Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth (Psalm 124:8).

I believe with all my heart that we need Jesus Christ right now. We live in a Post Truth Society. What we mean by that is that his truth and her truth will differ depending on what media we listen to. America no longer has complete access to the truth. Everything seems to get a spin on it to draw us to a particular viewpoint. The confirmation hearings for Brett Cavanaugh to the Supreme Court have illustrated this fact with a classic, he said, she said. If you are tired (or angry) from all this, I have a few words from Jesus Christ to comfort you.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Jesus Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. The Gospel gives us an example of how we are to live our lives. Jesus tells us to be at peace with one another. He says that we need to be salted with fire. That fire that we are salted with is the love of God. The creator, who made heaven and earth loves you deeply and wants to be in relationship. That fire is what we demonstrate when we love our neighbors as ourselves. In the next month, we are gearing up for Harvest Fair. The proceeds will bring the love of God to many in our community. I urge you to focus on this event and sign up to help out or bring lots of friends and family with you on October 27th.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:26).

The many conflicts we face can make us anxious, upset and even angry. The love of God comforts our pain and suffering and focuses us on helping those in need in our community. This weekend lots of folks will come to our Thrift Shop and find fabulous deals or use the vouchers that we sent out. By cleaning out your closets, garages, and basements, you help those in need in our community. Our Thrift Shop is expanding because we have volunteers dedicated to this ministry. Helping others brings us the peace that passes all understanding.

I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more (A Thousand Years, Christina Perri).

God’s love for us will carry us through times of pain and anxiety. This song speaks to my heart about the deep love I have for my wife, my children, and my mom. God has been waiting for each one of us to be in relationship. We need to focus on loving God and loving our neighbor and not be distracted by the all the nonsense. At St. John’s, we have a wonderful opportunity to love our neighbor through our Thrift Shop and our Harvest Fair. I urge each of you to support these two important ministries this month.

In Christ’s love

Fr. Duncan

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

We will pray this opening prayer as we begin our time of worship this Sunday.  There are so many day-to-day worries that can cause us anxiety – work, school, relationships, finances, health – and the list goes on.  No doubt, it is easy to let anxiety creep into our lives.  When it does, it is easy to be consumed by it.  Anxiety is linked to depression and leads to fear.

Did you know that the Bible speaks to us directly about anxiety?  In his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV) So, we can see that feelings of anxiousness are not unique to our time and place. 

Paul’s advice to the Philippians was to present it all to God – give it to God and leave it there.  How true are these words of wisdom for us today!  How often do we pray about our needs, burdens, and worries but fail to leave them there?  Too often we pray about those burdens that are causing us to be anxious, but we don’t leave them with the Lord.  Too often we say amen and take the burdens back.  Paul says present your requests – and that means present them and leave them trusting that God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds. 

Fear is closely related to anxiety – and Paul speaks about that too.  He says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV)  We really have no reason to live in fear or anxiety because God is for us.  He knew us in the womb before we were born (Isaiah 44:24) and He knows our needs before we even ask (Matthew 6:8).  I find comfort, peace, and hope in that. 

Earthly circumstances and situations change and pass but Jesus is our solid rock and foundation that endures.  Hold fast to him and trust him, know that he cares for you.  Hold fast to the words of scripture.  Commit them to memory so that when trying times come, you can draw upon those words and promises. 

Would you join me in memorizing Philippians 4:6-7 and 2 Timothy 1:7 this week?  Perhaps this can be for you a starting point for committing even more scripture to memory - it will become your well to draw from.

Blessing on the journey!

Deacon Anthony

This summer Susan and I spent a month at what is affectionately designated the “family compound” on Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh. For several evenings over the extended and celebratory Fourth of July period nearly the entire family gathered at the long dinner table on the porch that looked out on the tranquil lake—in laws, children, grandchildren, cousins, second cousins. Conversation was always lively, diverse, often punctuated by genuine laughter, even prolonged laughter. Only one subject was forbidden—POLITICS. Being the occasional breaker of decorum, I impetuously decided to seize the verbotten topic by the throat and asked brazenly, “Did anyone read the 'No Trump' column in this morning's Press Republican?” Silence. And then I added, after a suitable pause, “It appeared in the Bridge Column and dealt with opening leads against No Trump contracts.” Amid initial groans as my brother-in-law rose to leave the table, accompanied by “Honey, you promised,” a drawn out “Dad,” and “Uncle John” and “Grandpa,” there was a long sigh of relief but not much laughter.

