Saturday, April 30, 2016

Aphorism of the Day, April 2016

Aphorism of the Day, April 30, 2016

Sometimes one has to commit the incredible act of universal optimism.  Perhaps the faith of all religions is best when it truly commits a verbal act of universal optimism which rides the energy of hope that we can have.  Perhaps the best example of this optimism is Psalm 67 which we should offer every day for our world:

Psalm 67

Deus misereatur
1 May God be merciful to us and bless us, *
show us the light of his countenance and come to us.
2 Let your ways be known upon earth, *
your saving health among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth.
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has brought forth her increase; *
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.
7 May God give us his blessing, *
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.

Aphorism of the Day, April 29, 2016


The future invents the past since one item of contrast does "not exist" until what it is not comes into being to make the contrast possible and define both items of contrast.  The Gospels are the results of successful churches presenting the narratives of Jesus to account for the very success of the later churches.  This is how the writing of history works.  There is "authenticate" tradition from the time of Jesus but it is used and edited under the fresh judgments of the oracles of Christ in the Christian communities to show the origins of the success of the church that had become separated from Judaism.  The future gives birth to the identity of things which happened in the past.  

Aphorism of the Day, April 28, 2016

In the departure discourse of Jesus to his disciples, he promised that he would send an Advocate to be with them.  The evidence of the Advocate would be an experience of a kind of peace which they could not receive elsewhere.  Peace as continuing presence of Christ is still a legacy and we invoke that peace in our liturgy as an indication of our willingness to receive and practice this promised gift.

Aphorism of the Day, April 27, 2016

The reason St. John is called "the Divine" pertains to his writing of the "Apocalypse" or Revelation.  Apocalypse means to uncover or unveil and the writings of John the Divine resulted from his retention of words and memories from being in a "divine, in the Spirit" visionary state.  The images of the Apocalypse are very "surreal" with the plasticity of metaphors being like the melting images of a Dali painting.  One could say that the apocalyptic vision of heaven presaged the loss of a "physical" heaven once modern cosmology and the discovery of endless outer space caused the abandonment of the "trap door" on top of the domed sky entrance to "heaven."  The Revelation of St. John the Divine reveals that being in heaven and seeing the heavenly is a humanly possible experience now.  Humanity is quite intrigued with the experiences of "savant-like" states and they come in many ways and inspire many responses.

Aphorism of the Day, April 26, 2015

A portion of John's Gospel is devoted to what might be called a "departure" discourse, one which presents Jesus as preparing his followers for his physical absence.  Herein one can see the logic of the early church presenting the transformation of the physical Jesus to the body of Christ through the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit, which is also the Spirit of Christ in His continuing presence.  Part of the writing motive of the Gospels has to do with this question: Why is the Jesus Movement so successful?  Why didn't it go away after Jesus could no longer be seen?  The Gospels present the developing self-understanding of the churches own existence.

Aphorism of the Day, April 25, 2016

The Gospel writers understood themselves to have the mind of Christ and they channeled his words in writing reporting the narrative of Jesus.  This enabled the subsequent success and the meanings of spiritual practice in the church to both be seen as anticipated by the historical Jesus as well as using the narratives to be the mystagogy of the church. After the experience sof the Risen Christ, the disciples imported those experiences back into the presentation of the historical Jesus.

Aphorism of the Day, April 24, 2016

The separation of followers in Christ from the synagogue was in part due to a "food fight" in that concessions were made to Gentiles regarding the dietary restrictions of Judaism.

Aphorism of the Day, April 23, 2016

The Gospel writings have "not so subtle ways of dating themselves" in not being "eye-witness" accounts.  Jesus said to his disciples, "Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you.."  During the life of Jesus, he was a Jew and so were his disciples.  So why does it seems as though Jesus speaks about "the Jews" as referring to people unlike himself and his disciples?  This is clearly an indication of writing done from the perspective of a mainly Gentile church.

