tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17626632283958219392024-03-18T12:37:13.950-05:00Phil (w)RitePhil-wordsmithery, sermons, rite and sometimes songPhilip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.comBlogger1673125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-82484067743224472302024-03-18T05:30:00.000-05:002024-03-18T12:15:55.449-05:00Aphorism of the Day, March 2024<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 18, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">With language we have come to explore the behaviors of the world towards us in the continual development of natural laws. One could say the articulation of such natural laws is the languaged projection upon the world which confronts us and it is the expression of the covenant of the total environment toward us. Even without invoking the name of God, we can accept that we project upon the All a covenant relationship in terms of what it promises to us.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 17, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God's omnipresence might best be understood as human being possessed with language ability and from this ability projecting words upon everything else even using like everything else as a negligible. If something does escape language, we cannot know it except by language declaring a mysterious state of escaping language.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 16, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everyone is called to be priestly in that all our lives are lived as offered. We become priestly through intentionally offering our lives as belonging in solidarity with all.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 15, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Noted contrast. The Ides of March is the death of Julius Caesar who was also a declared god. The death of Jesus in contrast is remembered by a continuously reconstituted group of followers who changed a historical event into a spiritual process as seen in the Pauline confession, "I have been crucified with Christ." Is anyone saying, "I have died with Julius Caesar?"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 14, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The writer of Jeremiah wrote about a new covenant of the law being written upon the heart. This new covenant is appropriated by New Testament writers as the law of Spirit accessible to everyone. In practice there often seems to be a disconnect between Spirit and the people who are channeling this Spirit. Can Spirit be the overcoming of the continuous deconstruction which happens in language use?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 13, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Language is used by people to constitute their identity within contexts. Biblical language was generated to constitute the identity of people in various places regarding a "transcendental," or a mystery of how promulgated values regarded to be superlative could reconfigure the inner language of people and result in behaviors which are consistent with the superlative values.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 12, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In a metaphor, the words of Jesus compares a seed which dies and becomes a plant with what will happen to him. Does the plant have continuity with the seed from which it came? Indeed, but it is noticeably different. The post-death state of Jesus and everyone is quite different. In the case of Jesus, some people got to experience Risen Christ appearances. In the case of our departed loved ones, it remains mostly not yet in such appearances, save for memories, dream apparitions, and our mourning as proof that our loved one was indeed here.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> Aphorism of the Day, March 11, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Preachers most often use the Gospels as eye-witness accounts, whereas the writing provenance of the Gospels make them more about the issues of the early Jesus Movement communities encoded in narratives about Jesus.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 10, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If those who have died are lucky they don't escape being in the language of the thoughts of the memories re-manifested in those who knew them, and perhaps even in those who didn't. Who knows where the energy concrescence of selfhood goes and travels and in what varied forms?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 9, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Some would like to "escape" language by pretending that silence or any human life expression or activity could be known without first assuming language.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 8, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To blame a politician for being political is like blaming a fish for being in water. The question is "for what polis" does a politician speak and legislate? Is it for a true common good, for the largest number of people, or is it for only a local tribe?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 7, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Meaning is the differentiation of value that a person has learned within their community to place upon the events which occur to them. Meaning is not final because in time meanings create and give birth to new variations in meaning. Therefore finality in meaning cannot be fixed.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 6, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The present brings into existence a new past in how the past is assessed. The past can only be dealt with from the now because we cannot be anywhere else. History is the practice of anachronism since we cannot avoid import our questions from life now onto the historical traces which we have received.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 5, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The appearance of writing was magical in that it could be the trace of someone actually speaking without being there. The appearance of writing created orality since when only orality existed, it is not known as such because it is not yet contrasted with having writing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 4, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Reading the Bible not about reading eye witness accounts of things which could be empirically verifiable, it is about appreciating the symbolic codes used for scribal leaders (the Bible is writing) to promote community identity as that identity related to the highest values of the community, which in the case of the early Christians was the mystagogy of the Risen "Christ in you, the hope of glory."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 3, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">With language a person is trying to manifest the connection of everything that is within oneself with everything that is outside of one epidermis and sensory portals.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 2, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Bible is a collection of writings which were preserved and elevated to a place of community importance instantiated by the legacy of values which readers perceived and deemed worthy of promulgating and passing on to the next generation. Within the entire universe of existing texts now, the biblical writings get evaluated among the vast amount of world knowledge. The quantity of world knowledge necessarily changes the place and value and functional use of all previous literature, and the Bible too is subject to constantly being seen differently in the expansion of the universe of knowledge.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, March 1, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Writing and speaking can only be done in a fragmentary way since what we say and write is a miniscule portion of the possible linguistic universe of everything which might come to language. What we say and write is also imprisoned by the particular paradigms in which we find ourselves located. We at all times should humbly admit that there is a great MORE universe of language which can dissolve our miniscule language efforts leaving our language constructs deconstructed by greater contexts. The fact of the smallness of our language products being dissolved by existing within a great MORE, should not diminish our efforts to make them comply with what we regard to be highest, namely, what love and justice in word and deed can mean within our limited contexts.</span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-61815750086082699262024-03-18T05:00:00.000-05:002024-03-18T12:08:49.952-05:00Quiz of the Day, March 2024<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 18, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What did Moses believe about himself?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. he was ineloquent in speech</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. his marriage to a Midianite disqualified him from leadership</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. he believed the Israelites would willing follow him</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. he was too close to the Pharaoh because of his adoptive mother</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 17, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In what biblical writing are we implored to present our bodies as living sacrifices?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Ephesians</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. John</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. 1 Peter</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Romans</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 16, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How did God prove the divine self to Moses?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. appeared in a burning bush</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. called him to go back to Egypt</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. rescued him from death</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. spoke to him the holy name</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 15, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The wife of Moses was</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. an Egyptian</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. an Israelite</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. a Midianite</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. none of the above</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 14, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of the following, who propounded the notion of the church as the "Body of Christ?"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. John</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Luke</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Peter</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Paul</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 13, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What is true about the disposition of Joseph's remains?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. he was embalmed in Egypt</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. he was buried in Egypt</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Moses exhumed his remains</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. his remains were taken to the Promised Land</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. all of the above</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 12, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Where can the earliest written instructions of the Eucharist be found?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Matthew</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Mark</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Luke</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. John</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. 1 Corinthians</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 11, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What did Jacob do before he died?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. gave instructions about Jacob's well</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. gave a prediction about Moses</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. gave a prediction about his sons</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. gave instruction for his burial in Egypt</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 10, 2924</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The bread of heaven discourse in in which Gospel?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Matthew</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Mark</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Luke</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. John</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which of the following is true about the burial of Jacob?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. he was buried in Egypt</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. he was buried with his wife Rachel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. he was buried in Bethlehem</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. he was buried with his father and grandfather</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 8, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the biblical story, what brought the people of Israel into Egypt?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Joseph</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Moses</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. a drought in Canaan</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Jacob</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 7, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">According to the book of Genesis what did all Egyptians despise?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. asps</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. frogs</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. lice</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. shepherds</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 6, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of the follow, who had the most to say regarding food sacrificed to idol?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. John the Divine</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Paul</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Jesus</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Luke</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 5, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Goshen is</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. where Abraham was buried</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. where Jacob's family settled in Egypt</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. the birth place of Moses</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. the location of the Red Sea</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 4, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"Talitha cum" means what?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. come quickly</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. little girl, get up</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. why have you forsaken me</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. help, O teacher</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 3, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Joseph as chief minister of the Pharaoh, show favoritism to which brother?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Benjamin</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Reuben</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Asher</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Judah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 2, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Rachel was the mother of</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Jacob and Esau</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Joseph and Judah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Benjamin and Judah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Joseph and Benjamin</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, March 1, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of the following, who did not go to Egypt with Jacob?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Reuben</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Benjamin</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Rachel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Judah</span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-89302995128906569762024-03-17T15:51:00.000-05:002024-03-17T15:51:29.985-05:00Prayers for Lent, 2024<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Sunday, 5 Lent, March 17, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of all possible language expressions, the co-existence of every expression creates the conditions for supreme irony such that the Cross of Jesus becomes a state of glory. Give us faith to uphold your ultimate irony upon everything such that what confronts us as impossible is reconciled within future outcomes. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Saturday in 4 Lent, March 16, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of all, invite everyone to the priesthood of lives being offered in solidarity with all as living sacrifices; and let our sacrifices promote love and justice in our world. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Friday in 4 Lent, March 15, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God who makes history providence by outlasting all occasions by being continuous Becoming; the death of Jesus has become a spiritual process for us to die to what is unworthy and be renewed toward what is better. Help us to know the submission of our selfish egos for loving you and our neighbors. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Thursday in 4 Lent, March 14, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Holy Spirit of God, we commit to you the impossible human task of making unity out of diversity; give us the wisdom of orchestrating differences into a harmony which can balance the simplicity of unity or oneness with the complexity of differences. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Wednesday in 4 Lent, March 13, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of who inspires us to doubt any sense of final sufficiency; give us the humility of continual reappraisal of our values so that we might ever be looking for surpassing values on which we can model our personal identities. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Tuesday in 4 Lent, March 12, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Lord Jesus Christ, you were not saved from death, even as we are not either; give us the hope of endless continuity so that we can have future time to make the baffling and present have a greater context for more graceful meanings. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Monday in 4 Lent, March 11, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of all, in our day Gentile means the "other" who have often been excluded from the salvation programs of society; give us the heart of Jesus to extend the welcome of love to all so that we might faithfully represent you as God of love. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Sunday, 4 Lent, March 10, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Eternal Word, give us grace to inculcate the values learned from our inherited traditions, but give us open hearts to love beyond our tribal formation toward your love for everyone in the world. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Saturday in 3 Lent, March 9, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Eternal Word, since our human life is founded and known because we have language, let us work to have the meaningful expressions of language in speaking, writing, and body language be witness to our best quest at living lives of love and justice. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Friday in 3 Lent, March 8, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God who comprises the greatest collectivity of differences, you have placed us among different people with the task of living together well as it is known as justice for each member; give us the largesse of heart to live beyond the affinities of our own tribe as we seek for the categorical imperatives of love and justice for all. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Thursday in 3 Lent, March 7, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Eternal Word of God, generating continuous meaningful occasions of becoming; let our new syntheses of meaning today integrate what has happened for us in ways that first help us to survive, then to act is better ways, and further to enhance the common good. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Wednesday in 3 Lent, March 6, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of grace, your mercy is abundant in the seeming endless chances that you give us by the continual sustaining of everything; give us light toward our continual improvement in the practice of love and justice let those who hurt the common good know that they are hurting themselves. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Tuesday in 3 Lent, March 5, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of the future which will reinterpret the meanings of what we think we are experiencing now; give us grace to live without knowing the full implication of the outcomes of what we do now, and let us be bold about love and justice being our current motive and goal. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Monday in 3 Lent, March 4, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Gracious God, we interpret the life of Jesus as your love for us in being completely with us, not to abolish freedom, but to give us the example of the direction that we are to choose to act with the deeds of our lives; grant us to honor the freedom of perfectability by becoming more loving and just in our actions today. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Sunday, 3 Lent, March 3, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Gracious God who is the flowing life at the sub-molecular level of all, give us a wise connecting flow of our interior lives with the exterior lives so that peace, love, and justice might be the visible outcomes. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Saturday in 2 Lent, March 2, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God who preserves by continuously being the compilation of all that is which retains all that has been; help us not to fear the loss of what has, is and will be the chief values of life, namely love and justice. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Friday in 2 Lent, March 1, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of the ever created great MORE, keep us humble about our importance in the great scheme of things and let us seek the perfection of completeness which comes from joining with others in the work of love and justice. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Thursday in 2 Lent, February 29, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of omnipresence, forgive us for limiting your presence to temples; and teach us that as the body of Jesus was a temple of your supreme presence, so too are our bodies, and in fact the body of the entire world which bears your glory. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Wednesday in 2 Lent, February 28, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Eternal Word, give us the wisdom of language use to appreciate the variety of discourses which pertain to the many ways of communicating what it is to be fully human; help us to avoid the falsehood of interpreting wrongly the nature of the language being used so that we might rightly defend the validity of spiritual discourse. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Tuesday in 2 Lent, February 27, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of love and law, we thank you for law as it teaches us to love our neighbor as our selves and we ask for grace not to use our performance of our codes of law to imply that we are better than others. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Monday in 2 Lent, February 26, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Eternal Word of God, you have made us in your image as languaged beings; give us the wisdom to articulate the discourses of our lives to the appropriate uses of the manifestation of the languages of spoken word, writing, and body language deeds. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Sunday, 2 Lent, February 25, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of all, forgive us for tolerating the tacit hypocrisy of our own favored communities while being so discerning of the faults of others; give us grace to continue in kindness as the hidden source of survival in the midst of seeming rampant and systematic oppression. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Saturday in 1 Lent, February 24, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God in whom we live and move and have our being; we cannot see your boundaries and we often limit our love for only those with whom we have affinities; let your inclusive borders expand the direction of our love so that we might grow in our love for this world as you inclusively love this world. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Friday in 1 Lent, February 23, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God, you inspire the mysticism of who have come to know an interior identity with Christ, let the higher power results of identity with the death and resurrection of Christ empower repentance in our personal lives so that what happens in our social lives manifests the excellence of love and justice. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Thursday in 1 Lent, February 22, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of all, help us to be global enough to commit to you the things over which we cannot directly control and help us to be very local in doing the immediate good in our power that we can do. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Wednesday in 1 Lent, February 21, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God of time, the before dies and is replaced with the after; give us wisdom to make every after a surpassing in excellent love and justice with what has gone before. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Tuesday in 1 Lent, February 20, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God who can be referred to as All; we don't enjoy everything which moves and has being within your Allness; give us the courage to influence the field of probabilities by overcoming evil with good. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Monday in 1 Lent, February 19, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Jesus the Christ, we often would only want you to be the triumphant one and not the suffering one, even as we would rather not have to incorporate suffering into our life experience; give us grace to be able to embrace and survive all the probable things which may happen to us today. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Sunday, 1 Lent, February 18, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God, you gave us Jesus to be for us the one who was bilingual in being what divinity would look like if it were limited in appearance to human experience; we thank you that Jesus was a witness of you inflicting yourself freely by being completely with us in temptation, suffering, and death and so incorporating all probability within the scope of your becoming. Give us grace to incorporate what may come to us and let subsequent meaning beyond what is happening now redeem us and let us know that we have been always already together in and for all. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Saturday, February 17, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>God, what will happen lies before us with a freedom that makes us both excited and trembling; help us to have wisdom to isolate from our past and current experience the ability to embrace what might happen to us next. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Friday, February 16, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Gracious God, give us grace to live with global things which we cannot directly change, but give us courage to accept the small but indirect acts of justice which can have eventual domino effects on the global level. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Thursday, February 15, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span>Bless our Lenten fasts, O God, with the result of impulse control which gives us the true freedom to practice the kind of justice to distribute enough to everyone in our world. