On the Occasion of a Visit From Jurij Fedynskyj
May 25, 2025
Traceymay Kalvaitis
John 14:25-27
“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”
***
Before I invite Jurij to share with us, I’d like to read to you one of the scriptures that our lectionary offered us this week so that we keep the continuum going through this season of Eastertide.
The scripture is from the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verses 25-27, “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”
What I will ask of you, Friends, is that in this time we have together, we hold an awareness of a few things at once. The first thing to hold is the promise that Jesus makes in the scriptures, the promise of the Holy Spirit. Even in the midst of war and senseless violence, there is a force very much at work in the world that leads us to long for wholeness, for unity, and peace.
The second thing to hold is that we have an honored guest with us today, Jurij, who has devoted his life and the life of his family to work for wholeness, unity and peace for their beloved Ukraine.
The third thing to hold is that we are on the cusp of Memorial Day, when we recognize the countless numbers of soldiers, medics, nurses and chaplains who died in war, as this nation sought to establish a democracy and defend it here and abroad, that we may know wholeness, unity and peace.
Do not miss the thread that ties all of these things together, Friends, it is the thread of the Holy Spirit that, as Jesus said, teaches us and reminds us of all Jesus said, namely, to love one another as he loved us in order to bring about the kindom of God, based not on power over, but on power with, in humble service, acknowledging that of God within all people, with no exceptions.
The Holy Spirit guides us always to wholeness, unity, and peace. This is our prayer for every nation and for all of humanity this morning. Please join me in welcoming Jurij Fedynskyj.
Pastoral Prayer
God of our hearts and minds, we pray your blessings over all of humanity this morning. We have so much to learn about living with one another. Speak to us and guide us in Your divine ways, that we may in some way become agents of positive change. Remind us, Lord, to start from within, to nurture ourselves without guilt and to make choices that foster health and strength. In the places we are hurting, shine your light of healing. In the places we hold fear, shine your light of assurance. Help us to make room for the Holy Spirit to work in and through us so that in our giving, we give love; in our sharing, we share peace; in our talking, we offer encouragement, and in aspects of our being, we testify to a God who is the source of all goodness. This we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
Benediction
I leave you with the following words of Oleksandr Konysky, a Ukranian poet who, in 1885, wrote a poem for his beloved nation as Ukranians fought a war of independence with Russia. Russia was suppressing the use of the Ukrainian language at the time, so the writing of this poem was an act of bravery and an act of defiance in the face of oppression.
This is the final stanza:
Bless us with freedom, bless us with wisdom, Guide into a kinder world, Bless us, oh Lord, with good fortune forever and evermore.