Aphorism of the Day, April 22, 2016

The Psalmist exercises the role as a conductor who assumes that humanity can anthropomorphize everything in creation and treat every as having the volitional capacity to "praise" the Lord.  So the Psalmist commands angels, winds, sea creatures, birds, trees, son, moon and stars to praise the Lord.  The Psalmist is assuming that the divine, a non-human being, is enough like human beings to be able to appropriate the posture of praise from all created things and beings.  The biblical writings are mainly forms of poetics and even when narrative is used, it is mainly for meanings to evoke spiritual identity and not provide exact eye witness accounts of what actually happens.  Modern criteria of scientific and eye witness truth has cause many biblical supporters to forsake the value of aesthetic truths so poignant and obvious in the Bible.  The way in which many people read the Bible is akin to an Amish buggy on the freeway; quaint but out of place.  Modernity has not left the sublime aesthetic readings of the Bible; Modernity is an opportunity for people of faith to be true to the poetics of spirituality.


Aphorism of the Day, April 21, 2016

Nietzsche said that truth is "objectivity" deriving from a long used metaphor.  If people use a metaphor long enough, it becomes "truth."  So how do "truths" get changed?  How does innovation occur even to long used metaphors?  The truth of dietary purity of Judaism was abandoned by Gentile Christianity.  It had been the practice since the implementation of the Law of Moses.  Peter had a vision from God about "non-kosher" animals being proclaimed as undefiled in preparation for Peter being able to accept the new truth of God's Spirit in the life of a Gentile being the sign of religious validity.  The truth is that paradigm shifts happen and sometimes they are so much a part of one's cultural background, one does not know that one has implicitly embraced the outcomes.  Modern science became the background of Western Christian culture in such expansive ways many Christians still have not adjusted to the fact that they tacitly accept scientific thinking even while denying it in the practice of their religion.

Aphorism of Day, April 20, 2106

The legacy of the presence of Christ is the practice of love.  "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  It is love which establishes communal identity with Christ but it was not theoretical love, it was the practice of love as exemplified in service, foot-washing service.  For disciples who wanted important positions in the kingdom of God, Jesus said and demonstrated, "Just wash feet."  One's profound gifts have more effect if they are expressed from a general character of love.  St. Paul's complaint about the Corinthian church was they were often a gifted church but without love, and this rendered their gifts as ineffective and even counter-productive. 

Aphorism of Day, April 19, 2016

We are so used to mushy romantic love which comes so easily when it happens, i.e., falling in love is a near pathological state and one cannot help oneself when it happens.  So the command to love God with all of oneself and the command to love one's neighbor as oneself: How romantic is that?  Such is the hard and tough love of doing justice to God and to each person in this world.  And tough love is not always in line with our affinities, things which are likeable and easy to perform.  The kind of love which is based upon justice is often hard but it is the kind of love which we want expressed towards us.  Human experience involves many kinds of love, but the tough love of justice can never be forgotten.


Aphorism of the Day, April 18, 2016

"Glory" is a word found in the New Testament and the Hebrew Scriptures and refers to the self-authenticating value of God.  It could be that such divine value is known in human experience as the Sublime when one experience an event of esteem which does not seem to have any predictable cause.  Such events makes one feel beloved for no reason at all and can help free one from needing perpetual strokes from others for one's sense of worth.  So the discovery of God's glory and one's own glory deriving from the sense of unconditional love is the cornerstone of personal worth.

Aphorism of the Day, April 17, 2016

Perhaps a way to appropriate the meaning of Christ as "Lamb of God" is to understood the lamb as symbolizing the condition of innocent suffering in our world due to the play of freedom.  Everyone get caught in events of innocent suffering even when it is the collateral effect of some not so innocent willful acts.  Jesus as lamb of God was able to transform his events of innocent suffering into a ministry as the shepherd of those who suffer innocently.   We wish innocent suffering on no one, even as we know that probability theory about what can happen in the conditions of freedom indicates that it will occur in one way or another.  But we hope that innocent suffering can be redeemed in a hopeful future when we look back and say, "I did not want that to happen, but since it did I hope that empathy on my soul's resume will allow me to be a useful ministerial presence to other innocent sufferers."  Hereby lamb becomes shepherd.  The wounded becomes healer.