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span>Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2024</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span>Gracious God, we know that our material existence can be reduced to ashes and recycled into the physical world; we ask that our sub-atomic life of spirit can be recycled into world as causative for future goodness as we leave irrefutable legacies of love and justice in the human chain of causation and let future good be a witness to our humble anonymity in being lost in the common good. Amen. </span> </span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-41364813314324434152024-03-15T13:05:00.007-05:002024-03-17T18:24:30.658-05:00Continual Covenant, Priestliness, and Transformative Process<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> 5 Lent<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>B<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>March 17, 2024<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Jer. 31:31-34<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Ps. 51:11-16<span style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Heb. 5:1-10<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>John 12:20-33<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /><a href="https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Lent/BLent5_RCL.html"><b>Lectionary Link</b></a><br /><br />Our appointed Scripture lessons for today provide us with at least three points for consideration, which I would like to unify in this presentation for some meaningful insights.<br /></span><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-b2b9549c-7fff-1071-a000-a9c7ab56b30f"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First, God is a God of new covenant.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Time means that contractual relationship have to be continually renewed. We always live knowingly or unknowingly in contractual ways: </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I will do this for you; and you will do this for me and each other. The big contract that we have, whether we know it or not is with God. "I will do this for you God, and whether I regard you or not, I expect this of the great plenitude of life." In fact we could say that the predictability in what we call natural law can be seen as a contract. "If I throw an apple into the air, it will faithfully come down into my hands, given usual conditions." One could say that the entire universe makes a contract with us all of the time. That being said, we know that when it comes to human social behaviors, we are not as precisely predictable as the consistency of natural laws.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In relationship between parties with high degrees of freedom, different times require that covenant with God be articulated differently. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why? As Joseph Campbell once observed, ancient virtue can become modern vice. </span><span style="font-family: arial; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why? People understand covenant within their limited cultural context. The former covenants included the tolerance of slavery, subjugation of women, ethnocentric exclusivity, ignorance of recognition of diverse but significant personal identities, and diet limitations. </span><span style="font-family: arial; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Covenants can be understood to protect exclusive communal identity which in effect locks lots of people out, from being accepted as beloved persons made in God's image. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What does a new covenant look like. It is a covenant which proclaims the omnipresence of God in all people by an interior law, an interior order. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What is the interior order within all people? It is having language. It is the image of Christ, who is called Language or Word from the beginning.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since we are ordered by language in how we speak, write and act; we need forgiveness where we have practiced disorder. We need our inner scripts corrected by Christ the Word and great playwright of life. And we need to practice acting out the new scripts provided by the witness of Christ. The new law written upon our hearts is this ordering process toward surpassing ourselves in excellence in future states.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Next, we are called to be priestly because Jesus was priestliness itself.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus was not a Levite, and he was not a priest in the Temple, yet the writer to the letter to the Hebrews declares him to be a priest with a timeless connection to the ancient archetype of priesthood, Melchizedek.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Christ is the priest of God for humanity. Followers of Christ are called to be priestly. And followers of Christ have a vocational priesthood for a few designated persons, not to exhaust the priestliness of Christ, but rather to model and call the followers of Christ to their own priestliness.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And what is the nature of that priestliness? Well, following Christ, it is to be both sacrificial offering, and offerer of that offering.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is to make our lives of suffering an offering to God on behalf of bettering our world.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is most poignantly experienced when we quit taking our own suffering as uniquely individual, and accept it as in solidarity with the suffering within our world. And since we are not our own but belong to Christ, with him we offer our suffering to God because being human is to be subject to suffering as an unavoidable probability of living. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Accepting our priesthood with Christ, means that we do not pretend to exempt ourselves from the specific requirements of the conditions of our lives which happen to us. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Living all our lives as offered to God through Christ is to accept our part in being a member of the kingdom of priest to serve our God.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What does Covenant with God, and accepting our priestly calling require?</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lastly, It requires accepting the time cycles in life as being transformative and redemptive. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the words of Jesus channeled through the Gospel of John, his life was like a seed which falls into the ground and dies. It changes and becomes the sprout, stem, leaves, and fruit.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There will arrive in human existence new circumstances which forces radical change of life/death comparison in appearance and experience. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Being in covenant with God with a priestly ministry means that we identify ourselves with the transformative processes encompassing the agony and the ecstasy and we do this with the witness of the Risen Christ providing the hope of a surpassing and reconciling future glory to do the impossible, which will provide us with a convincing meaning of suffering and the purpose of life itself.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us be in a renewal of our covenant with God based upon the continuing new circumstances of our lives; let us accept our priestly ministry, of being both victim and priest, those who suffer, and those who offer their sufferings to God in solidarity with the suffering of Jesus and the suffering of the world.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And finally, let us commit ourselves to continual transformation in the cycles of time, as we humbly accept the profoundly difficult transitions, in the hope of being lifted up to future glorious meanings. Amen.</span></span></p><br /></span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-69957019034818361642024-03-11T11:51:00.001-05:002024-03-11T11:51:02.628-05:00 Sunday School, March 17, 2024 5 Lent B<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: arial;"> Sunday School, March 17, 2024</span><span style="font-family: arial; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">5 Lent B</span></span></p><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Theme: </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Change</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Time means that things and people and everything change</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People change</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Have you ever looked at your baby picture?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Are you different now?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You have changed in many ways.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In fact, you have changed so much that only your parents would know that it is you in your baby pictures.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sometimes we can see change as it is happening.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Sometimes we can see change right now.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You blow a bubble, it floats into the air and pops and disappears.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You see clouds in the sky and they change shapes and they pass across the sky.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A seed is a tiny thing planted in the soil.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It disappears out of sight.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A root grows from it and a stem pushes out of the soil and the little seed is gone.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It has disappeared.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It seems to have died, but it became something else.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It changed.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus told the people that his life would be like a seed put in the ground.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The seed would be buried and would die.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But when Jesus died he came back to life to show people how God would change all of our lives after we die.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We will live again.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We will always be changing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We change in a big way when we die.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But the life of Jesus came to us from God to tell us that we will change again after we die.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We will become something like the butterfly breaking out of the cocoon.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us accept change.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us try to make good changes in our lives, being kind and loving and in learning more and more.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can keep changing in good ways and live with hope even though we know that at death we will change in a big way.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Because Jesus changed in a big way when he died and when he reappeared, he gave us the message that when we died we will reappear to be with God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everything is changing in big ways and little ways.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can see some changes and some change is so slow we don’t recognize it.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus said at the big change that happen at his death, he would change and live again.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And now we do not have to fear the big change of death.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I would like to tell you about Mr. Rose.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Mr. Rose like to plant a garden every spring.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He loved to plant vegetables.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And he liked to have some fun doing it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When Mr. Rose planted his garden, his garden looked like it was decorated for Halloween.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>At the end of each row in the garden, he would put little tomb stone markers.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>On one tomb stone, he would write, “Carrot seeds, RIP,(Rest in Peace).<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>On another, “corn seeds, RIP (Rest in Peace). And he would do the same for the other rows of vegetables.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And he would set up a Ghost Scarecrow in his garden.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>All of the kids in the neighborhood would watch Mr. Rose and his garden that looked like a grave yard.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And the joke around town about Mr. Rose was this:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Mr. Rose is burying his seeds in the ground.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We have read some words of Jesus today.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He said, “If a seed is not buried in the ground and die, it will always remain a seed, but if it is put into the ground, it dies, and it becomes a plant that produces fruit and many more seeds.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus said this to teach us about the change that occurred in his life.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When Jesus lived, only a few people knew who he was.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But when he died and rose again, he became the most popular person in the history of the world.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus has been gone for more than 2000 years, but we still celebrate his life today.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus once lived in Palestine, in Israel.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But today, Christ lives in our hearts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus went through many changes in his life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He was a baby, a young boy, and he was great teacher and prophet.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And he died.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But when he died, he did not stay buried, he became the risen Christ who could be presence to people all over the world.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You and I are going through changes in our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We all started out real small and tiny….and we were born as babies and we became children….and we keep changing and growing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we grow big we lose our smallness and we gain our bigness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we go to second grade in school, we lose first grade.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So we are always losing things in life, but we are always gaining things too.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And when we look at death, we can think that we are losing someone in a very important way.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And we are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But Jesus tells us to have hope, because when people die, then we know that God is taking care of them, because we no longer can.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus tells us that our lives are always changing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are losing some things, but we are gaining better things.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, when a seed is put into the ground and we know that it is gone forever, we know that the seed will sprout and become a beautiful plant.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus wants us to know that God can always bring something beautiful out of everything that happens to us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is the hope that we can have today.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"> </span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Intergenerational family liturgy with Holy Eucharist</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">March 17, 2024: The Fifth Sunday In Lent</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gathering Songs:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus Loves Me, <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, When Jesus Wept, May the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: His mercy endures forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Through Jesus Christ our Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Opening Song: Jesus Loves Me This I Know (All the Best Songs for Kids, # 54)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1 Jesus loves me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Little ones to Him belong; they are weak but He is strong.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Yes, Jesus loves me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Yes, Jesus loves me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Yes, Jesus loves me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Bible tells me so.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2 Jesus loves me!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He who died!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Heaven’s gates to open wide.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in. Yes, Jesus loves me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Yes, Jesus loves me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Yes, Jesus loves me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Bible tells me so.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Lord be with you.</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us pray</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First Litany of Praise: Chant: Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you are Great!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made us! Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made yourself known to us!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have given us a Christian family!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have forgiven our sins!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A Reading from the Prophet Jeremiah</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-- a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Word of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us read together from Psalm 51</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Create in me a clean heart, O God, * and renew a right spirit within me.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Cast me not away from your presence * and take not your holy Spirit from me.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Give me the joy of your saving help again * and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litanist:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For work and for play. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Glory to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-- `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Gospel of the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Children’s Creed</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since God is so great and we are so small,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>resurrection of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>welcome.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that Christ is kind and fair.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Peace of the Lord be always with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Offertory Song: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1-When I survey the wondrous cross where the young Prince of Glory died</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>All the vain thing that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2-Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small; love so amazing so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Doxology</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prologue to the Eucharist.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All become members of a family by birth or adoption.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Baptism is the celebration of our birth into the family of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Lord be with you</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lift up your hearts</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We lift them to the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us give thanks to God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is right to give God thanks and praise.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(All <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>may gather around the altar)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You have made us in your image</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>the bread and drink the wine, we can<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>this food and drink<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>that becomes a part of us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father who art in heaven:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Breaking of the Bread</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Celebrant: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore let us keep the feast.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Word of Administration.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Communion Hymn: When Jesus Wept (blue hymnal, # 715)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When Jesus wept, the falling tear in mercy flowed beyond all bound; When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear seized all the guilty world around.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Post-Communion Prayer</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And His Presence has been known to us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and sisters in Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Closing Song: May the Lord (Sung to the tune of Eidelweiss)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">May the Lord, Mighty God, Bless and keep you forever, Grant you peace, perfect peace, Courage in every endeavor.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Lift up your eyes and seek His face, Trust His grace forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>May the Lord, Mighty God Bless and keep you for ever.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dismissal:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></span><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-49845569926452894652024-03-09T15:17:00.005-06:002024-03-10T16:53:52.918-05:00Do We Believe God Loves the World?<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lent B March 10, 2024<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Numbers 21:4-9 Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Ephesians 2:1-10 John 3:14-21</span></span></h1><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Lent/BLent4_RCL.html"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Lectionary Link</span></b></a><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is said that Einstein's once opined that the most important question in life had to do with a belief in a friendly universe.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Indeed, what do we project upon everything, everywhere, all at once? Do we project a God involved in the universe with a divine presence, diffusely immanent and omnipresent? Is divine omnipresence a friendly presence? How could we know? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Is the universe but God throwing the dice resulting of an infinite play of probabilities and giving all probabilities a degree of freedom, such that communities of freedom can unite to do collective evil or collective good?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The biblical witness and the Christian witness perhaps frames the Einstein question in a different way with a bit different language. The biblical witness like the articulation of everything is necessarily anthropocentric because as language users we are limited to human experience. But we also believe to be human means to partake of the sublimely human and touch the horizon of a deeper connection of all things, the connection we name as the divine presence, which contains us and always engenders a future.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the biblical witness we posit a divine presence which is the residing place and the cause of the presence of everything, including us. And we believe that the great Presence responsible for our becoming, made us good, so that we might be on the path of becoming better. The lure for us becoming better is the lure of the Presence of the One we have come to call Love.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We deal with Einstein's question of a friendly universe by the belief that God is love. The one who is love is able to make other beings who have the free capacity to also love and be loved. The act of creation is a love act, and the continuous renewal of everything in time is the labor of the sustaining love of someone who wants every being to become continuously better or part of comprising a better surpassing whole.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One of the most quoted words of the New Testament is from our appointed Gospel. "God so loved the world...." So, such an expression is a belief that an omnipresence God is loving everywhere, and what could be more friendly than that?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Einstein, in knowing the potential misuses of scientific discoveries, thought that a friendly universe issue was important as it pertained to the morals and ethics of how we use our science and technology to treat each other. We know that we have not been enlightened in the practice of friendliness toward each other so as to give everyone an equality in the pursuit of happiness and well-being. Believing that human beings are mostly unloving and not perfectible in love might make us act as though selfish behavior is the central motivation of life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If we, like the writer of John's Gospel, believe that God is love, how is such to be known and experienced? Why does it often seem like God is love is the unknown secret of the universe?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The biblical writers often write about the failure of people to be loving toward God and toward each other. The people of Israel, who are presented as God's experiment in bringing love to the world, are shown to be people who continually failed to represent a God of love. The proliferation of the failure to love can seem to be the prevailing trend of life itself.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How does the biblical witness deal with the continual failure of people to love God and each other? The God who has and will out live all and yet include every other being, is seen to be the best of parent. God is seen as one who has the duration to forgive and give endless chances for amendment of life to people.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The God of love gave exemplars within human community of how people are supposed to love and be loved. "God so love the world," that God gave a specific divine child of love to show his brothers and sisters the life of loving and being loved. Jesus is the example of God not giving up on us and showing us the tolerant loving forgiveness of our parent God who always believes we can get better because we are made in having a genuine freedom to chose in the direction of love.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Gospel questions for each of us today include: Do we believe that God is a loving presence everywhere in this universe? If so, how can we and others know? We can only know by experiencing love from others and passing that love on to others.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And if we believe that God is love, how should we live? Following Christ, we should always chose love and try to speak and live lovingly with our lives. Amen.</span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-16914396652166283142024-03-06T10:55:00.006-06:002024-03-06T10:55:50.729-06:00 Sunday School, March 10, 2024 4 Lent B<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> Sunday School, March 10, 2024</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">4 Lent B</span></p><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Theme:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God’s love</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One definition of God is this:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God is love.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But if God is love, how does God show that God loves us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Can an elephant love an ant?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I don’t know.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>An ant might get in the ear of an elephant and tickle the ear drum.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>An ant might be too small for an elephant to see.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>An elephant might be so different from the ant that it might seem like a silly question to ask.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If an elephant could magically be reduced to become the same size as an ant, then the elephant might be able to let the ant know that an elephant to love and care for an ant.