At this point in our nation's history, no one seems able to divide a room of intelligent people into often angry factions or a closely-knit family into tempestuous antagonisms than our current president—unless that person is Jesus Christ. Conversation is amiable, genuinely inquisitive until someone asks innocently, “Well, Dad, what's it like to be back at Saint John's?” And as I commence an updated and integrated account of how one responds to “Who do you say that I am?” as it manifests itself in my life and in the lives of parishioners with whom I have become close once again, someone begins to clear the table, forgetting that the task is done by the grandchildren, while another has to get two babies ready for bed, though they are already sound asleep, or the pie has to be cut, though no one has room for dessert after a sumptuous dinner.

The mention of Jesus Christ, the confession that he is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, no matter the circumstances, manages to bring division into the equation; okay, if you must, mention the Messiah, after all we asked the question, but do so without passion, without conviction, without any hint of conversion. Never introduce the extreme variable of how Jesus has shaped your life, continues to shape your life. In one of his biblical commentaries, Kent Hughes illustrates this by citing a scene from a G. K. Chesterton novel in which a conflict occurs between a Christian and an atheist and they are brought before a magistrate. The Christian claims that his antagonist is an “enemy of God,” to which the judge responds that “God has nothing to do with us. Religion is too personal a matter to be mentioned in a courtroom...of course there is a formal oath to be taken, but to talk in a public place about one's most sacred sentiments—well I call it bad taste.--(Slight applause).” Finally, the Christian and the atheist are committed to an insane asylum, but Chesterton makes it apparent that their captors are the ones who are insane, not they.

As we have begun an examination of Revelation in the Tuesday morning Bible Study group, Fr. Duncan has emphasized that the text is not an historical artifact, that it is as pertinent today as it was 2000 years ago, that the letters to the seven churches are meant for us, and he has asked us to consider where we fit in, how the letters apply to the contemporary Church as praise and warning as well as to the early Church. One of the things that stands out in the study group and in the question asked by Jesus in this morning's gospel selection from Mark is that one's confession of Jesus as Messiah, as the Christ, as Lord will often be an occasion for division. Stand firm in the marketplace of antiquity, modernity, post-modernity, or any other current fashion and it will become apparent that how you and I answer “Who do you say that I am?” will take us to whatever cross lies before us. Jesus will disclose the nature of that journey as we decide to follow him, but if we will drink of his living water, he will fill us and sustain us and we will rest in him.   

With all blessings, Fr. John+          

“Open my heart, O Lord that I may lay aside the preoccupations of my life
and know that you are already here. Teach me your desire for steadfast closeness and swallow me in your love.
Open my ears that I may know an intimacy that is already there.
You have dwelled in me since my baptism.
Let me deepen my desire for intimacy with you (Martin Smith).”

Martin Smith gave me this prayer at a retreat I was leading. I wrote it in my journal and share it with you because I think that the preoccupations of our lives are becoming overwhelming and the peace of Christ that passes all understanding is a treasure that we all need and desire. I pray that you will open your heart and your ears to the love of Christ and that St. John’s will continue to be a place of radical welcoming, hospitality, and God’s grace. May we crave the One whose steadfast love is eternal. May we share that love with our families, our congregation, and our neighbors. May we love one another as Christ loves us.

As you volunteer your time, talent, and treasure at St. John’s, it is my responsibility to keep you centered in Christ. One of my most important roles as pastor of this congregation is to lead each of you to a deeper spirituality. We are all very busy people and most of us can relate to “running” from one place to another in our life. It gets so crazy at times that I think people forget where they are running to.

Please take a few minutes from your busy life and enter into the peace that passes all understanding. God loves you deeply and wants you to live a meaningful life. When we draw close to the love of God, we begin to see the path of self-giving love that Jesus Christ has taught us through his life, death, and resurrection. At St. John’s, you will see many examples of those who give themselves to others.

There are saints among us that have such a deep love for Jesus Christ that the love of God exudes from their ministry. They often care for the sick, visit the lonely, feed the hungry, and provide Living Water to those who thirst. They provide this Living Water by living a Christian life that is rooted in their faith and love of Jesus Christ. They may work on the breakfast team, visit shut ins, or serve on our Hilda’s Guild. You will not often see them taking credit for anything they do and may never even notice the wonderful ministry that they do, until you are in need yourself and they care for you and love you like family.

I ask you to join us this Sunday to celebrate the saints that serve at St. John’s. We will remember John Simon and William (Uncle Bill) Slade through a memorial dedication. Please join Mary Simon and her family at the 10:00 for a very special service. Then join us after service for a hot breakfast and coffee. We look forward to seeing you back again this Sunday.  