Aphorism of the Day, April 16, 2016

The model of the Good Shepherd and the sheep gives a metaphor of the needed balance and reciprocity toward those who have strength, power, resources and ability to help those in need.  Each person can find one to be one with strength to help but also be in the place of needing help.  In a world where 1% of the population controls the majority of the world resources essentially for their own benefit we find that the balanced reciprocal roles of shepherd and sheep are not being fulfilled.  A shepherd does not exploit; a shepherd cares and we need the wealthy people of our world to listen to the words of Jesus when he said, "To whom much is given; much is required."  The purpose of the blessing of wealth, power and strength is to celebrate the privilege of generosity.

Aphorism of the Day, April 15, 2016

Language is always an issue when dealing with meanings of biblical writing.  We have received the biblical writing through their transmission from people to people for thousands of years and we cannot verify exact correspondence of meaning of words in their original contexts with contexts in our lives today.  When we project our own correspondences upon what we read in the Bible we do so because we accept our place in the transmission of the many traditions deriving from the biblical writings.  Many of the correspondences between our post-modern lives and the pre-modern worlds of the biblical people do not have fitting ethical correspondences.  The pre-modern world tolerated slavery and subjugation of women as the "normal" virtue of their cultures and even valorized such practices within the writings of the holy Book.  Love and justice are the universal principles within the Bible and such principles should guide us today to innovate in their application toward justice and love among all people today.  One cannot consistently make one to one correspondences with all of the biblical practices which had religious sanction in various ancient biblical societies with the obvious practice of love and justice for all today.  Thankfully, we have innovating from "biblical ways" in the application of love and justice to people today.

Aphorism of the Day, April 14, 2016

Deconstruction of any statement of meaning occurs when the statement is re-stated through paraphrase and each paraphrase of the first statement is produced from a slightly different context.  Any statement could be endlessly paraphrased which means that the writing event or speaking event purports to "freeze" a particular meaning and a particular context.   Such freezing of particular meaning "in situ" can serve as the community's temporary objectivity and extended temporal use of agreed upon meaning then attains "truth" status within the community, and such truth even becomes hidden since it becomes the tacit, "it goes without saying" background of the community's values.  The plethora of interpretations of New Testament stuff has occurred because it is harder to gain precision in the control and promulgation of meaning in what is essentially "poetics."  It is hard to gain precise meanings in poetics, since poetics is appealing to more that what can be empirically verified.  We could opine endlessly about how Jesus the Christ is both shepherd and lamb since the metaphors of poetry play with the empirically grounded common sense mind.

Aphorism of the Day, April 13, 2016

 A condition posed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, "If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."  This indicates the on-going discussion about the nature of the Messiah which characterized the parties within Judaism which eventually brought about the separation of Christians from the synagogues.  In the Gospel of John, the works of Jesus were presented as proof of his messiahship, like the various signs which he performed, culminating in his resurrection.  The work of the Messiah which many Jews wanted to see was the work of a restored Israel with a David-like king upon the throne and the people free from occupation by Rome.  The suffering "Lamb of God" Messiah was a voice which could not be heard by those who were taught another definitive meaning of the Messiah.

Aphorism of the Day, April 12, 2016

The Fatherization of God is very pronounced in the Gospel of John.  Jesus said, "The Father and I are one."  The Gospel agenda of the writer of John was for people to realized that they had been born "from above" to gain access to another quality of life.  Simultaneously a person has natural birth and entry in the world as God's child because of the divine DNA image implanted upon each person.  This divine identity is not always realized because the demands of the life of natural birth communities cause a forgetting of our original blessing.  Jesus is God's Son who fully realized the Original Blessing and expressed it as experiencing full identity with his heavenly parent.  The church has busied itself with making Jesus so unique while Jesus was trying to share with everyone the reality of being "one with the heavenly parent."