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God is love.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And God is great.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God is greater than us, even greater than the elephant is greater than the ant.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So how can a great God, who is love, show the people of this world that God loves us?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God reduced the divine life into baby Jesus in Bethlehem. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Baby Jesus grew up and lived with us and understood human life even better than we understand it. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God showed us that God loves us by giving us God Son, Jesus. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And Jesus did what every human eventually does, he died. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He died on the Cross. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But Jesus lived again after his death to show us that God is great enough to save and preserve our lives after we die.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God is love and God showed love to us when God gave us Jesus.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God so loved the world that he gave us his Son Jesus. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And if we see and look at the death and resurrection of Jesus, it is a path that we follow in this life. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we believe in God’s love and in what Jesus has shown us and done for us, then we have the hope of living again after our deaths. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And that means we don’t have to live with fear in our lives. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can live with faith and hope. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And if we live with hope we can have more fun and joy and success in our lives.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Text:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do you like snakes?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Real snakes?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There are all kinds of snakes.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And some snakes are poisonous.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There is story in the Bible about Moses and the children of Israel.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One day their camp was infested with poisonous snakes and many people were getting bitten.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, Moses asked God what he should do and God told him to make a snake out of bronze metal and put it on a tall pole.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And when people looked at the snake on the tall pole they would get healed from their snake bites.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When Jesus was talking to a man named Nicodemus, Jesus said, “just as Moses put the snake on the pole so that the people of Israel could be healed of their snake bites, Jesus said that he would be put up on the tall pole called the “Cross.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And this cross would be something that everyone would know about and when they understood how much that God loved this world, they would know that God’s love could make us better.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God love us in sending Jesus to teach us about living and dying.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>About living Jesus taught us to love and care for one another.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He taught us to forgive each other; he taught us to accept God’s forgiveness when we know that we fail to do what is best and right.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus taught us about dying.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He taught us that some dying is heroic.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When a soldier dies to protect his or her country that is heroic.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When a fire-fighter dies to save a child that his heroic.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When Jesus died for us, that was heroic.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus taught us some other things about dying.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He taught not to be afraid of dying because it is only a gateway to another kind of life, called eternal life.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus taught us that we could die and live at the same time.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We die to our selfish self and let our kind and helping selves live.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we go to school and learn, we die to our ignorant self and let a new self with more learning be born.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So Jesus taught us that dying can mean saying good bye to bad things in our lives so that we can welcome better things and new ways to act and behave which will make our world better.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Today, Let us remember that God loved the world so much that God gave us eternal life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And now I want you to repeat one of the most famous verses in the Bible:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Say: John 3:16.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God so the loved the world that he gave his only Son.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Intergenerational Family Liturgy with Holy Eucharist</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">March 10, 2024: Fourth Sunday In Lent</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gathering Songs:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He’s Got the Whole World, Lord, I Lift Your Name on High, Eat This Bread, Awesome God</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Opening Song : He’s Got the Whole World, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 90)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He’s got the whole world in his hands, he’s got the whole wide world, in his hands.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He’s got the whole world, in his hands, he’s got the whole world in his hands.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He’s got the little tiny baby in his hands, he’s got the little tiny baby in his hands, he’s got the little tiny baby in his hand, he’s got the whole world in his hands.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He’s got the boys and the girls..</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">4.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He’s got the mommies and the daddies..</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: His mercy endures forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Through Jesus Christ our Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="height: 138px; margin: 276px 0px 0px 840px; position: absolute; width: 507px; z-index: 251655680;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Kyrie" height="138" src="file:///C:/Users/PHILCO~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2" width="507" /></span></span><span style="height: 138px; margin: 276px 0px 0px 840px; position: absolute; width: 507px; z-index: 251658752;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Kyrie" height="138" src="file:///C:/Users/PHILCO~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_6" width="507" /></span></span><span style="height: 138px; margin: 276px 0px 0px 840px; position: absolute; width: 507px; z-index: 251656704;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Kyrie" height="138" src="file:///C:/Users/PHILCO~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_3" width="507" /></span></span><span style="height: 138px; margin: 276px 0px 0px 840px; position: absolute; width: 507px; z-index: 251657728;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Kyrie" height="138" src="file:///C:/Users/PHILCO~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_4" width="507" /></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Lord be with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us pray</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First Litany of Praise: Chant: Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you are Great!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made us! Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made yourself known to us!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have given us a Christian family!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have forgiven our sins!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A Reading from the Book of Numbers</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">From Mount Hor the Israelites set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food." Then the LORD sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD to take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live." So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Word of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us read together from Psalm 107</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, * and his mercy endures for ever.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let all those whom the LORD has redeemed proclaim * that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litanist:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For work and for play. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Glory to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Gospel of the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon – <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Children’s Creed</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since God is so great and we are so small,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>resurrection of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>welcome.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that Christ is kind and fair.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Peace of the Lord be always with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Offertory Song: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Lord I Lift Your Name on High, Renew! #4</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lord, I lift your name on high; Lord, I love to sing Your praises.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I’m so glad you’re in my life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I’m so glad you came to save us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You came from heaven to earth to show the way, from the earth to the cross, my debt to pay.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky; Lord, I lift your name on high!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Doxology</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prologue to the Eucharist.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All become members of a family by birth or adoption.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Baptism is the celebration of our birth into the family of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Lord be with you</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lift up your hearts</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We lift them to the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us give thanks to God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is right to give God thanks and praise.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(All may gather around the altar)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You have made us in your image</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>the bread and drink the wine, we can<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>this food and drink<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>that becomes a part of us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbors.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father who art in heaven:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Breaking of the Bread</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Celebrant: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore let us keep the feast.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Word of Administration.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Communion Hymn: Eat This Bread (Renew! # 228)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Eat this Bread, drink this cup, come to me and never be hungry.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in me and you will not thirst.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(Repeat during communion)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Post-Communion Prayer</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And His Presence has been known to us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and sisters in Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Closing Song: Awesome God, (Renew!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span># 245)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our God is an awesome God, he reigns from heaven above</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">with wisdom, power and love our God is an awesome God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dismissal:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-54316479214657960952024-03-02T12:36:00.001-06:002024-03-02T12:36:31.012-06:00The World as God's Temple<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3 Lent B March 4, 2024<br /><span>Exodus 20:1-17 Psalm 19<br /></span><span>1 Corinthians 1:18-25 John 2:13-22</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Lent/BLent3_RCL.html"><b>Lectionary Link</b></a><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">What is undeniable about the Bible is that it is a collection of texts, a collection words. And it is evidence of the age when writing arose as technology of memory. Text was a way of preserving the spoken words of people who had once been present. A text is also an art form creating stories about people who never existed but were inventions of writers who believe that creation in writing was a way of forming community identity and passing that identity with certain values onto another generation.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Bible like many of the classics, is revered because of the general paucity of writing in ancient times and the lack of general literacy of ancient people. It is our task today to look at the words which convey the art of living for ancient people and who provide us not only with their words but with the example of being active language users to promote the very best of what language users should be doing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In our appointed lessons for today, the famous ten commandments are presented to us. These words are evidence that people in community were seeking best practices for how they could live together in the very best possible way. In their wisdom story, they present Moses as a wise medium between the greatness of God and how that greatness could be funneled into human living. The ten commandments assert that love and justice are the best ways to live in life. The ten commandments are based upon loving one who perpetually greater than us so that we might then practice love as justice with each other, with parents, spouses, families, property, knowledge, truth, life. This is accomplished by learning of impulse control, stated as "thou shall not covet." Namely, if only God is worthy of the profundity of our desire, then from worship we learn to direct our desire to mere enjoyment rather than be driven to harmful addiction.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The appointed Psalm today is in part a poem of praise about the great insight of living in love and justice because of the discovery of the great insight of a law which was founded upon respecting first the one who is greater than us and then living with such loving respect for those who are most like us.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The words of the Bible include a narrative of judgments about the behavior of people when they failed to live up to their highest insight or for when they misused the very notion of being lawful. If the commandments of loving God and neighbor are great, then so is the precise specification of what laws could mean in all of the specific circumstances of life, in how to wash dishes in the temple, or how to eat, or what is appropriate offerings to present to God. Certainly every society knows about the proliferation of rules and law, even to micro-manage the cleaning up after our pets in the park. All kinds of law are good, useful, and functional for community order, but when minor laws are treated with the same respect as the great laws of love and justice, then the priorities of the community can get skewed. When legalism becomes the only valid use of language, the fullness of human experience is missed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One might say that philosophy, the love of wisdom, is the great gift of the ancient Greeks to our world. But what if such wisdom get reduced to saying that something is only meaningfully true if and only if it can be presented in a logical proposition?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When St. Paul had his life completely renovated by a mystical experience, he had to confront some contradiction regarding what was meaningfully true. Jesus is God's Son, who is the Messiah, who died, reappeared, and is mystically known after he can no longer be seen. What kind of heroic Messiah is this? Compared with a Messiah like David, Jesus dying on the cross is a scandal. Paul's experience also seemed to be logically inconsistent with the wisdom of the Greek as it came to the Roman era. This foolishness is presented in the skepticism of Pilate about to crucify Jesus: "So, Jesus, you are a King?" St. Paul could have easily pointed to fact that the Greeks and Romans held to their law and logic even while believing in stories of gods and goddesses with quite fickled behaviors and violating all norms of empirical verification.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What St. Paul was showing is that in the mystical experience of love, law and logic must give way to other kinds of meaningful events within the life of people. He, and others had this mystical experience which changed their lives and it contradicted preconceptions of people who were Jews and Gentiles.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">St. Paul and the Gospel writers were trying to persuade regarding meaningful presence of God everywhere, which was made known through the appearance of Jesus Christ. In the past one could intensively locate the divine in stories of the gods and goddesses, or in meeting places such as temples and shrines, or in revealed writings such as the law. In St. Paul and in the Gospel, Jesus became known as the unique temple for the dwelling of God in human experience, so that each person could come to know oneself as a dwelling place of God as well.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is the meaningful and mystical truth of Paul and the Gospel writers who knew themselves to be temples of the God Holy Spirit who proclaimed this as a meaningful experience for everyone.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Gospel for us today is that if the heavens declare the glory of God, so God's glory can be declared everywhere, and especially within each human being.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is the witness of Jesus as God's Temple in history, who became the Risen Christ who is able to make everyone today a temple of God's Holy Spirit. Amen.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-26889112892786150832024-02-29T05:30:00.000-06:002024-02-29T11:15:32.075-06:00Aphorism of the Day, February 2024<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 29, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Being spiritual in the New Testament refers to a habit of wisdom which allows one to read the world in a different way than the merely literal way. It is a more aesthetic way of viewing the world, which does not contradict empirical verification. The New Testament writers ask that the substantiality of other ways of perceiving the world be accepted with the respect which we have for "believing our eyes." Poetry and science can co-exist with each mode receiving it proper use.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Aphorism of the Day, February 28, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One of the subtexts of the Gospel of John is that spiritual discourse is figurative and not "literal" discourse. Repeatedly in John's Gospel, the writer mocks the crassly literal.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 27, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The purpose of the law can be viewed in various ways. Laws can be the insight of actuarial wisdom to recommend best behavioral practices for the goals of the common good of the particular group for which the rules are to be applied. Laws can be view with the penal outcome in mind to deter bad behaviors. Laws can become legalism when imposed structuration is applied to manifold areas of life and the relative importance of certain laws can be lost. Picking up dog poop rules can attain the equal status of how one treats one's neighbor.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 26, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A chief task in life is the orchestration in the use of discourse. When to use what kind of discourse when we are articulating values in word and deed and when we are interpreting the values which arrive to us in the texts, words, and deeds of other. To to be confused in the use of discourse results in at best comedy, but at worst in human cruelty.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 25, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ever notice how there is profound outrage for new events of oppression while the populace have been inured to situations of continuing oppression, as if, such were more acceptable? Is common life about learning to live with the tacit hypocrisy of our own country and people while getting righteously outraged when we think we can see it in people who are not us?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 24, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Being located with space and time limitation feeds into the ease of liking what we know and knowing what we like. If charity begins at home, it is too easy to only practice charity to those with whom we are familiar. To believe in a God of all means that we are constantly challenge to love beyond our natural borders.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> Aphorism of the Day, February 23, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Taking up of one's cross was a symbolic mystagogic phrase of the early church. It did not mean that one should seek capital punishment in the Roman Empire situation; it meant, using the phrase of St. Paul, "being crucified with Christ," as a spiritual method of identity with this interior higher power source to motivate repentance, or the getting better today than yesterday.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 22, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The dying of states of becoming in time results in the birth of what comes after. The death and birthing of states of the mind is the meaning of repentance in the Gospel. The words of Jesus refer to the death of the soul life <i>pseuche</i> in order to experience the continual salvation of the "after life," or the birth of a more excellent orientation of one's inner life toward love and justice.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 21, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In our time, the way in which one can be absolved of not having love or empathy, is to refer to love and empathy as being "woke." If one can highlight the fact that people who attempt love and empathy are sometimes preaching a standard that they themselves cannot perfectly keep, then they are "woke," and so no one should be woke. The attempt to be empathetic and practice justice toward people who are struggling to be honest about personal identities that are unfamiliar to other people is regarded to be "woke" and therefore something bad. The practice of justice is to find supporting ways for all persons to know the pursuit of well-being and happiness. The common good has to include justice for those who are regarded to be minorities, which is simply a statistical designation.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 20, 2023</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the words of Jesus, pain and suffering cannot be excluded from the experience of the messiah or God. God encompasses the full range of probability necessary for the kind of freedom needed for moral authenticity. It is oddly true that we have to be able at our human worst to authenticate the value at choosing to be our best.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 19, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Gospels present in story form the disagreement about the messiah which existed within the synagogue and Jesus Movement. Peter's misunderstanding of what was to happen to the messiah instantiates that disagreement.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 18, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everything arises within the field of what probably will happen according to how happening is defined and interpreted because we have language. Probability is a designation of what may happen in time by language users.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 17, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The life of probabilities is the life of freedom of not knowing the future as actual and not have certainty about outcomes requires from us continuous actuarial wisdom. Such is based upon, given our observations of what has happened, how can we be prepared for the likely happenings in the future. We need to be practical statisticians at all times, even without knowing statistic formulas. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 16, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since we don't always voluntarily chose extended fasts or periods of discipline, the intent behind the church offering the discipline of the season of Lent is to do it together. Our special disciplines may be primarily private, but there are also corporate disciplines which we do together as a community.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 15, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Before we knew about atoms and the sub-atomic, we thought perhaps particles of dust and ashes were the smallest things which human flesh could be reduced. Humanity has longed believed in the invisible sub-microscopic using words like heart, spirit, soul, and inner being. Language itself is mostly invisible though it has it wordy effects in what we say, write, and act out in our body language. It is in fact with our invisible aspect of language that we come to have our identities because people in every culture know themselves beings who give names to everything.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> Aphorism of the Day, February 14, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When one wants to learn something new, it often requires a change of one's normal schedule to devote time for the new learning goal. Such is what the season of Lent is about. Just view it as rearranging one's previous allocation of time to devote to further excellence in how one can better practice love and justice with others.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 13, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The presentation of Jesus in his temptation ordeal was to highlight the need for an experience of a higher power to win the interior struggles which vary for everyone because of the specifics of one's nature and nurture.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 12, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Temptation is both a general and specific reality. How so? Temptation is essentially about timing and mistiming in what we do and say, and a general vocation in life is to be in right timing with our impulse control so that "God's will" can be done on earth through us. Temptation is a specific reality in that there are periods of time when the struggle is what we might call an ordeal and the inner forces of accusation seem to say we can't have self control. The life of Jesus is presented with a period of specific ordeals for him to achieve the timing of his life mission. But the general presentation of Jesus' life is about him doing things in God's time.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 11, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Light is a metaphor for the conversion moment in embracing a new paradigm and changing one's thought orientation in the world with attending behavioral changes as well.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 10, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Consider language as an inner kaleidoscope with words as the "colored sherds" to be shone through and projected as meaning in our lives. The words have both randomness the feature of arbitrary selection but with structured limitations due to rules of syntax and grammar.