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

My beloved speaks and says to me:

'Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;

for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come,

and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance.

Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away (Song of Solomon 2:8-13).

Some of us will remember hearing this passage at a wedding. Many couples choose this lesson because the words of the poet express a love that is deeply passionate and long lasting. The attraction we feel to one another at certain times in our lives is palpable. The promise of the passage is that the winter of our lives is over. We yearn for a love that will last our whole life, but the reality is that not all marriages work out and many end in divorce. Our loves oned pass away and it leaves us feeling a little empty. Those of us who have experienced a time of separation or loneliness know the feeling of a long winter. Those who have gone through a difficult time know the feeling of a rain that just wouldn't seem to end. Christ offers us a lasting hope through the love of God. We are offered a relationship with Christ that will ease our pain, fulfill our yearning, and quench our thirst.

God loves us deeply and wants us to come away. God's love is always flowing towards us and drawing us into deeper relationship. The Hebrew word for God's love is hesed. Jews believe that God's loving kindness to them is steadfast. The stories of the Torah witness to God's love for the people of Israel. To Christians, God's love is expressed fully in the Gospel. God gave Jesus Christ to live among us, provide healing, and to teach us how to love God and our neighbor. He suffered, died, and was buried for our sins and shows us the way to eternal life.

In our bible study on Tuesday mornings at 11:00 am, we are discussing the letters to the seven churches in Rev. 2:1-3:22. In the letter to Ephesus, the people are told that if they lack in love for their neighbors, it indicates their lack of love of the Lord. We are asked to love God and all our neighbors, especially those who are most vulnerable. I see our nation divided over many issues and a growing trend of not respecting the dignity of our brothers and sisters. Please pray for racial reconciliation in our community and support our efforts to love all our neighbors as ourselves.

The Sunday after Labor Day is usually the time that everyone comes back to church after school starts and we are back from vacation. We have a special memorial dedication planned for Mary Simon and her family. Please join us this Sunday to give praise and thanksgiving to God. God loves you deeply and waits for your love each and every day. God's love is steadfast and eternal. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

In Christ's love,

Fr. Duncan

How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee (Psalm 84 2-4 KJV).

Thousands of years ago, Pilgrims who were coming into Jerusalem after a long journey might sing or recite this psalm as they entered the city. To the Pilgrim, giving of oneself on the journey for the purpose of experiencing communion with God produced a feeling of shalom. Psalm 84 is a profession of a deep faith and longing for God. It is a psalm about the deep experience of well-being, peace, and joy that one feels in the presence of the living God.

We can experience this feeling of peace by a steadfast love of God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Marvin Tate said, "Visible actions become the means of grace and revelation of the real presence of God." On Sunday, we will pray, "My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God." We are drawn to St. John's by the hesed (steadfast love) of God. We respond to that love by coming to church, hearing the Word of God, giving praise to God, and experiencing God's presence at the Holy Eucharist. We are then sent out in the world to share that love with our neighbors and to bring others back to an experience of the living God. When we follow the will and purpose of God, our lives are filled with the peace that passeth all understanding. We come to church humble in heart, full of praise, and yearning for another taste of the living God.

 Shalom,

 Fr. Duncan

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and he will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 21:1-4)

This week in our bible study on Revelation, we spoke about the coming together of heaven and earth. The mixing of heaven and earth is difficult to understand. I find the Eucharist both deeply meaningful and still somewhat mysterious. New life comes when we believe that Jesus is the bread of heaven. Each and every Sunday morning we can feel the real presence of God in the bread and wine that we receive at the altar at St. John’s. The Anglican Theologian Hooker said, “Through Christ’s presence in the sacrament, God’s causative presence in the world was transformed into his saving presence in the Church.” “The benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins, the strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and the foretaste of the heavenly banquet which is our nourishment in eternal life.” (BCP 859) This foretaste of the heavenly kingdom is what makes St. John’s such a special place. We are one in the love of Jesus Christ and we have the power to transform the world by God’s love. Isaiah tells us that the wolf shall lie with the lamb, there will be no sorrow or pain, death will be swallowed up forever, the desert will rejoice, and the swords will be beaten into ploughshares. Does that sound like a place that you would like to spend eternity in? If it does, I ask you to recommit yourself this fall to St. John’s and try your best to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. God calls us to bring others to receive this foretaste of heaven.