Aphorism of the  Day, April 11, 2016

John 1:1, "and the Word was God."  Hence word has endless possible morphing capacity even to the point of signifying contradictions with no problem at all.  For example, Jesus the Christ is both Lamb and Shepherd.  Makes no sense if one limits the meaningful use of language to empirical verification.  Let's set our minds free with the endless metaphorical capacity of language.

Aphorism of the Day, April 10, 2016

The continuity of the church does not just depend upon the fact that Jesus made the post-resurrection appearances recorded in the Gospel and other New Testament writings; continuity has happened because the very energy of resurrection is able to be known in the many guises of the sublime which kiss our lives today.

Aphorism of the Day, April 9, 2016

One can probably underestimate the success of the Jesus movement in the cities of the Roman Empire.  It could be that synagogue and church separated as fast as it did because of the amazing success of the Gospel within the Gentile peoples.  The paucity of history does not give a full record of the success of the message in so many places; the New Testament preserves the message of the Gospel in the succession of leaders centering around Peter, Paul and the Beloved Disciple and community.  Other strains of Christian succession are found in apocrypha Gospels often labeled as "Gnostic" by modern day scholars or as "heresy" by competing Christian leadership groups.  There was great diversity in the Jesus Movement; the New Testament writings are the result of need to standardize the Christian presentation as Christianity was becoming the preferred religion of the Roman Empire.  Today we find so many different Christian traditions comprised of people who interpret the biblical writings so different to fit the projections of the needs of their personal and social situations.  Meanings are hard to control inside the minds of people even when apparent standardized "objective" meanings are enforced by church administrations.  Diversity prevails even under the guise of uniformity.



Aphorism of the Day, April 8, 2016

The Gospel of John presents the disciples trying to back to fishing after the death and resurrection of Christ.  And fishing can never be the same; what they used to do simply becomes the occasion to know Christ in a different way.  A kairotic event in one's life will make the repetition of familiar things new and different.

Aphorism of the Day, April 7, 2016

One of the most favorable reports in the Gospels of a companion of Christ is found in the Gospel of John, where the person is referred to as the "beloved disciple."  This disciple is the to whom Jesus commits the care of his mother from the cross.  Scholars speculate that portions of John's Gospel were written by the beloved disciple or within the beloved disciple's community.  Is it John, son of Zebedee?  John, son of Zebedee was involved in the dispute about having the best seats in the kingdom of Christ.  John and the beloved disciple may not be the same person.  In John's Gospel, Lazarus is referred to as one who was loved by Jesus.  Sometimes we might get hung up on historical identity of Gospel personalities rather than to read the personalities as thematic personalities bearing the projections of all who were in a process of realizing a relationship with a Christ who had taken up internal residence in each person.  The Gospels project outwardly in story form the dynamics of what was happening inwardly in the disciples spiritual progress.  It is a better insight to read the Gospels as mystagogy in the transformation of one's life than as specific details of historical data.  There need be no apology for the truth of literature of transformation of character.


Aphorism of the Day, April 6, 2016

A Gospel writing perspective to note is this:  How does one write about events in the life of Jesus after great events have occurred, like the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple?  One cannot help but present Jesus with a voice of predictive clairvoyance as a way to assert that major traumatic events did not overthrow God's purpose or cease the existence of the church.  In the last chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus is quoted as saying to Peter, "someone will take you where you did not wish to go."  This was written many years after the death of Peter, supposedly by being crucified upside down.  The one who had denied Jesus on the way to His crucifixion later has the boldness to embrace the same method of death.  The Gospel writer writing in the first quarter of the second century knew well the traditions about Peter.