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 9, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">With incredible reflexivity in language and by language, we arrive at our identity as language users, and through language we name the interior ability to shuffle words in communicative patterns. Our life of knowing is having awareness of being within language reflexive being.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 8, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The power of words within us includes the naming of the retaining of words in the phenomenon of memory. With memory the words within us also get associated with seeing things in the exterior world and the interior picture words have the ability to double expose and create fantasia which is not possible in the external limitation. This is what happens with dreams and interior or visionary seeing. This does not clash with science because science has a discourse proper to itself and visionary seeing has its own discourse.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 7, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Visionary seeing as experiences of the sublime occur because one's interior life, which is really an inner linguistic lens through which one perceives the world, causes one to see the exterior world in an enhanced different, "enlightened" way.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> Aphorism of the Day, February 6, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">With the travel among the people in various locales of Jesus Movement communities one could say that there was something of social osmosis in the spread of theology. A worthy study is to look at the expressions of mystagogy in St. Paul, who wrote before the Gospel writings, and see how such mystagogy became the narrative of Jesus as a parable to provide an origin discourse for practices of the early Jesus Movement.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 5, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Infancy narratives, baptism, transfiguration, resurrection are the butterfly moments in the metamorphosis in the presentation of the life of Jesus. Surely the narrative was the mystagogy of the early Christ-communities who taught an identity with the Risen Christ involving a continuous metamorphosis in spiritual experience.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 4, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The most basic medicine for health is food. So to be food healthy, first one must have enough. The first food people eat is the food of one's family and culture. Some people are worried about getting any food at all whereas the prosperous are worried about the amount and kinds of food they eat. Bread from heaven should be interior words which change people's actions to make sure that everyone in the world has enough to eat. The piety of Eucharist without reference to those who are hungry, may be a pointless piety.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 3, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Does folk medicine work? It does if the ill and their society perceive a better outcome than alternatives even while the big illness of death to which all of us are headed only get some temporary delays. Life and Death are part of holistic natural cycle, except in our meaningful living interaction with life and people we get helplessly attached and so we cannot regard death to be but part of the cycle of becoming.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 2, 2024 </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The folk meteorology of Ground Hog's Day co-exists with modern meteorology as well as the dated traditions of the Farmer's Almanac. People can switch between the discourses of folk traditions and science without problem. People should also be able to switch between the folk biblical traditions and science too.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, February 1, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The creative advances in science and technology have changed the thought environments. How has medical science changed the discussion of reproductive rights? How did orality come to be known after writing provided a different kind of technology of memory, since it could only be known once a contrast arose. Cultures with writing can no longer know what orality means without already having textual practice.</span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-30156498003782212302024-02-29T05:00:00.000-06:002024-02-29T11:11:09.673-06:00Quiz of the Day, February 2024<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 29, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the parable of the sower, the seed did not fall</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. on a path</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. on rocky ground</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. on good soil</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. among thorns</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. among weeds</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 28, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">According to the words of Jesus, the kingdom of God was communicated in parables because</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. it was a secret</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. the indirect method of communication was effective</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. uneducated people only understand stories</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. story telling was the prime mode of educating people in the time of Jesus</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 27, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of the following, who delivered a man over to Satan?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Peter</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Barnabas</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Paul</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Simon Magus</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 26, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which two heads of the 12 tribes of Israel were not sons of Jacob and had Egyptian lineage?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Reuben and Asher</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Ephraim and Judah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Benjamin and Manasseh</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Ephraim and Manasseh</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 25, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of the following, who had a dream about fat cows and skinny cows?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Daniel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Nebuchadnezzar</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Joseph</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Pharaoh</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 24, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A citation from what book in the Hebrew Scriptures was given for replacing Judas Iscariot with Matthias?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Isaiah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Job</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Psalms</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. 2 Samuel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 23, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of the following, who was not a biblical dreamer?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Pharaoh</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Joseph of Nazareth</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Joseph son of Jacob</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Jacob</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. David</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">f. Solomon</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">g.Nebuchadnezzar </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 22, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Joseph was not</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. overseer of an Egyptian household</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. a prisoner who oversaw the rest of the prisoner</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. an Egyptian minister who over saw the commerce of Egypt</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. the overseer of the synagogue in Egypt</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 21, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Who sold Joseph to slave traders going to Egypt?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. his brothers</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. the Ishmaelites</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. the Midianites</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. the Ammonites</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 20, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Gospel of Mark begins with</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. the genealogy of Jesus through Mary</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. the birth of Jesus</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. the baptism of Jesus</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 19, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of the following, who did not not do any shepherding?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Joseph</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Abel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. David</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Solomon</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. Moses</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 18, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which of the Gospels does not have an account of the temptation of Jesus?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Matthew</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Mark</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Luke</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. John</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 17, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Janani Luwam was </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Ugandan</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. an Archbishop</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. a martyr</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. killed because of Idi Amin cruel reign</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. all the above</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 16, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">From Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday, the number of days is</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. 40</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. 42</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. 44</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. 46</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. 47</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 15, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus did not tell a parable about</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. a tax collector</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. a Pharisee</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. a leper</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. a Samaritan</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. a refiner</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 14, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To have been shriven on Shrove Tuesday means what?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. to eat pancakes</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. to celebrate Mardi Gras</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. to perform significant act of penitence</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. to confess and receive absolution</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 13, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Where is it written, "Surely I am too stupid to be a human?"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Wisdom of Ben Sirach</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Proverbs</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Job</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Psalms</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 12, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which woman of the following does not have a "song" in the Bible?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Mary</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Miriam</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Deborah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Hannah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. Ruth</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 11, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The New Testament Greek word for transfiguration sounds more like what word in English?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. change</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. alteration</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. metamorphosis</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. transformation</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 10, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus met a woman of Samaria at a well. Which of the following is not true about the well?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. named after Jacob</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. was in Sychar</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. was in Shechem</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. it was on land given by Jacob to Benjamin</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 9, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When did the "Jacob's ladder" dream occur?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. When Jacob was trying to escape Esau</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. When Jacob slept at Beth-el</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. When Jacob was on his way to Laban's household</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. all the above</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 8, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Who in the Bible is know as a "hairy man?"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Samson</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Esau</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Cain</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Saul</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 7, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of of the following, which were not twins?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Cain and Abel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Jacob and Esau</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Thomas and twin sibling</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Peraz and Zerah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 6, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which pericope in John's Gospel is regarded by scholars to be a late textual addition?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. woman taken in adultery</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. changing water to wine</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. raising of Lazarus</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. doubting Thomas</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 5, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What biblical figure was named "Red?"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Joseph</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Ruben</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Esau</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Ephraim</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 4, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Who is the apostle to the Scandinavians? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Olaf</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Boniface</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Anskar</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Wilfrid</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 3, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of the following, which is not the wife of a biblical patriarch?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Sarah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Ruth</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Rebekah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Rachel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. Leah</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 2, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which of the following does not happen liturgically on February 2nd?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. the commemoration of the Presentation</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Candlemas</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. the blessing of beeswax</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. the Naming of Jesus</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, February 1, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What Irish saint has a 1500 anniversary today?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Brendan</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Columba</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Patrick</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Brigid</span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-70523856840060390812024-02-26T10:52:00.001-06:002024-02-26T10:52:16.361-06:00 Sunday School, March 3, 2024 3 Lent B<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> Sunday School, March 3, 2024 </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">3 Lent B</span></p><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Theme:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">10 Commandments</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In our world today, we don’t use instruction manuals. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we want to put something together or fix something, we just Google it and find a video on Youtube to show us someone giving and showing us specific instruction on how to put things together and how things work.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the time of the Bible there were no videos. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What did God give to this world to show men and women and boys and girls how to live life in the best way.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God inspired the famous Ten Commandment as an old-fashioned video for how people should live.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Answer these questions:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How can I show God that I love God the most?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What things am I tempted to value more than God?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How can I misuse God’s name wrong? <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When do I say I love God and yet I do not act as if I do?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What special time do I give to God to show and prove that I love God?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What do I do to show that I respect my parents?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What do I do to honor the marriage promises of others?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What do I do to show that I respect the value of life?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What do I do to show that I value what is true?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What do I do to show that I respect the property of other people?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What do I do to show that I am thankful and content with my life?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If you answer these question, then you can understand how the 10 Commandments are teaching you how to live your life in the very best way.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When you get a new car, or new television, or new set a Legos, or a new bike, what do you get with them?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You get a book or an instruction manual.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This manual tells you how to put something together.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This book tells us how to take care of our car, our bicycle or our toys.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It tells how to treat our car or bicycle or toy to keep it from breaking.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When a baby is born, do mommy and daddy receive an instruction manual about how to take care of a baby?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Well, yes, we have many books that tell us how to take care of babies.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And we have books to tell us how to take care of young children, teen age children, young adults, middle age people and older people too.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And there is a very famous instruction manual for how all people should live.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We read it today.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is called the 10 commandments.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we want to live a good life, then we will try to follow the 10 commandments.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If God made us, then we need to make God the most important thing in our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And that means everything else is less important than God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And how do we make God important in our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We give God time by thinking about God and by praying and by worshipping God when we gather together.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And if we make God important, then we won’t misuse God’s name.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we make God very important in our lives, then we all also know how to live with each other?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And how are we to live with each other?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We respect our parents and families.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We respect the importance of everyone’s life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We respect the things that belong to each other.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We respect marriage.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We tell the truth.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And we learn to be happy and contented with the good things that God has given us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Those are the 10 commandments that God has given us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And if you can’t remember all 10 commandments, Jesus gave us two commandments that will help us to always know what to do with our lives.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus said, We should love God, with all of our hearts, our mind and our strength.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And he said that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Love God, love our neighbors, and love our selves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Can you remember that?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If you can remember these three things, you will always know how to live a very good life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Intergenerational liturgy with Holy Eucharist</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">March 3, 2024: Third Sunday in Lent</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gathering Songs:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus in the Morning; Let All That Is Within Me, <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Ubi Caritas; Oh, When the Saints</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Opening Song: Jesus in the Morning, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 134)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in the morning, Jesus at the noontime.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus, Jesus, Jesus when the sun goes down.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Love him…</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise him…</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">4.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Serve him…</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: His mercy endures forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Through Jesus Christ our Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Lord be with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us pray</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First Litany of Praise: Chant: Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you are Great!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made us! Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made yourself known to us!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have given us a Christian family!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have forgiven our sins!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A Reading from the Book of Exodus</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Then God spoke all these words: you shall have no other gods before me.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You shall not make for yourself an idol, You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Honor your father and your mother, You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Word of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us read together from Psalm 29</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The law of the LORD is perfect and revives the soul; * the testimony of the LORD is sure<br />and gives wisdom to the innocent.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The statutes of the LORD are just and rejoice the heart; * the commandment of the LORD is clear<br />and gives light to the eyes.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litanist:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For work and for play. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Glory to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Gospel of the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon – Father Phil</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Children’s Creed</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since God is so great and we are so small,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>resurrection of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>welcome.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that Christ is kind and fair.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Peace of the Lord be always with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Offertory Song: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let All That Is within Me,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>(Renew! # 262)<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1-Let all that is within me cry, “Holy,” Let all that is within me cry, “Holy.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb that was slain.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2-Let all that is within me cry, “Glory,” Let all that is within me cry, “Glory,” Glory, Glory, Glory to the Lamb that was slain.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3-Let all that is within me cry “Jesus,”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let all that is within me cry, “Jesus,” Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is the Lamb that was slain.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Doxology</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prologue to the Eucharist.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All become members of a family by birth or adoption.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Baptism is the celebration of our birth into the family of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Lord be with you</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lift up your hearts</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We lift them to the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us give thanks to God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is right to give God thanks and praise.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(All may gather around the altar)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You have made us in your image</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>the bread and drink the wine, we can<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>this food and drink<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>that becomes a part of us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we might love God and our neighbors.