In Christ’s love,

Rev. Duncan Burns

After Sue and I had returned from our summer vacation some years ago, a young boy in my Confirmation class asked whether I went to church while on vacation. I'm not sure what the look on my face was like: bemused, perhaps puzzled, maybe offended. Yet the answer was easy—of course I went to church. Certainly the temptation to sleep in presented itself, but, for me, if I had succumbed to the lure, the rest of my day would have been shallow and empty. Read the Sunday paper on line, enjoy the serenity of the lake, have a hearty and leisurely breakfast—I would have been nourished in a variety of ways (intellectual, contemplative, physical), but I would have been left bereft of the one thing that gives eternal sustenance. Not only did I go to church, but I also maintained a daily discipline of prayer and scripture reading while, impossible as it may seem to some, enjoying a relaxing four weeks with family, friends, and books, and more books.

Now such practices don't make me any holier than anyone else; rather, they illustrate an always growing realization that I am part of an unfolding drama, that I have a part to play in that story as it discloses itself, that I have an obligation to play that part as best I can. As many have taught me and as I have tried to pass on to others, to go to church while on vacation, to partake in the Eucharist, is a reminder that each Sunday the entire drama is re-enacted up until the present moment and offers me sustenance for a heart and a life that are hungry for nourishment.

As my hunger and thirst have been satisfied, as I have sat on the porch and drunk in the delights of a tranquil and beautiful Lake Champlain, as I have immersed myself in family and friends, in food and drink, in books and Wimbledon and the Yankees and more books, I offer you for reflection the following tidbits that have provoked daily thought and prayer this past month. Make of them what you will, but keep in mind the wisdom of Saint Paul in his letter to the young church in Rome: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

“I am glad that my son was here, but I want him to know that there is more to life than winning trophies”—Novak Djokovic in an interview after winning Wimbledon

“In a way it is even humiliating to watch coal miners working. It raises in you a momentary doubt about your own status as an intellectual and a superior person generally. For it is brought home to you, at least while you are watching, that it is only because miners sweat their guts out that superior persons can remain superior...all of us really owe the comparative decency of our lives to poor drudges underground, blackened to the eyes with their throats full of coal dust, driving their shovels forward with arms and belly muscles of steel”—George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier

“I'm a Roman Catholic, albeit a bad one. I believe in God and the whole business, but I love women best, music and science next, whiskey next, God fourth, and my fellowman hardly at all”—Walker Percy, Love in the Ruins

“We need to recognize that [the practices of the mall] are not neutral or benign, but rather intentionally loaded to form us into certain kinds of people—to unwittingly make us disciples of rival kings and patriotic citizens of rival kingdoms”—James K. A. Smith, Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation

“Did Werner really think that Stalin's promises would be delivered and his stories were true because he had won the war?....Joseph had seen enough to know that really it hadn't had much to do with the stories that either Hitler or Stalin told to keep people obedient. Both of them shot people to keep other people obedient. And the war wasn't about history and grand ideas; it was about how many soldiers and how many tanks and bombs and trains and guns and aeroplanes—” —Lucy Beckett, The Leaves are Falling

With all blessings, Fr. John+

“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom God has sent.” (John 6:27-29)

I have no doubt why churches that promote the prosperity gospel are usually full. Wouldn’t it be nice if God came to humanity so that we could have lots of $ bread $. The people in this week’s Gospel from John witness the feeding of five thousand, the healing of the sick, and some even get to see Jesus walking on water. The people want to know what they must do to perform the works of God. Jesus says that we must believe in him. It is hard for some to understand that Jesus does not give away $ bread $ or (rye) bread, but that he is the bread of life. Jesus is the water that quenches our thirst. Jesus is the path that brings us to the full stature of God. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Our reaction to Jesus’ words should be to make Jesus the focal point of our lives. Most of us want to have meaning and purpose in our lives, but do we realize that all we have to do is love God and love our neighbor. When the people in the Gospel ask for this bread, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

In Christ’s love,

Rev. Duncan Burns

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

Last Sunday, Deacon Anthony preached about the love that Jesus has for all of us. We all sang the children’s song, “Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.” It was wonderful that when Deacon Anthony entered the parish hall after the service, he received a warm ovation. After church Deacon Anthony joined me for a Christening party at Dawn and Jennifer’s house for Harry. Everyone at the reception had wonderful things to say about our Sunday Baptismal service and the hospitality they felt. When we realize that we are loved deeply by God, we are able to love one another deeply. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

In today’s reading from Ephesians, Paul prays to the good people of Ephesus that their inner being will be strengthened by the love of God in Jesus Christ. We can all pray for the good folks at St. John’s that we will comprehend this love, that Christ will dwell in our hearts, and that we may reflect that love to all the people we meet in our lives.

In Christ’s love,

Rev. Duncan Burns