 Aphorism of the Day, April 5, 2016

April 4th marks the anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  One cannot underestimate the witness of his life in bringing to light malpractice of justice in our country.  Dr. King with non-violence reminded all about the normalcy of loving one's neighbor as oneself and that all of us are neighbors.  Today, the work of love is still not finished and we still need to practice neighborly love more than ever.

Aphorism of the Day, April 4, 2016

While the Roman senate could confer "august" or divine status upon an Emperor, the birth stories of Jesus out did Roman Emperor "divine" propaganda.  The divinity of Jesus was conferred beginning with an announcement from a heavenly angel to the one chosen to be God's child-bearer.  In the Roman context, the birth narratives of Jesus really outshone the Caesar birth propaganda stories.  One might say that the birth narratives of Jesus upstaged the origin stories of the "divinized" Caesars.

 Aphorism of the Day, April 3, 2016

We know so little about Thomas of Doubting Thomas fame that he has easily become a caricature representing a kind of seeing is believing faith.  We should realize that in reading about biblical figures we initially treat them as actual people even as we realize that they are presented by biblical writers as instances of faith experience and so in the Bible as a spiritual manual the people presented therein become mirrors onto whom we the readers can projects aspects of the life of faith.  Apparently Thomas went onto to live down his moments of doubt.  Peter went on to over come his time of denying Jesus.  Judas did not go on after his betrayal.  People still name their children Thomas and Peter today; not many children named Judas Iscariot today.  It is a shame how perfectly good names can get "ruined" by the kind of deeds associated with the people of those names. 

 Aphorism of the Day, April 2, 2016

The Doubting Thomas story is evidence of the early churches supporting valid alternative "presences" of Christ.  The Real presence of Christ could be known through the Spirit, the experience of peace, the practice of forgiveness and through Gospel writing.  The story is evidence that the physical body of Jesus had escaped limitations to retain identity with God as Eternal Word and hence could morph and be found to be an endless Real Presence to anyone who has the occasion to know such a Presence.

 Aphorism of the Day, April 1, 2016

In the Gospel of John, Word is equivalent with God, Word creates the human world as we can know it, the word oracles of Christ in the discourses of John are called "spirit" and "life," and the written word of the Gospel of John has the creative power to invite belief in Christ.  As much as we may take comfort in making an idol out of the physical Jesus of Nazareth, the Gospel of John indicates that Word Constituted Divinity was from the beginning.  In actual human practice we process physicality by virtue of using words.  We may think that physicality and "presence" is before word, but we can only know it through words.

Quiz of the Day, April 2016

Quiz of the Day, April 30, 2016

What does the Feast of Booths commemorate?

a. the making of the tabernacle
b. living in "booths" during the wilderness journey of Israel
c. the temporary quarters of the Israelites in Egypt
d. the toll collection places along the wilderness of Paran

Quiz of the Day, April 29, 2016

What did Jesus tell his followers not to throw before swine?

a. the children's bread
b. your pearls
c. holy things
d. your secrets

Quiz of the Day, April 28, 2016

Which of the following is not a "rule" found in Leviticus?

a. you shall not make your daughter a prostitute
b. you shall not tattoo any marks on you
c. you shall not oppress an alien
d. you shall defer to the elderly
e. you shall not eat pelican flesh

Quiz of the Day, April 27, 2016

What is the biblical notion of "gleaning?"

a. a special purity ritual in the Temple
b. the eighth day rite for women
c. leaving edges of the field for poor to harvest
d. the biblical tithe

Quiz of the Day, April 26, 2016

When Aaron confessed the sins of the people and symbolically placed them on the "scapegoat" to be sent into the wilderness, who was the "scapegoat" sent to?

a. Yahweh
b. Lucifer
c. Azazel
d. Melchizedek

Quiz of the Day, April 25, 2016

Saul (Paul) and Barnabus disagreed about the usefulness of what missionary companion?