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father who art in heaven:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Breaking of the Bread</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Celebrant: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore let us keep the feast.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Word of Administration.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Communion Hymn: Ubi Caritas (Renew! # 226)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ubi caritas et amor, ubi caritas, Deus ibi est.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(Repeat during communion)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Post-Communion Prayer</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And His Presence has been known to us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and sisters in Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Closing Song: When the Saints Go Marching in, (Christian Children’s Songbook,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span># 248)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Oh when the saints go marching in.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Oh when the saints go marching in.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Lord I want to be in that number.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When the saints go marching in.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Oh when the girls go marching in…</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Oh when the boys go marching in..</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dismissal:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-44349883438435113932024-02-23T15:04:00.002-06:002024-02-23T22:43:54.420-06:00Living in the Universality of God<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">2 Lent B February 25, 2024<br /></span><span><span style="color: black; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Psalm 22:22-30<br /></span></span><span><span style="color: black; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Romans 4:13-25 Mark 8:31-38</span></span><span><span id="docs-internal-guid-d16208dd-7fff-5ac5-e757-aeb6070e6d4d"><br /></span></span></span></h1><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Lent/BLent2_RCL.html"><b>Lectionary Link</b></a><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d16208dd-7fff-5ac5-e757-aeb6070e6d4d" style="font-family: arial;"><br />It is easy to confess universalism but quite difficult to practice such within our specific circumstances. The famous cartoon quote of Charlie Brown is insightful about the great tension between good theory and experimental practice of that theory. Charlie Brown said, "I love mankind; it's people I can't stand."</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Great love is inclusive, but our narrow-minded affinities are often very exclusive and limited. We know that God is love, and God calls us to love all but does that include the people who are thorns in my side? Does it include our enemies?</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the goals of St. Paul was to write the Gentiles into salvation history in continuity with the salvation history as found in the Hebrew Scriptures. The Hebrew Scriptures highlight the tension between the universal nature of God and God's availability to everyone and the conflict of the people of Israel with all of Israel's neighbors, including those who had been pushed from land so that Israel could claim it as their Promised Land.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How can Abraham be the ancestor of a multitude of nations, while the love of God was to be only for God's favorite Israel? How could the Psalmist implore for all the nations to praise God without specifically inviting them to do so? How could the Temple be a house of prayer for all people, and yet entrance there not be allowed to all?</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The history of salvation is the history of people who believe themselves to be favored by God, not being able to grant that favor with the true largesse of the loving heart of God.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Indeed no group of people has the same largesse of heart of God; and we have to be humble at accepting our limitation and our limited ministry to the people in our lives.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However, the universality of God always invites us to the continual expansion of learning to be more universal and inclusive of more people, even people who are outside our familiar comfort zones.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The writings of St. Paul and the Gospels are about bringing the message of God's love to more people than those who had been adherent Jews of the Temple and synagogue. The movement of presenting God as being accessible to people who were more than adherent Jews of the synagogue and Temple was controversial.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">St. Paul saw the Hebrew Scriptures as a witness to the universality of God for everyone, and for him, it meant that he understood the Gentiles as being pre-figured in the story of Abraham and in the universality of God written about in various parts of the Hebrew Scriptures.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Although the Gospels were written as though they are in the time of Jesus, they really are written from the perspective of people who knew the experience of the Risen Christ 25 to 55 years after Jesus had left the earth. This is clearly in the Gentile age of the Jesus Movement.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What made the Jesus Movement more universal than the synagogue experience, was the mysticism of the early Jesus Movement. This movement was based upon the experience of the Risen Christ being a spiritual experience of many people. The teachings of Paul and the Gospels included a spiritual methodology for taking on an identity with Christ through a visualization of events in the life of Jesus. One could be "crucified and raised" with Christ as an interior power of identification in the overall program of education, called repentance, meaning literally continual renewal of the mind.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the catch phrases of the early Jesus Movement was to take up one's cross and follow Jesus, a dying to one's soul life of former mind to receive a renewed mind, an after mind. Repentance or <i>metanoia</i> literally means "after mind." Instead of being a David-like external military messiah, Jesus, as Risen Christ, was an interior power for the transformation of lives one at a time in the secret place of people's soul.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Taking up the cross of Christ was like the phrase of identity in Pauline spirituality, "I have been crucified with Christ." St. Paul and the Gospel writers believed in the universal accessibility of knowing identity with the Risen Christ who was the sublime presence of a person knowing oneself as a child of God.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let us today, as we are shackled with the limitations of our life experiences and fearful unwillingness to recognize God's relevance to everyone, let us acknowledge that the sublime experience of God can come to all and let us acknowledge such God-dignity upon the lives of all today. Amen.</span></span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-46530054005692923272024-02-20T11:55:00.006-06:002024-02-20T11:55:50.557-06:00 Sunday School, February 25, 2024 2 Lent B<p> <span style="font-family: arial;"> Sunday School, February 25, 2024</span><span style="font-family: arial; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">2 Lent B</span></p><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Themes</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Knowing but not understanding</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah but he did not understand what that meant.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We know what it means to be a good student, baseball player, a good dancer, gymnast or soccer player, but we don’t always understand it what it means to be a good student, baseball player, dancer gymnast or soccer player.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Knowing and understanding</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We can watch Olympic athletes win gold medals and know about greatness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But we don’t understand greatness until we try to do it.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We can become good, smart or great without practice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And practice means doing lots of things that are not fun.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To pass tests at school, we have to read and study and memorize.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To become a good soccer player we have to practice many, many hours.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To be a good dancer or gymnast we have to practice many hours.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And we make mistakes.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We fall and might even hurt ourselves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But we have to keep trying over and over again.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And sometimes we quit because we say, “I’m not good at this and I’ll never be good, so I’m going to quit.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Peter knew that Jesus was great and he knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but he did not understand what it would mean for Jesus to be the Messiah.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He did not understand that the Messiah would have to suffer and die and over come death.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Peter wanted only a triumphant king Messiah.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But Jesus is God with us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If God is with us, God has to be with us in the best times and the worst times.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And pain and death are sad times in human life and if Jesus was really the Messiah, he had to be with us in the bad and sad time too.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, Jesus suffered and he died.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And because he died, he really was with us in everything that we as people have to go through.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Peter only wanted a “half” Messiah.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He wanted a Messiah who did not suffer and not have to face the things that all human beings had to face.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jesus said to Peter, “Peter, you know about the Messiah, but you do not understand the Messiah.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Messiah is one who will suffer and die because the Messiah is proof that God is with us in everything in life, including our death.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jesus went through death and resurrected; he came back to life to show us that we have an afterlife.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let us both know and understand Jesus as the Messiah.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us know that Jesus is the Messiah because he was strong enough to be with us in our suffering; he will be with us in our death; and he will be with us in our afterlife.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sermon</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What is a riddle?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A riddle is a word puzzle to solve.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There many kinds of riddles.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Like, where is the ocean the deepest?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>On the bottom of course.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Or why do potatoes make good dectectives?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because they have so many eyes.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A riddle often includes a word pun.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And what is word pun.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A word pun is when you use the wrong meaning for the word that sounds the same.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The words of Jesus often sound like riddles too.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Sometimes you have to think about them for a long time to understand them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We have read one of the riddles today.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus said, “If save your life, you will lose it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If you lose your life you will save it.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Now that is quite a riddle, isn’t it?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What is solution to this riddle?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Have you heard about some difference sciences?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Have you heard about biology?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The study of life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Psychology is the science that studies human behaviors.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Zoology is the science of studying animal life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The names of these sciences come from Greek words and all of these Greek word mean life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Bios, pseuche, and zoe.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So when Jesus said we need to lose our life to save our lives, what meaning of life do you think he was referring to?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Was he referring to our physical life?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Well, maybe.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Sometimes heroes lose their lives to save people right?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Like when a fireman goes into a dangerous fire to rescue someone trapped in a building.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But the Greek word for life that Jesus used was pseuche.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And that refers to our behavior.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He is saying that we must lose certain behavior for us to save ourselves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How can we understand this?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Losing life to save it?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Did you know that when you read a book and learn something you are losing your life?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You used to know only this much…but now you know this much.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So you lost your old understanding and have received new understanding.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How else do you lose your life and save it?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let’s say that you are sitting down to watch the TV, and your mother asks you to do something to help.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You really want to watch TV….but you decide to obey your mother and help.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You lost your life of watching TV but you gained your life of obeying and helping your mother.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And you have made yourself better and you have made your family better by helping.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Now do you understand this riddle of Jesus, of how we lose our life and save our life?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We also call this a sacrifice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A sacrifice is when we say no to something that we really want to do, and do something to help others.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our family, our society and our church happen only because people sacrifice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>People say no to being selfish, and they say yes to helping others.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is what losing our lives and saving our lives means.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>During the season of Lent we practice the life of sacrifice; saying no to some our favorite things, so that we can say yes to helping make our world a better place.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do you understand the riddle of Jesus now?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Good.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">February 25, 2024: The Second Sunday In Lent</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Intergenerational family liturgy with Holy Eucharist</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Gathering Songs:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Precious Lord, Take My Hand; He’s Got the Whole World, Break Thou the Bread of Life; Lift High the Cross</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Liturgist: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People: God’s mercy endures forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Through Jesus Christ our Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Opening Song : Take My Hand Precious Lord, (LEVAS #106)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When my way grows drear, precious Lord, linger near, when my life is almost gone; Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand, lest I fall, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.</span><span style="height: 138px; margin: 276px 0px 0px 840px; position: absolute; width: 507px; z-index: 251656192;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img height="138" src="file:///C:/Users/PHILCO~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/05/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="_x0000_s1026" width="507" /></span></span><span style="height: 138px; margin: 276px 0px 0px 840px; position: absolute; width: 507px; z-index: 251659264;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img height="138" src="file:///C:/Users/PHILCO~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/05/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="_x0000_s1029" width="507" /></span></span><span style="height: 138px; margin: 276px 0px 0px 840px; position: absolute; width: 507px; z-index: 251657216;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img height="138" src="file:///C:/Users/PHILCO~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/05/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="_x0000_s1027" width="507" /></span></span><span style="height: 138px; margin: 276px 0px 0px 840px; position: absolute; width: 507px; z-index: 251658240;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img height="138" src="file:///C:/Users/PHILCO~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/05/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="_x0000_s1028" width="507" /></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Lord be with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us pray</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">First Litany of Praise: Chant: Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">O God, you are Great!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">O God, you have made us! Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">O God, you have made yourself known to us!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">O God, you have given us a Christian family!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">O God, you have forgiven our sins!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Liturgist: A Reading from the Book of Genesis</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">God said to Abram, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous." Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Word of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People: Thanks be to God</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let us read together from Psalm 22</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Praise the LORD, you that fear him; * stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; *<br />but when they cry to him he hears them.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My praise is of him in the great assembly; * I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Litanist:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For work and for play. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Glory to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Gospel of the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sermon – Father Phil</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Children’s Creed</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Since God is so great and we are so small,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>resurrection of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>welcome.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We believe that Christ is kind and fair.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Youth Liturgist: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Peace of the Lord be always with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Offertory Song: He’s Got the Whole World (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 90)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He’s got the whole world; in his hands he’s got the whole wide world in his hands.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He’s got the whole world in his hands; he’s got the whole world in his hands.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Little tiny babies.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>3<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Brother and the sisters<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>4<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Mothers and the fathers</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Doxology</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Prologue to the Eucharist.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">All become members of a family by birth or adoption.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Baptism is the celebration of our birth into the family of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Lord be with you</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lift up your hearts</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We lift them to the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let us give thanks to God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It is right to give God thanks and praise.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hosanna in the highest.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(All may gather around the altar)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You have made us in your image</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>the bread and drink the wine, we can<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>this food and drink<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>that becomes a part of us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">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.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">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.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Our Father who art in heaven:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Breaking of the Bread</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Celebrant: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore let us keep the feast.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Words of Administration.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Communion Hymn: Break Thou the Bread of Life (LEVAS # 146)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bread thou the bread of life, dear Lord to me, as thou didst break the loaves beside the sea; beyond the sacred page I seek thee, Lord; my spirit pants for thee, O living word.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(Repeat during communion)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Post-Communion Prayer</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And His Presence has been known to us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and sisters in Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Closing Song: Lift High the Cross, (Blue Hymnal # 473)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Refrain: Lift High the cross, the love of Christ proclaim.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Till all the world adore, his sacred name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Led on their way in this triumphant sign, the hosts of God in conquering ranks combine. Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Each newborn servant of the Crucified- bears on the brow the seal of him who died.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree, as thou hast promised, draw the world to thee.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So shall our song of triumph ever be: praise to the crucified for victory.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dismissal:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People: Thanks be to God!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-2942895794508894582024-02-16T15:59:00.001-06:002024-02-17T10:36:10.377-06:00Lent and Living with Probabilities<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1 Lent B</span><span style="font-family: arial; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">February 18, 2024<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Gen. 9:8-17<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Ps<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>25:1-9<span style="margin: 0px;"> <br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">1 Peter 3:18-22<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Mark 1:9-13</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Lent/BLent1_RCL.html"><b>Lectionary Link</b></a><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy Scripture sometimes places together in proximity the notion of temptation, trial, and ordeal.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the Our Father, we pray, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Or the contemporary translation, "save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Temptation, trial, ordeal, and evil have to do with probabilities in life, which for many are unavoidable.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The lessons from Scripture for today, might pertain to some insights about the covenant that we live in with God, each other and with life itself. The covenant that we live is our baptismal covenant. And what is this covenant? It is a strategy within community to live best with the probabilities of life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The probabilities of life include everything that may happen to us and how does one prepare for such a great task? What does one desire when faced with many weals and woes of what may happen to us?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We cannot be unrealistic about freedom; freedom is. Things happen. And we have only varying degrees of control over what happens to us in life. So to have a baptismal strategy is prepare ourselves to live with the probabilities in life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And what do we desire in living with the probabilities in life?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We want good timing. We want to be doing the right things, at the right time, and in the right way. This means that we need training, wisdom, and insights about avoiding what is harmful and unworthy. We also need to be taught about what is good and beneficial to us and those in our life. And we also need training to know how to bear up when the things over which we have no control confront and afflict us.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Good timing in life is a desirable goal to have, but to find good timing and to have optimal responses to trouble we need to have training and practice. And this is part of the reason we have the season of Lent. Because we know that things can go wrong, how do we purposeful deny ourselves so as to be better prepared to face the conditions of unchosen exigent threats.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The reason athletic teams have pre-season extended training periods is so they can simulate actual game conditions in preparation for the possible game events.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What did Jesus actually have to experience in his life? Rejection by his family, criticism and persecution by religious leaders, being called crazy or mad, being called one who had a demon, being threatened, being called a drunkard, being called a sinner, being called blasphemous, mocked, betrayed by a disciple, denied by his disciple, abandoned by his disciples, tried for false charges, being flogged, and being crucified. How could Jesus be prepared for these?