exposes us to hostility. Knowing that, Jesus prays that God will protect the disciples since Jesus won’t be with them anymore. “Protection” in this case doesn’t mean making life easy or safe, but keeping the disciples from falling away from faith, so that no matter what the world does to them, they will know that ultimately they are safe in God’s hands.

The other major idea I’d like you to notice is the theme of unity. Jesus prays that his followers would be one with each other and with God. As divided as the church sometimes seems, there are signs of unity. We are one in Christ, and one day the church’s full unity will be visible to everyone.

God bless,

Sam

John 17:11-26

¹¹And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. ¹²While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. ¹⁴I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

¹⁷Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth. ²⁰”I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

²⁴Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

priestly prayer

Good afternoon friends,
First, the nominating committee is meeting tonight; please keep us in prayer as we discern who God is calling to serve as elders in the coming years. Today's reading and the readings for the next couple of days are challenging. The fancy name scholars give this section of John is "the Great High Priestly prayer" because Jesus is our high priest who opens the way to God. This is a long prayer Jesus prays during the last supper with his disciples. It can be hard to follow because the language is repetitive. At the same time it is powerful because Jesus is expressing his hopes and concerns about his church to God. Take your time reading and feel free to read it more than once. For some people it may be easier to get out your Bible and read the whole prayer at once (John 17) rather than study it in pieces as we'll do in our reading together. Whatever works best for you, I hope Jesus' prayer will bless you in your discipleship.

God bless,
Sam

John 17:1-10

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, ²since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

⁶”I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.

great commission

Good morning brothers and sisters,
This morning I'm running in the Flower City Half-Marathon and then heading off to a conference/retreat for newer ministers. It's a great conference and I'm grateful to be able to Go. I'll still have access to email, and if you need me, feel free to call. I'll be back in town Thursday evening.

Today's passage is known as the "Great Commission" because in it, Jesus gives the disciples (and thus, the church) their mission for the rest of history. This is still a good way to think about what the church's job is. Not only do we claim Jesus' calling to make disciples and teach to the ends of the earth, we also claim his promise to be with us forever. What a great promise to put our faith in.

God bless,
Sam

Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

serving and living eternally

Good morning sisters and brothers,
I'll be spending today working on a house with Habitat for Humanities as part of the UPT Boots on the Street week. This is a chance to get out into the city and show that Presbyterians are serious about caring for our neighbors. There are still opportunities available to work with Habitat Friday and probably tomorrow and Saturday as well (contact John Smalt directly: jhsmalt@rochester.rr.com, or call him at: 924-8624). There are other opportunities this week as well including some home repairs for a disabled neighbor near Calvary St. Andrews this afternoon from 4:30-7 pm for those who work during the day. You can check out the possibilities here. I hope you'll join me in serving our neighbors in a visible way this week.

Our reading this morning begins Jesus' prayer to his Father. He prayer that the disciples might be protected in unity and faith. He says that eternal life is knowing God and knowing Jesus. When we know God intimately we are already living the life of God's righteous kingdom. We can take part in that powerful life now through faith, love and service. Today is as good a time as any to put fear aside and start living eternally.

God bless,
Sam

John 17:1-10

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.


6”I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.

saved by grace

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Like many of our readings from Psalm 119, today's talks about clinging to God when we're in trouble. One line in particular caught my attention because of the movie we are watching with the confirmation class. The movie we're watching is about the life of Martin Luther. Early in his life as a monk his mentor in the monastery gave him a cross and told him when he felt overwhelmed with guilt or fear to think about Jesus and to pray, "I am yours; save me." The simplicity of the prayer struck me. We have a basic need to know we are in good hands; we need a place to take refuge when we feel under attack. For the psalmist, for Martin Luther and for all people of faith that refuge is God. The psalmist feels that concretely when considering God's teachings in scripture; Luther felt it when he considered Christ on the cross. How do you especially feel God's protection?
We are yours, Lord; save us,
Sam

Psalm 119:89-96

89The Lord exists forever; your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
90Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91By your appointment they stand today, for all things are your servants.
92If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my misery.
93I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.
94I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts.
95The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your decrees.
96I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.