a. Peter
b. Luke
c. John Mark
d. Silas

 Quiz of the Day, April 24, 2016

Who consecrated Aaron and vested him in the priestly garments?

a. God on Mount Sinai
b. His older brother Moses
c. The Levites
d. Joshua and Hur

Quiz of the Day, April 23, 2016

In the biblical record what structure was the precursor of Solomon's Temple?

a. Phoenician temples
b. Greek temples
c. Zorastrian temples
d. the Tabernacle

Quiz of the Day, April 22, 2016

What did Moses wear after he left the presence of God?

a. a special priestly robe
b. phylacteries
c. Urim and Thummim
d. a veil for his face

Quiz of the Day, April 21, 2016

Which of the following saints is associated with the ontological argument for the existence of God wherein God is defined as "That which none greater can be conceived" and further that existence would be a minimal requirement of the Greatest Being?

a. Thomas Aquinas
b. Augustine of Hippo
c. Anselm
d. Nicolas of Cusa

Quiz of the Day, April 20, 2016

When Moses asked to see God, what did God permit?

a. a show of God's light
b. a cloudy presence
c. a view of God's back
d. God touched Moses with God's finger

Quiz of the Day, April 19, 2016

What did Moses have his supporters do when they saw the people of Israel worshiping the golden calf?

a. send them back to Egypt
b. strap on their swords and kill about 3000
c. build an altar of repentance
d. punish his brother Aaron

Quiz of the Day, April 18, 2016

When Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Law, who was responsible for making the golden calf?

a. Miriam
b. Hur
c. Joshua
d. Aaron

Quiz of the Day, April 17, 2016

What fruit was embroidered on the hem of Aaron's priestly vestments in-between bells?

a. apple
b. fig
c. pomegranate
d. grapes

Quiz of the Day, April 16, 2016

The Ark of the Covenant was originally built to be housed where?

a. Solomon's Temple
b. The Shrine at Shiloh
c. The tabernacle
d. Bethel


Quiz of the Day, April 15, 2016

When Moses went up Mount Sinai, how long did he remain their during his first occasion to receive the law?

a. 6 days
b. 7 days
c. 40 days
d. 77 days

Quiz of the Day, April 14, 2016

The writer of the Epistle to the Colossian church warned his readers about being deceived by what?

a. another Gospel
b. plausible arguments
c. the wisdom of the Greeks
d. skepticism

Quiz of the Day, April 13, 2016

Who called the scribes and Pharisees a "brood of vipers?"

a. Jesus
b. Paul
c. John the Baptist
d. Judas Iscariot

Quiz of the Day, April 12, 2016

God said to Moses that the divine presence would encounter him in what way on Mount Sinai?

a. a pillar of fire
b. a still small voice
c. in a dense cloud
d. a hand writing on a tablet of stone

Quiz of the Day, April 11, 2016

What person gave Moses the good advice of delegating and not doing all of the work himself?

a. his wife
b. Aaron
c. Miriam
d. his father-in-law

Quiz of the Day, April 10, 2016

From the Gospel accounts which of the following is not true about Mary Magdalene?

a. she was the first witness of the resurrection
b. she had seven demons cast out of her
c. she was a former harlot
d. in her grief she thought the resurrected Christ was a gardener

Quiz of the Day, April 9, 2016

What did Aaron and Hur do while Joshua fought the Amalek tribe?

a. they prayed
b. they blew ram's horns continuously
c. they held up the arms of Moses
d. they fasted in the tabernacle

Quiz of the Day, April 8, 2016

Jesus said to his disciples, "I have called you friends."  Which religious group has taken their name from this quote?

a. Seven Day Adventists
b. Congregational Church
c. The Quakers
d. Mennonites

Quiz of the Day, April 7, 2016

In which Gospel are the following metaphors used for Jesus: Vine, Gate, Light, Way, Truth, Life, Resurrection, Living Bread and Good Shepherd?