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Those who knew Jesus best believed that he was prepared in an ordeal of an extended temptation. In his interior life, Jesus had to be prepared for everything that was going to happen to him. The synoptic Gospels give us accounts of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, a time like a Vision Quest which would tempt his role in controlling the timing of his life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus understood that he had to live in God's will, God's timing. The temptations of Jesus in the wilderness are presented as efforts of that inward accuser to get Jesus to do things in the wrong way, at the wrong time, for the wrong motive. The result of the temptation was Jesus being true to the timing of God for his life. He was to eat, he was to attain glory and fame, and he was to die, in God's time and way and not in the timing of the evil one.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Where you and I have freedom, means that mistiming is the chief temptation of our lives. Lent is a season for you and I to ponder continuously good timing for what we do and say. If probability is the rule of the freedom of life, then you and I need to have insight and wisdom about where we exercise our freedom in what we do and say.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lent is a good season of probability training for us. We can use this time to simulate what might happen to us and prepare for how we can maintain ideal timing in our potential responses. Prayer, Study, discerning from Scripture strategies of ideal timing, seeking community support, and doing the good preventive work of giving alms; these are ways that we can prepare in constructive ways for living with the vast probabilities of life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So much of this, like the temptation of Jesus, is interior work, because we have to be inwardly prepared before we take on the details of our mission and work in our lives.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Today, let us continue to pray, "lead us not into temptation, save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil," but let us also work during this season of Lent to learn good timing in our lives, doing and saying the right things, at the right times, for the right motives, and so progress in our desire to be more Christ-like. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><br /></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-29183834549207730142024-02-14T15:32:00.005-06:002024-02-15T09:15:55.935-06:00Ash Wednesday: How Will We Be Recycled?<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ash Wednesday February 14, 2024<br /></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Isaiah 58:1-12 Ps.103<br /></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1 Cor. 5:20b-6:10 Matt. 6:1-6, 16-21<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearABC/Lent/AshWed.html">Lectionary Link</a></b><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Did you ever think that before we came to know about atoms and other sub-atomic particles, that a fragment of dust or ashes might have been regarded to be the smallest entity in life?</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. The mere observation of the body put on fast forward either through fire or through long decaying in an ossuary, rendered the conclusion that when the bodies breaks into its smallest fragments, it is but a collection of dust. As dust and ashes the body is eventually recycled into the environment over time depending upon the environment into which bodies are disposed.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How should we think about dust and ashes now that we have come to believe in the existence of atoms and sub-atomic particles? What does our delving into the hyper-microscopic world do to our dust and ashes metaphors? And how does our knowledge of atoms and the sub-atomic world affect our understanding of our Ash Wednesday Scripture readings?</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">The ancient people, like us, knew of the mystery of the unseeable microscopic and the sub-microscopic worlds. They used metaphorical words like heart and spirit to speak about the inner mystery of life within our bodily flesh. The ancient people, like us knew that the flesh has a shelf life, and the flesh has a event of separation of the inside sub-microscopic life of heart, spirit, and soul from the body.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Even though humanity in many ways has believed in the inward life of soul and spirit, it does not diminish the preferred connection of our inward life with our bodily lives. For all intents and purposes, we rather be living, so much so that we cherish living, and we mourn when we lose people from the realm of the living, and we hope that they continue to live in some way. We hope that they have some substantial continued being, one even as substantial as they were in their bodies which become ashes.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">St. Paul wrote about having treasure in our earthen vessel. The words of Jesus exhort us to build up treasures in heaven, in such a way that they cannot be degraded like our bodies which break down back to dust.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ash Wednesday is about contrasting how our bodies will eventually be recycled with how the mystery and worth of our personhood will be recycled. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Most of us will not make the history books, even while we might be retained for a generation or two in memories within our family and friendship circles. So how will the mystery of our lives be recycled and retained? This is the building of treasure part of our future.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">An act of kindness, mentoring a person, and myriads of deeds of love and justice will remain recycled as the fuel of hope forever. Building up the secret treasures of heaven means that we will be bricks in the wall of time forever, unable to be removed and forever contributing with what has been, is, and will happen.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">The liturgy of Ash Wednesday is about cherishing our mortal lives so much that we "make hay while the sun shines." That is, we develop our inward lives of language to code our body deeds, our speech, and our writing with the mystery of the treasures of heaven, even the mystery of love and justice played forward forever through our interaction with the people of our lives.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">When we think about it, words are mysterious in what they are and how they come to be within us. They are sub-atomic, even sub-microscopic but they are poignantly effective in manifesting the values of our lives through deeds, saying, and writing.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">We are given this life in our bodies so that we can develop the treasures within, about which the words of Jesus and Paul refer to. Let us cherish our lives in our bodies so much by developing our words in action lives which determine the legacies that we have with the people in our lives now, but also become the future chain of becoming for the people whom we influence who live beyond us and influence people for their futures.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">May God help us cherish our lives in our declining bodies, so that we are mindful to build the basis to influence the enhancement of goodness for people now and in the future. Let the treasures of love and justice from us be how the best part of us is recycled forever. Amen.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-68353571084795332232024-02-13T10:15:00.003-06:002024-02-13T10:15:25.096-06:00 Sunday School, February 18, 2024 1 Lent B<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> Sunday School, February 18, 2024 </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1 Lent B</span></p><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Themes:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The temptation of Jesus</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What is temptation?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Temptation is about being tricked into doing things at the wrong time.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If you see a piece of chocolate cake in the kitchen and it is only an hour before dinner, you may want to eat the lovely piece of cake. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But you also know that your mom wants you to wait until it is time for dessert after you eat a good healthy meal.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But you really want to eat the chocolate cake right now. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And so you do and when it comes supper time, you are not hungry to eat good food. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And your mom wants to know about the missing cake.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We are tempted all the time. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are tempted to have lots of mis-timing in life. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We desire things, right now and we don’t want to wait, even though by not waiting we get into trouble.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So we need to practice doing the right things at the right time. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The church has an entire season for learning how to practice doing things at the right time. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We fast. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That is, we say no to certain foods and things so that we can develop our muscles of choice to be strong enough to do the right things at the right time.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We don’t like to say “no” to ourselves. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But we need to learn how to practice self-control. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The season of Lent is a season to build our muscles of self control. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How do we do this? <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One way is to say no to some of our favorite pleasures and to use our time and our money to share with people who do not have as much as we do. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We do more community service. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We take on projects to help others because we are using the energy that we used to use for ourselves for others.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The season of Lent helps us to learn self control so that we can practice good timing in our lives, do the right things at the right time.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Exercise:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Think about things that you really like to do but that may not be good for you if you do too much or do them at the wrong time.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Then develop a strategy, a plan during Lent to practice self control so that you can learn the very best timing for doing everything in your life.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What season of the Church are we in now?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Lent.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And what is the color for Lent?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>For the season of Lent we make some changes.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We change colors.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You noticed that we changed candle holders on the altar.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We have changed our collection plates from silver to basket.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We have change our wine cup and bread plate from silver to pottery.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And we have dropped a very, very happy word that means “yeah God” out of the service.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And we won’t say it during Lent, at least not on purpose.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why do we do all of this?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because the season of Lent is not a season of celebration.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is a season of hard work and preparation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And it lasts 40 days, not including Sundays.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And when does it end?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It ends on the biggest celebration of the year, on Easter Sunday.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why do we have Lent?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why does a baseball team have spring training?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why does a football team have training camp?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To get ready for the real games.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What are the baseball players doing right now?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They are in spring training.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They are do lots of exercises.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They are practicing fielding and throwing the ball.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They are practicing making double plays.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Over and over again.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, their team can be ready when the real games start.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And why do they want to be ready?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because they want to win as many games as they can and go to the most important game of all, the World Series.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Lent is a Season of Practice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And there are lots of things that we need to take time to practice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We need to practice taking care of our health and our bodies.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, we try to practice something new in health and safety.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Eating good food.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We practice helping other people.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We might do something to help people in our world who are in need.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We practice loving God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How do we do this?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We learn how to pray a little bit more.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We spend more time talking to God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And we learn more about the Bible and we learn more about God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why do we do this?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because, we need to have faith.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why do we need to practice our faith?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because there are things in life that are hard and difficult.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There are things that might make us afraid.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Things that might make us worry. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And so we have to build our faith to help us be prepared for some of the difficult things that we might have to do.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>During Lent, we try to spend more time together.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are a church family.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are like a team.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And if we are going to be a good team, then we have to spend some time together, getting to know each other so that we can work together.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So we have the season of Lent as a season of training and preparation to become better Christian.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Sometimes practice is hard work and sometimes it is not fun.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Most baseball players would rather play games than practice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But if we want to do well in the game, we must practice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, too, if we want to be better Christians, and a better parish team, we need to practice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In the season of Lent, we work on practicing our Christian faith.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Are you ready for practice?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I hope you and your family can find some things to practice during the season of Lent.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">February 18, 2024: First Sunday In Lent</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gathering Songs: Yield Not to Temptation, Change My Heart, O God, Eat This Bread, Peace Before Us</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Blessed the Lord who forgives all our sins.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: God’s mercy endures forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Through Jesus Christ our Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Opening Song: Yield Not to Temptation (LEVAS # 170)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin, each victory will help you some other to win.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Fight pressing onward, dark passion subdue.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Look ever to Jesus, he will carry you through.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Refrain: Ask the Savior to help you. Comfort, strengthen and keep you.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He is will to aid you.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He will carry you through.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Shun evil companions, bad companions disdain.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God’s name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Be thoughtful and earnest, kind-hearted and true.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Look ever to Jesus, he will carry you through.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Lord be with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us pray</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany phrase: Praise the Lord (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you are Great!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made us! Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made yourself known to us!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have given us a Christian family!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have forgiven our sins!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A Reading from the Book of Genesis</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: The Word of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us read together from Psalm 25</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Show me your ways, O LORD, *and teach me your paths.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lead me in your truth and teach me, * for you are the God of my salvation;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">in you have I trusted all the day long.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litanist:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For work and for play. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Glory to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Gospel of the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon – Father Phil</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Children’s Creed</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since God is so great and we are so small,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>resurrection of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>welcome.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that Christ is kind and fair.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Peace of the Lord be always with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Offertory Anthem: Change My Heart O God,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>(Renew! # 143, gray paperback hymnal)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Change my heart, O God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Make it every true.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Change my heart, O God, may I be like you.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You are the Potter, I am the clay; Mold me and make me, this is what I pray.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Change my heart, O God, make it ever true; change my heart, O God, may it be like you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(Repeat)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Doxology</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prologue to the Eucharist.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All become members of a family by birth or adoption.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Lord be with you</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lift up your hearts</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We lift them to the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us give thanks to God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is right to give God thanks and praise.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(All may gather around the altar)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You have made us in your image</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>the bread and drink the wine, we can<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>this food and drink<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>that becomes a part of us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbors as our self.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father who art in heaven:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Breaking of the Bread</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Celebrant: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore let us keep the feast.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Words of Administration.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Communion<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Song: Eat This Bread, (Renew! # 228) <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Eat this bread, drink this cup, come to me and never be hungry.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Eat this bread, drink this cup.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Trust<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>in me and you will not thirst.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Post-Communion Prayer</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And His Presence has been known to us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and sisters in Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Closing Song: Peace Before, (Wonder, Love and Praise # 791)<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Love before us…</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Light before us..</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Christ before…</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dismissal:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-64563039626946652662024-02-13T10:13:00.000-06:002024-02-13T10:13:24.906-06:00Prayers for Epiphany, 2024<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Tuesday in Last Epiphany, February 13, 2024 (Shrove Tuesday)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Steel our hearts, O God, on this eve of our Lenten fast and teach us the positive discipline of converting energy by taking on tasks of justice and kindness to replace habits of indulgence, and so integrate and make permanent new habits of grace for the Easter season. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Monday in Last Epiphany, February 12, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gracious God, worthy of praise, we prepare to fast from using a defining word of praise not because it does not apply, but as a practice in penting up our energies for a greater release in our praise on Easter Day. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Last Sunday after the Epiphany, February 11, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of Light, would that the peoples of the entire world would experience a tsunami of inward light, not to blind or remove freedom, but to inform us toward the best ways of peaceful harmony. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Saturday in 5 Epiphany, February 10, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Eternal Word, move deeply within us in the very deep word structures of our inward lives where dwells the springs of our volition and let our deep words be re-scripted to comport our body language with deeds of kindness and justice, and let our language performance in speech and writing evoke your sublime presence. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Friday in 5 Epiphany, February 9, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Eternal Word of God, in having words we ask for the wisdom of good word arrangement in content and style so that we can have our interior lives shuffled in a way that what we call light or enlightenment occurs. And in you as Word, we see you as the Light which is enhanced wisdom in how our lives are ordered by the words of our life. Give us all more experiences of light in the ordering of our lives by and through words. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thursday in 5 Epiphany, February 8, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God, we would want to confess you as the categorical imperative, as that which is universally recommendable, and yet we can only do so from such limited locations in space and time meaning that we do not have the appropriate capacity to speak with precise experiential knowledge about you. But we can have the humility to always confess a expansive MORE than we or anyone has, can, or will know. And we take liberty to project upon the great MORE love and justice as the best intentions of existence. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Wednesday in 5 Epiphany, February 7, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Christ, Light of the World, Word of words; would that you could or would flood the interior worlds of all people so that we could together see our way toward acting out the requirements of love, kindness, and peace with each other. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Tuesday in 5 Epiphany, February 6, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Christ of the Transfiguration, light is the fitting metaphor for the ability to see in a different way to enable a different kind of discourse; grant to us the ability to see poetically so as to add moral and ethically seeing to the scientific materialistic discourse which we cherish for wisdom in everyday commonsense living. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Monday in 5 Epiphany, February 5, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of the cycles in nature, give us grace to learn in the spiraling advancing repetitions of our lives, and let us remember the butterfly moments so as to survive and learn in the phases between the releases from our dark nights of soul. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sunday, 5 Epiphany, February 4, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God, we exist in many states of health on this side of the event of our deaths; let us not be too religiously preoccupied with health after our deaths that we neglect the many health needs of people who are living, especially the great health needs of adequate food, clothing, and shelter. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Saturday in 4 Epiphany, February 3, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of us who are people with unavoidable favorites; give us wisdom to accept the justice of everyone being exceptional even while everyone is required to be on their path of always surpassing themselves in love and justice. Give us humility to accept the esteem of being loved even while we offer that esteem to all with the requirement that all us are on the educational program of repentance. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Friday in 4 Epiphany, February 2, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God, we thank you for preserving forever the Holy Mystery of the Negligible which baffles our accuracy of prediction and precision in knowing all causality; give us courage in doing what we know to be just and kind to others even while we respect the sunlight of sustenance with falls upon the just and unjust proving that mercies prevails even for the unjust and means that God's love is also our judgment. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thursday in 4 Epiphany, February 1, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of today, we awaken to create in the now all that has gone before because it is born in contrast with the newness of the now; let us be good stewards and interpreters of the memorial traces of what has gone before and act in good actuarial wisdom for a better future. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Wednesday in 4 Epiphany, January 31, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of epiphanies, you continue to provide new insights in new times as people seek to apply what love and justice means for people in various situations today. Give us grace to repent toward what is true kindness to all. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Tuesday in 4 Epiphany, January 30, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of health and salvation; give us grace to perceive the limits of health in time when the aging effects are inevitable because of the eventual entropy of death; let the terminus point of death inspire us to add quality to life while we live and give us the faith to leave legacies of love and justice in this world. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Monday in 4 Epiphany, January 29, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God, the work of Adam was naming signifying our vocation in language; we have generated naming traditions for everything inside us and outside us, states and conditions, and we have come to prefer peace, love, and justice because we have also had to name war, terror, and cruelty. Give us cause today to name peace and justice as the experience for more and more people today. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sunday, 4 Epiphany, January 28, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O Whispering Spirit, the interior lives of billions of people need to be whispered for manifold peace to be realized and we beseech you to do irresistible peace whispering to the chaotic interiors which cause the acting out of the selfish conflicts of war. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Saturday in 3 Epiphany, January 27, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of peace, grant this world a massive interior wave of peace within the restless hearts of billions of people and so change us from within that we might conform our exterior world to habits of peace. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Friday in 3 Epiphany, January 26, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of freedom, shared in portions with all, help us not to minimize the significance of our limited freedom in the seemingly small and consistent acts of kindness which can drip forth from us to gradually erode the presence of evil in our world. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thursday in 3 Epiphany, January 25, 2025</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lord Jesus Christ, you are a people whisperer to those who inward lives are troubled; help us to learn how to whisper people to receive the renewal of right spirits within their lives. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Wednesday in 3 Epiphany, January 24, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God, we accept our place in a very limited location within the greatness of Plenitude; let our ecological words and deed create concentric effects of love and justice as we endeavor to send energy of kindness into the future. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Tuesday in 3 Epiphany, January 23, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Great One, help us not to discount the value of our smallness in the deeds of kindness which can preserve the future of goodness in our world. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Monday in 3 Epiphany, January 22, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Eternal Word of God, move over the interior springs where language arises to constitute spoken word and acted out deeds; let your angels of coherent messaging tame the diabolic incoherent chaos of our interior language going awry, and let us act out messages of justice and peace. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sunday, 3 Epiphany, January 21, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of epiphanies, grant to us new awakenings which help us in our practice of love and justice as we have our heart stretch to extend empathy to more people. <br />Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Saturday in 2 Epiphany, January 20, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of justice, give us wisdom and grace to change things in the direction of a more perfect expression of justice when it become evident of continuing in the sins of our inherited less than just cultural practices. Give us honesty about our traditions when they do not exemplify love for all. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Friday in 2 Epiphany, January 19, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God, you continuously adjust to everything in Time by including the ever happening new occasions; give us grace to adjust to the new that is happening while not passively accepting injustice but actively working to overcome the evil of injustice with reparative good. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thursday in 2 Epiphany, January 18, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of Time and creative advance, with Jesus, Peter, and Paul significant innovation was processed to articulate divine love in new situation for more people; give us insights and wisdom to continue to articulate divine love for more people so as to let all no that no one is excluded from your grace. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Wednesday in 2 Epiphany, January 17, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God who is always calling, help us to discover our calls as the gifts given to us to release our best creativity and benefit us to live together with love and justice. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Tuesday in 2 Epiphany, January 16, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus Christ, you called fisher folk and gave them a spiritual and social mobility that they never dreamed possible, taking a very rural Peter to the great city of Rome; let your call to each of us surprise us by taking us to places we never dreamed possible, especially as it means using us to surprise others in their adventurous callings. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Monday in 2 Epiphany, January 15, 2024 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God, you raise up prophets to speak truth to power when the powerful are neglecting the obvious dignity which is due to each human being; give us courage to resist the creeping selfish powerful who through greed and oppression prohibit the full practice of justice. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sunday, 2 Epiphany, January 14, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Christ, the are the eternal Word, through which all things come to have known being; let your angelic specific word messengers come to awareness upon this vast ladder continuum of possible words and let these specific angelic words constitute our lives in love and justice today. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Saturday in 1 Epiphany, January 13, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Christ, the eternal Word, you manifest your word in all the images of our vision and forgive us for misperceiving what we see; let us grow up to have corrective lenses of wisdom help us to see aright. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Friday in 1 Epiphany, January 12, 2023</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Christ, being Word, you are the manifestation of the central meaning of humanity, namely, language using beings; we cannot understand having being without being first constituted by word and we seek wisdom in living and moving and having our being as knowers in language; give us the wisdom of knowing always the better value choices to make in a world of vast differences and let our better value choices be in the service of the values of love and justice today. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thursday in 1 Epiphany, January 11, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Christ the Word, you are the Ladder from the interior word on which the angelic messenger words proceed; help us to discern the very best and telling Christ-like words to constitute the speech and actions of our lives in the practice of love and justice. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Wednesday in 1 Epiphany, January 10, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of truth, help us to live with the honesty of who we are and what we have done, even when the sum total of the occasions of our lives can never and should never be on public display; give us the honesty of knowing fully what we might do and be so as to live with forgiveness toward others. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Tuesday in 1 Epiphany, January 9, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God, on whom we project the great purposes of plenitude; we thank you that each person can find specific purpose in life which becomes their call to know the joy of personal creativity on behalf of creative advance for love, knowledge, and justice within the human community. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Monday in 1 Epiphany, January 8, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gracious God, give us wisdom to model what is truly excellent in justice from the witness of people in the past and give us courage to reject things that were regarded as true simply because everyone was doing it; and grant that the witness which we leave for people of the future be behaviors which are lastingly worth imitating. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sunday, 1 Epiphany, January 7, 2024</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of all, why did we need an Epiphany to tell us that you are manifested to everyone by an inside job in storing your image within everyone? We thank you for the witness of the Risen Christ to make manifest what has always already been for all people as children of God. Amen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 2024<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">God of all possibilities, let us be lured by possible love and goodness to be manifest in actual words and deeds of love and goodness and so make the Epiphany of Christ and Christ-likeness a current event in our lives. Amen.</span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-69817741593774579552024-02-09T23:07:00.002-06:002024-02-10T09:07:50.042-06:00Transfiguration: Mystagogy, Language and Light<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> Last Epiphany B February 11, 2024<br />1 Kg 19:9-18 Psalm 50:1-6<br />2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Epiphany/BEpiLast_RCL.html"><b>Lectionary Link</b></a><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People who often are referred to as "fundamentalists," are people who prefer a particular form of interpretation of the texts of Scriptures. But such fundamentalists are selective in applying their method of interpretation, and they would say that they are not totally locked into one form of interpretation. For example, when the words attributed to Jesus indicate that he is light, life, resurrection, shepherd, door, gate, way, vine, bread of heaven, or the words about him such as lamb of God, fundamentalist interpreters would says that such uses of words are metaphorical and figurative, but not literal. By not being literal, it would mean that Jesus could not be empirically verified to be actual light, life, shepherd, lamb of God, door, gate, vine or bread from heaven. Fundamentalists, then are not people who interpret everything in the Bible as though they are events that have to be able to be empirically verified to be meaningfully true. But they will then regard events presented by biblical writers which truly defy natural law and the laws of science as being empirically verified. Such things like biological actual virgin birth, chariots carrying people into heaven, walking on water, and other impossible natural events which are done by Jesus and the biblical heroes, are not seen as figurative, teaching, visionary events, but as events which were empirically verified.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What is lost in such inconsistencies in biblical interpretation is the nature and purpose of the biblical writers and how the nature and purpose of the writers chose to present their sublime message within the style of their preaching and writing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What governed the writings of the writers of the New Testament? It was the mystical experience of the Risen Christ. Jesus who was dead and gone, was being experienced in a different way by many people, and the people who had these experiences joined together and invited others to be facilitated into this experience of the Risen Christ. Experiences of the Risen Christ were different for different people, and so they could not be related in the way which science replicates the experiments of natural science.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The biblical writers were pushed into the moving language of aesthetics to try to express the sublime experiences of their lives. Sharing these experience were less like boiling water in beakers in a laboratory with fellow lab mates, but more like being with a group of concert goers in being moved by the sublime presentation in a work of art. Literal language of science is too drab to express the sublime experiences which happen because of art, the experience of being loved, the experiences of seeing justice realized, and the mystical experiences of a human superlative which gets confessed poetically as God and Son of God.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The very practical, didactic and very poetic tradition of St. Paul, and the Pauline traditions, pre-date the writings of the Gospel. The mystagogy or instructions in the spiritual mysteries of the Risen Christ came to different presentation in the Gospel form of writing which came to promulgation after the writings of St. Paul.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Gospels are a different kind of mystagogy than the writings of St. Paul. They re-present the experience of the Risen Christ within a narrative of Jesus as parable, a figurative writing encoding the mystical practices of the church.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By taking the narratives of Jesus and reading them as empirically verified, historical eye-witness accounts, reader miss the important spiritual practice of the early communities of people who confessed and shared this experience of identity with the Risen Christ. This identity was stated by Paul, as "Christ in you, the hope of glory."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The transfiguration, which literally, means metamorphosis, is part of the presentation of a spiritual parable of Jesus, as the Risen Christ who is given a visualized Jesus narrative as a way of inspiring the imagination of how Christ is in us.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Mystagogy is language used in a way so that it can bear witness to experience of the sublime. The Gospel writer of Mark knew the body of symbolism found in the Hebrew Scripture. The Gospel preacher believed/knew that Jesus was in succession with the great heroes of the past, with Moses and Elijah. Their reputation was such that in the literature of time of Jesus, they were regarded to be time-space travelers. They could and would be apparitional figures who would reappear to mark new paradigms of spiritual advance.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So, we have the parable of the transfigured Jesus. Jesus takes his disciples up a mountain alone, into the clouds and he becomes the filament for an event of light. And the apparitional Moses and Elijah appear with him to affirm him as the logical succession of their mission, and such event happens on behalf of the disciples in this event of Mystery and Light, in knowing Jesus in a very special way.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In two events in the Gospel of Mark, God the Father, declares with an audible voice to Jesus in the presence of others, "You are my beloved Son." There is another declaration of Jesus as Son of God in the Gospel of Mark, and that is at the death of Jesus on the cross, when the Roman centurion declares, "Truly this is God's Son."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Mystagogy is teaching about the interior event when Christ in us is the hope of glory, the hope of having esteem and worth in our lives. We can appreciate the figurative audience positions of the identity of Christ as Son of God. One is at the Jordan with John and the crowds there, the other is with James, John, and Peter in the encounter with Jesus, Elijah and Moses, and the other is the outsider, the Roman Centurion, who was able to recognize the sublime even being such an outsider. We have our own "audience" position in knowing the Risen Christ, within us as Son of God, helping us to realize ourselves as child of God.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Gospel of Mark encodes in a parable of Jesus the mystical experience of the people who know that the Risen Christ in within themselves and as he is glorified in being manifest as God's unique Son, so too we are invited to know ourselves as sons and daughters of God.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And in this path of mystagogy, we are invited to the being made Christ-like metamorphoses of spiritual growth. Yes, we may prefer the mountain top and butterfly events, but they accentuate sublime points in the continuous metamorphosis that we are called to in ever become more Christ-like.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us embrace the metamorphosis in becoming more Christ-like, which the event of the transfiguration invites us to. Amen.</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></h2><h1 style="margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h1></div></div></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-4647348304102908372024-02-06T12:06:00.004-06:002024-02-06T12:06:25.069-06:00 Sunday School, February 11, 2024 The Last Sunday after the Epiphany B<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> Sunday School, February 11, 2024</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Last Sunday after the Epiphany B</span></p><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Theme:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The last Sunday that we use the word “Alleluia” until Easter Sunday.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Activity: Do something to “hide” alleluia from your vocabulary.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You can write “alleluia” on a piece of paper and then hide it in a special place.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A fast is when you give up eating certain food.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>After Sunday, we begin an “alleluia” fast until Easter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We take a fast from “alleluia” because it is such a special word of praise that we stop saying it for while to reserve it to welcome the celebration of Easter, the greatest event in the church because it is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Last Sunday after the Epiphany theme is always the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We read the Gospel story of when Jesus was on a mountain with his friends, Peter, James and John and it suddenly got cloudy and in a sort of dream-like experience, Moses and Elijah appeared and were talking with Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The face of Jesus got really shiny just like the face of Moses had become after he went up Mt. Sinai and received the famous Laws.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Elijah was a great prophet who was known for riding a chariot of fire into heaven.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">These two great heroes appeared with Jesus as a way of saying that they supported Jesus as the new light of the world to show people a new way to live.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When the face of Jesus shone brightly, the voice of God the Father was heard and God the Father said about Jesus, “This is my Son, the beloved, listen to him.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When we understand something for the first time, sometimes we say, “the light came on.” <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Light is a symbol for understanding. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Darkness is a symbol for ignorance or not being able to understand something.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Epiphany season which ends before the season of Lent, is a season about how Jesus is the Light of the World.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Exercise:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What does light mean to us?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What does darkness mean to us?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How do you think that Jesus could be called the light of the world?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How do you think that you can be a light of the world?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Today we read a story about Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The friends of Jesus were Peter, James and John.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And they had a vision of Jesus being with them on a mountain.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And the mountain was covered with clouds.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And two famous people appeared within the cloud:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Moses and Elijah.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And when they looked at Jesus, they saw that his face was shining very brightly.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And the friends of Jesus knew that he was a very special person.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He came to show this world who God is.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That is why we call Jesus the Light of the world.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And did you know that Jesus also told us that we are to lights of the world too.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How many of you like light?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What does light do for us?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It helps us see while we work and play.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When it is very dark we can’t do much.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We trip and fall.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus is the light of the world because he showed us how to live in the best way.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are to be lights in the world, because we’re supposed to live in such a good way, that we help other people live good lives too.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus is the Light of the world.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And we, too are lights in the world because we are helping to show people how to live good lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">February 11, 2024: The Last Sunday after the Epiphany</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gathering Songs:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Shine, Jesus, Shine; Majesty, The Lord Is My Light; I’ll Be a Sunbeam<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Procession Song: Shine, Jesus Shine<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>(Renew!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span># 247)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Refrain: Shine, Jesus shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory, blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire; Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy, send forth your word and let there be light.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Lord, the light of your love is shining in the midst of the darkness shining; Jesus, light of the world, shine upon us, set us free by the truth you now bring us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Shine on me, shine on me. Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Lord, I come to your awesome presence from the shadows into your radiance; by the blood I may enter your brightness, search me, try me, consume all my darkness Shine on me, shine on me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Through Jesus Christ our Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgis:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Lord be with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us pray</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Reading1"></a><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you are Great!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made us! Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made yourself known to us!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have given us a Christian family!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have forgiven our sins!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A reading from the Second letter of Paul to the Corinthians</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Christ.Liturgist: The Word of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 50</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The LORD, the God of gods, has spoken; * he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, * God reveals himself in glory.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"> </span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For work and for play. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Glory to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Gospel of the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon – Father Phil</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Children’s Creed</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since God is so great and we are so small,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>resurrection of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>welcome.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that Christ is kind and fair.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Peace of the Lord be always with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Offertory Song: Majesty, (Renew # 63)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Majesty, worship His majesty.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Majesty, kingdom authority flow from His throne unto His own;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">His anthem raise.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Majesty, worship His Majesty; Jesus who died,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">now glorified, King of all kings.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Doxology</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prologue to the Eucharist</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All become members of a family by birth or adoption.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Lord be with you</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lift up your hearts</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We lift them up to the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us give thanks to God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is right to give God thanks and praise.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(All may gather around the altar)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You have made us in your image</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>the bread and drink the wine, we can<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>this food and drink<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>that becomes a part of us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Prayer continues with these words</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbors.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father who art in heaven:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Breaking of the Bread</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Celebrant: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore let us keep the feast.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Words of Administration</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Communion Song: The Lord Is My Light<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>(Renew! # 102)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Lord is my light, my light and salvation; in him I trust, in him I trust.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Lord is my light, my light and salvation: in him I trust, in him I trust.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Post-Communion Prayer</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And His Presence has been known to us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and sisters in Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Closing Song: I’ll Be a Sunbeam (Christian Children’s Songbook<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span># 112)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, to shine for him each day; in every way try to please him, at home, at school, at play.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Refrain: A sunbeam, a sunbeam, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A sunbeam, a sunbeam, I’ll be a sunbeam for him.