a. Matthew
b. Mark
c. Luke
d. John

Quiz of the Day, April 6, 2016

Why did the people of Israel complain to Moses after God had delivered them from the Egyptians at the Red Sea?

a. lack of drinking water
b. not enough tents for sleeping
c. a large fire in the wilderness threatened them
d. all of the above

Quiz of the Day, April 5, 2016

"The Song of Moses" could also be called "The Song of         "

a. Aaron
b. Joshua
c. Miriam
d. the Defeated Egyptian Army


Quiz of the Day, April 4, 2016

Who is the angel of the annunciation?

a. Michael
b. Raphael
c. unknown
d. Gabriel

Quiz of the Day, April 3, 2016

What did Jesus say about marriage in heaven?

a. people are not given in marriage in heaven
b. people remain married in heaven
c. angels marry in heaven
d. a person is always married to their first spouse

Quiz of the Day, April 2, 2016

Whose burial remains did Moses take with him when he led the people of Israel from Egypt?

a. Joseph's
b. Rachael's
c. Potiphar's
d. Benjamin's

 Quiz of the Day, April 1, 2016

According to the Gospel of Luke, when Mary Magdalene and her companions told the apostles about the resurrection, what was the apostles response?

a. disbelief
b. praise
c. wonder
d. acceptance

Friday, April 29, 2016

Sunday School, May 1, 2016 6 Easter C

Sunday School, May 1, 2016     6 Easter C

The followers of Jesus wrote about the life of Jesus after they had “graduated” from the school of Jesus.
What did the followers of Jesus do?  They prayed together.  They studied the Bible together.  They preached good news about God’s love and forgiveness.  They prayed for sick people.  They share their food, clothing, homes and money with people who were in need.  They ate the Holy Meal of Eucharist together.  They welcomed people into their community through baptized.

And what did they realize?  They realized that they were doing exactly what Jesus taught them.  And when they realized this, they remember that before Jesus left he had told them that he would be with them and give them a helper after he was gone.

When we teach someone we leave something of our self in the person whom we taught.  Jesus was the teacher of his followers and when he was gone, his followers realized that the life of Jesus from his teaching was with them and it included a power and ability to continue to do the good things which Jesus taught them.

One of ways in which a person never dies is to pass on the wonderful gifts of one’s life to other people.  When a person teaches or helps or gives something to another person, a person lives on forever with the people who received the gift.  And the people who are taught also keep teaching and so many people continual to live on.

Today, we celebrate that Jesus and all of the followers of Jesus who have been in the church for over 2000 year continue to live on in us now.  We have the opportunity to keep the life of Jesus alive in our world as we pass what we have learned from Jesus to other people.

Jesus told his students that what he taught them would stay with them because the Holy Spirit would continue to help them learn and remember about the life of Jesus.

The Good News for us today is this:  When we teach and give and help others, it means that we will in very important ways, live forever.

Let us join with Jesus and Christians of all times continue to pass on to others the good news of God’s love and care.  In this way, we will continue to live forever with Christ.

Children’s Sermon

  Can you brush your teeth by yourself?  Can you wash your hands by yourself?  Can you eat with a fork and a spoon by yourself?  Who taught you to do all of these things?  Your mom or your dad did or maybe your big brother or sister.
  The older that you get, the more things you learn.  And when you learn things you do not have to have your mom and dad there with you to do them for you.
  So what things can you do on your own now?  Can you brush your hair?  Can you make your bed?  Can you clean your room?  Can you take your dishes from the table into the kitchen?  Can you read a book?  Can you take care of your pets?
  Yes you are learning to do many things by yourself now.  Your mom and dad used to have to help you but now you can do them yourself.  So it’s like your parents have been your teachers and when they are not with you it is like they are still with you because they have taught you to do so many things to do by yourself, you don’t need them to help you with them anymore.
  When Jesus knew that he was going to leave this earth and when he knew that he would not be with his friends, he told them that when he left that he would leave a teacher with them. Or a helper or an advocate.
  So when the friends of Jesus who were students of Jesus did not see him anymore, they would still know what to do, because he taught them so well, it was like he was still with them, even though he was gone.
  Did you know that life is all about learning and teaching.  When you learn how to do something, it means that you too will become a teacher to help someone else learn.
  When we learn from our parents and teachers, it means that they do not have to be with us all of the time to do things for us.
  When we teach someone something, it is like we leave a part of ourselves in them.  Because every time they do something that we taught them, it is like we are still with them.
  Jesus told his students that he was going to leave, but he promised that he would still be with them.  And how was he with them?  He taught them to do things well, so when they did things on their own, they knew that it was like their teacher Jesus was still with them.
  Remember our life is about learning and teaching.  When you learn, your parents and teachers will always be with you when you do what you learned from them.
  And you too will be a teacher, when you help others to learn.
    Jesus was such a good teacher, that his friend knew that he was with them even when they did not see him.  Let us learn to be good students and good teachers, too.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist
May 1, 2016: The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: If You’re Happy and You Know It, God Is So Good, Eat This Bread, Awesome God

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.
People: The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.
And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.
Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: If You’re Happy And You Know It, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 124)
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.  If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.  If you’re happy and you know, then your face should surely show it.  If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it stomp your feet.  If you’re happy and you know it, stomp your feet.  If you’re happy and you know, then your face should surely show it.   If you’re happy and you know it stomp your feet.

If you’re happy and you know it, shout, Amen! Amen!  If you’re happy and you know it, shout, Amen! Amen!  If you’re happy and you know it, then your face should surely show it. If you’re happy and you know it, shout Amen!  Amen!

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.
People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia
O God, you have made us! Alleluia
O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia
O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia
O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia
O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia
O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia



A reading from the Revelation to John:
In the spirit the angel carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day-- and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
Liturgist: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 67
Let the peoples praise you, O God; * let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has brought forth her increase; * may God, our own God, give us his blessing.
May God give us his blessing, * and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)
Litanist:
For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!
For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!
For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!
For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!
For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!
For work and for play. Thanks be to God!
For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!
For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!
For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.
   Thanks be to God!
For the special blessing of our Mothers whom we honor today.  Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said to Judas (not Iscariot), "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. "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. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, `I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe."
Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.
People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed
We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.
Since God is so great and we are so small,
We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.
We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and
     resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.
We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is
     welcome.
We believe that Christ is kind and fair.
We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.
And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.


Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.
For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.
For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.
For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.
For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.
For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.
For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.
For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.
People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Offertory Song: God Is So Good, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 73)
God is so good.  Good is so good.  God is so good; he’s so good to me.
He cares for me.  He cares for me.  He cares for me; he’s so good to me.
I love him so.  I love him so.  I love him so; he’s so good to me.
I’ll praise his name.  I’ll praise his name.  I’ll praise his name; he’s so good to me.

Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”
All become members of a family by birth or adoption.
Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.
A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.
The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 
Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;
You have made us in your image
And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:
Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.
And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph
And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.
Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat
  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  
  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory
 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,


Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)
Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.
Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.
As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.
But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.
Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.
Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread
Celebrant:       Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia! 

Words of Administration

Communion       Song: Eat This Bread (Renew!, # 228)
Eat this bread, drink this cup, come to me and never be hungry. 
Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in me and you will not thirst.



Post-Communion Prayer
Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;
We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.
And His Presence has been known to us.
We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers
    and sisters in Christ.
Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the
     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,
As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: Awesome God (Renew!  # 245)
Our God is an awesome God.  He reigns from heaven above.   With wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God.
(Sung three times)

Dismissal:   
Liturgist: Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!



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