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I’ll be a sunbeam for Jesus, I can if I but try; serving him moment by moment, then live with him on high.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dismissal<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thanks be to God!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-50867869897807558822024-02-03T15:14:00.000-06:002024-02-03T15:14:32.157-06:00Historical Medical Anthropology and Gospel Healing<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: arial;">5 Epiphany B</span><span style="font-family: arial; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">February 4, 2024<br /></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Isaiah 40:21-31 Psalm 147:1-12, 21c<br /></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1 Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Epiphany/BEpi5_RCL.html"><b>Lectionary Link</b></a><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Salvation might be considered holistic healing. It is so embracing, it also pertains even to how people regard the afterlives of their loved ones and their own afterlives before they die. To live, in part is always to be thinking about life and death issues. This is why salvation is a relevant issue.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Salvation or holistic health might be seen as viewing health upon a continuum of what we can know about being healthy and the negligible factors, or unknown factors in being healthy. Probability number crunchers say today that 25 percent of longevity is determined by genetic factors. Other factors might be the risk of one's environments and lifestyles, as well as nurture and personal habits of health.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What did physicians in the time of Jesus know? Did they know about viruses, bacteria, and germs? About mental health, did they know about how early trauma could create dissociative disorders when a person can manifest a legion of personalities?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We might look with some skepticism on medical practices of the past, even as we might look with skepticism upon some medical practices of the present. Not everyone subscribes to the healing powers of crystals, except the one who confess that they have had positive results. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The notion of the healing reality of the placebo effect highlights the connection between the mind and the body. In medical anthropology, and historical medical anthropologies, we discover that specific practices of healing exist within the communities which promote and accept those practices. Medicine men, shamans, witch doctors, and others fall within the class of what might be called "folk medicine," and such practitioners of "folk medicine" might regard this designation to be the pejorative designation given by those of modern scientific medicine with a superiority complex. As our world has gotten smaller, we know that ancient medical practices of the East, such as acupuncture, have been brought within an expanding umbrella of what is regarded to be acceptable and valid medical practice.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And still we regard with duck sounds, those who we regard to be practicing medicine for profit and rely upon the ignorance of their client base. We refer to them as "quacks." But with the placebo effect, a patient might say, "I may have been treated by a quack, but it still made me better."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we approach the "folk medical" practice of Jesus which is listed in the Gospel, we can find a variety of healing practices, and different modes of treatment. The "folk medicine" of Jesus indicates that the physical body was like a building which is inhabited. The living people within a building or a home, are those who maintain the outer structure which is always already dealing with the effects of age and time.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Judaism of the time of Jesus included a system of public health, because health is social in how it is practiced within community. There was a diagnostic or classification system for optimal and negative states of being, as they related to a person within their community. There was a binary system of designation of things and states of being as clean or unclean, pure and impure. There were rules for how one could make the transition from being unclean and impure into an accepted state. There were recommended states of public quarantine or removal from community contact; there were public validation rites performed by the priests, with rites of ritual purification to allow a person re-entry into a community.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Gospels narrates bodily conditions of people with physical ailments: blindness, fever, leprosy, lameness, deafness, muteness, and unknown conditions causing death. The Gospels also present people with what might be better called psychological and spiritual conditions, or people with the resulting behaviors due to childhood and life traumas. If we know of PTSD, dissociative disorders, and many other traumatic mental health disorders today which have their root in earlier traumas in the lives of people, we can be sure that people in the time of Jesus, as in all times, had their psychological and spiritual health problems.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As an external condition like the disease with visible skin phenomenon of leprosy was designated as being a state of uncleanness requiring segregation from "clean or healthy" society, so too persons with manifestations of chaotic internal and emotional disorders which left them with uncontrolled behaviors, such persons were said to have "unclean spirits." Having one's internal being declared as impure or unclean would be quite a severe diagnosis to have. People of every era have feared persons with mental health disorders. Their unpredictable behaviors create a public fear which governs the ways in which they have come to be treated. Our history includes the history of prison, asylums, and bedlams to quarantined those designated with "unclean spirits."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How might we attain some insights for ourselves in our reading of this Gospel healing story today?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First, we might regard it to be something like a psychiatric practice of the time of Jesus. The rabbinical literature indicates the practice of exorcism as the religious public health treatment of people who were so troubled by invisible causes, that it had the designation of being an "impure and unclean" state. In the history of health and illness, and even today, there is still a negative perception of persons with the seeming invisible effects of mental health disorders. The Gospels chronicles the negative designations for "sick" people, but also the personal and social treatment technique of Jesus. Rather than shunning contact with such people, he offered both personal and social acceptance to give comfort for such persons and their families who suffered.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Gospels portrayed Jesus as one who prevailed in his own psychological being. His temptation to face the interior principalities and powers centering around a great inward Accuser is recorded in three Gospels. The Gospel writers understood Jesus to be such a person of internal fortitude that he had a resulting charisma to be a people whisperer. He could heal the inner selves of others because he had prevailed within himself against the internal forces of accusation.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The exorcism stories also highlight a chief vocation of life, namely, the reconstituting our inward lives so that we are acting out in the behaviors of kindness and love. The Psalmist requested of God, "Create within me a new heart, and renew a right spirit within me." Also the prophet wrote, "the heart above all thing is deceitful." Salvation of holistic health is about the recreation, the reconstituting of our inward lives so that the springs of our motives and action can be pure, clean, and righteous. To this regard, John the Baptist, stated that beyond baptism with water, Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The stories of exorcisms exemplify Jesus as the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, who can be the cleanness of heart and renewed spirit within us. The Holy Spirit is the one who makes the Risen Christ present within us as our new internal identity.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Gospel narratives also present a spiritual cosmology. The Risen Christ is the one who is above the principalities and powers of darkness in heavenly places. The exorcism stories within the Gospel indicate salvation as the overcoming of evil with good which results in people being about to express the fruits of the Spirit, being self control, with love, joy, peace, hope, patience, gentleness, and goodness.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Today, we still seek interior health, renewed internal state of being. We seek a comprehensive body, soul, and spiritual health, and we come to Jesus as the one who models this health for us, as he is now known to us as the presence of the Risen Christ.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We also know that the health of Jesus was restoring people to community. We as the church are to be a community of health by welcoming and including people. Health is communal in dimension and all can be in some state of unhealthiness as any given times. This means we need the health of a loving, inclusive, welcoming community to express the full meaning of health as community completeness.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Following Jesus today, let us aspire to be a healthy community, within which we can practice the healing power of the love of Christ. Amen.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-78417240576847276702024-01-31T05:30:00.000-06:002024-01-31T10:26:53.663-06:00Aphorism of the Day, January 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 31, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">While we may hold that the laws of science were essentially the same in biblical times as they are now, we cannot assume the sameness regarding cultural and social practice. We don't criticize the people of the past for being different that we are in our understanding of social justice for more people, but we don't valorized ancient biblical social practices as being an absolute standard for all times. The cultural manifestations of justice have changed as we have become aware of some primary identities of people. Does anyone think that Jesus today would tell parables about servants and slaves?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 30, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Salvation is holistic health and when one looks at the healing stories in the Gospel, one should do it as a historical medical anthropologists. Healing arts are contextual the accounts of cures are many on this side of death. Of course, the Gospel believe that the big sickness of death does get "cured" eventually.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 29, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Plenitude of All is only experienced locally. From having location one assumes that ones can be everywhere and when one adds language to being everywhere, one has personalized the world because language is personal. With language we label non-personal things, extra-personal entities in personal ways. Language does not let us escape personal-morphic practice.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 28, 2024</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How does humanity ascribe superlative value? By saying something is superhuman or above human or out of this world. One can understand how the divine enter human discourse. We say that things are "out of this world," while remaining very much in it. Religions present systems of axiology (values) and have hyperbolic discourse to represent the highest values. Please do not confuse scientific language and the language of religion.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 27, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everyone is necessarily a "relativist" because one can only see and know in part, that is, the things relative to ones time and place. However, all relativists use discourses of totality because in using language one assumes the entire linguistic universe of differences without be able to comprehend the totality. Any relativist is always already committed to the absolute reality of there always being MORE.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 26, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Is Being the absolute abstracted past of everything that has become? The now is new arising occasions being made into inclusive Being. Our freedom repertoire may be limited in how we contribute to new occasions, but it is significant if we choose to creatively advance love and justice.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 25, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Some people absolutize the ancient human awareness models of the Bible to support the refusal to offer justice, rights, and care to people whose personal identities differ from "cookie cutter" binary modes of understanding the human person. The Bible models many creative advances and paradigm shifts, which means we should also know how to integrate change with justice and dignity for all peoples.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 24, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is impossible to avoid discourses of totality since when we speak we assume the entire universe of discourse even though we are limited in the portion which we can actually use. We should not mistake the use of the discourse of totality for actually comprehending it or presuming to know its meaning. Stated simply, the discourse of totality is the fact that "there is MORE" is the always already reality.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 23, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The supreme insult in philosophy is to call someone a "relativist." Yet anyone can only know what is relative to one's circumstance and time of living. It is more presumptuous to be the one who is an "absolutist" and claim to speak exclusively on behalf of the absolute while having but a relative profile. Wisdom would demand that like St. Paul we confess that we know in part and that everyone uses a discourse of totality in assuming the entire universe while but actually using but a paltry portion of it. The vastness of life demands being humble relativists, but let's do our relative parts well, in love and justice.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 22, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Having language is interiority; language comes from within. It is a within which becomes an exterior in sound and text on its way to awakening the interior language points of new language users.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 21, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Interpreters error when they try to force a correspondence between ancient cultural practices in biblical times to our current day. Some ancient cultural practices can be recommended as a model for us today, while some ancient cultural practices are rightfully regarded as unworthy of justice. See slavery and the subjugation of women. Some interpreters pick and choose in arbitrary ways which ancient cultural "biblical" practices they want to retain as models for our lives today.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 20, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Wisdom in life involves knowing justice as something which is permanent among changes. Being permanent does not mean that application of justice to people in current situation doesn't change. When people's self awareness change, the apparent nature of justice seems to change, but justice does not change, only the application of it to people previously denied justice changes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 19, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is said that Inuit have more than fifty words for snow, which have come from their close interaction with the many varieties of snow. For ages biblical interpreters have assumed that human beings are or should be "cookie cutter" binary or male and female. As honesty has been allow on observing who people are and how they speak about their own identity, the binary typology is no longer accurate to the diversity that is present. New words arise to speak about this diversity, and we discover that people are more comfortable with a variety of words for snow than they are with a variety of descriptions of how people know themselves to "human." People have a sentient existence quite different from snow which means sentient people should strive for empathy.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 18, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Being a conservative is basically a relationship to time and change and the pace in which one is able to integrate innovation in one's life to respond to new social understanding of what is happening in the ecological and the social environments. Conserving may include lots of nostalgia.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 17, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus brought the pronounced "fatherization" of God, not because the Divine can be limited to the masculine but rather to teach the divine familization of all people based upon being created in the image of God.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 16, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Those who think that America should be a theocracy miss the genius of the founders who set up a system that was designed to keep Christians from persecuting other Christians with whom they disagreed. Thou shalt have freedom of religious belief, but thou shalt not and the government shalt not burn Christians at the stake for not having the "established and correct" Christianity.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 15, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The story of Jonah is a satire on theocratic patriotism. Jonah was angered when God told him that the same love he assumed God had for his people was also available to the foreigners of Nineveh. It is a warning to anyone who thinks that God's love is exclusively "exceptional" to any group of people. One can feel thankfully "favored" as long as one allows that everyone else can also know that same favor.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 14, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Seeing is actually a language or text in "pictures." Picto-syntax and picto-grammar in nature because language co-exists with seeing.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 13, 2023</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What is seen is like word creating what we call vision of objects. From our interior lives we are able to project holographic images as well and so dream-like angels appear as do unicorns, dragons, and fauns.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 12, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus is Word and Ladder in the first chapter of John. The "dream ladder" in reference to Jacob. In short, Jesus the Christ is the metaphor for word as the communicative essence of human existence being evidence of what is divine or superlative about human identity.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 11, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Among the many obvious "I am" statements of Jesus in John's Gospel, we should also add an unobvious one. To Nathaniel Jesus said he/Son of Man was the (Jacob's) ladder from heaven on whom whom the angels would go up and down. Being in John 1, Christ as Word is the connecting ladder between what comes from profound interiority and what words become in the "external" world, i.e., the world exterior to what is inside of us. Angels are specific messenger words manifest upon the Word as the connecting ladder of interior and exterior.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 10, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Some people only perform "under the lights," and crumble in the too ordinary conditions of drudgery. Though there may be a difference between practice and performance the rote of practice is required for the attaining of lyricism in performance.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 9, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The "call" of God is the discover of particular purpose among general purpose. If everything has an inherent purpose, the discover of particular purpose for a specific person might be descriptive of what "call" of God means.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 8, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Constitutional originals and biblical fundamentalists can be inconsistent in how they use the principles of meaningfulness in ancient texts and meanings which clearly are relative to ancient and former cultural practices which were made "true" by sheer widespread practice. Fundamentalists will oppose gay relationships based upon Leviticus writings while forsaking the restrictions on pork and the stoning of insolent children, as well a seeing it very cultural appropriate to now condemn slavery. Constitutional originalists are not very original when they don't limit bearing of arms to 18th century muskets. Such convenient and fickle casuistry is done for other motives than for justice and safety for actual people. They use "fidelity" to the founding documents to avoid and prohibit the application of justice and safety.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 7, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Language is ritualistic in that we cannot help but repeat patterns of word order for specific hierarchical value purpose in any given moment. Language users are repetitive for the sake of their values.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 6, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Because something if finally discovered does not make it suddenly it more true than it was before it was discovered. That things unfold in the history of discovery does not change the always already. Things can be always already in possibility before becoming actual in experience. However, possibility should not diminish the significance of the actual, if the actual is creative advance toward goodness and justice.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 5, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the attempt to remove words from one's life, one has to use and assume words to do so and overlook that one's body language and environment are already pre-coded by language in the effort to "forget worded existence" and also by using the words "forget worded existence." There is no escape from language.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 4, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lots of people who say they don't believe in ritualistic efficacy belie this with their own endless repetitions that indicate a degree of irrationality. Lots of religious people believe in a kind of ritual magic and divorce the sacraments from anthropological soundness.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 3, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Interpretation is the art of creating new traces in language for the future by sorting through the inherited memorial traces available to the interpreter. It is an illusory art of being tricked to think that we attain contact with a "real something" instead of the shuffling of traces within language. We can build a hierarchy of values based upon characterizing the "real something," and such hierarchical values may be a way of saying, "my community is the best," or the real something might be an interpretation in body language of what love and justice means in practice. Choose today your interpretation of "real something." My community is better than yours or my humble attempt to instantiate a vision of love and justice.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 2, 2023</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ritual is the stylized and community performance of repetition involving words and gestures which encapsulate important community values to be perpetuated for continuing and new members initiated into community practices.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Aphorism of the Day, January 1, 2024 (Feast of the Holy Name)</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Language and Naming is the human attempt to preserve identity across time. Time means that everything is changing and we can observe that the human body eventually breaks down and is integrated with what surrounds its molecular composition. If the body cannot retain its identity as singular throughout time, how can personhood? Naming is the hope of attaining continuity in identity throughout time.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-22466402302917347812024-01-31T05:00:00.000-06:002024-01-31T10:16:52.433-06:00Quiz of the Day, January 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 31, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem is believed to be the site of</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Jacob's famous dream</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. the place where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. David's battle with Goliath</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. the place of crucifixion of Jesus</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 30, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">According to the letter to the Hebrews, what unites Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. family lineage</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. inheritance of the land</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. marvelous birth stories</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. faith</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 29, 2024</span><div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What biblical reference indicates that Simon Peter was married?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. a reference to his wife</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. a reference to his mother in law</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. a reference to his sister in law</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. a reference to his son</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 28, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which of the following book does not have a reference to Sodom and Gomorrah?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Genesis</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Psalms</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Revelation</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Matthew</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. Luke</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">f. Romans</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">g. 2 Peter</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">h. Isaiah</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">i. Jeremiah</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 27, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What happened after Abram and Sarai were told they would be having a child?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Sarai laughed</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Sarai denied that she laughed</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Abram laughed</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. God would tell them to name their child "laughter"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. all of the above</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 26, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which biblical book treats heaven as parallel world to the natural world?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Revelation</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Hebrews</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Isaiah</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Romans</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 25, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A "road to Damascus" experience refers to what?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. a deep loss</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. extreme joy</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. conversion</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. humiliation</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 24, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How many sons did Abraham have?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. one</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. two</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. three</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. four</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 23, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Abram was promised land to which river in the East?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Tigris</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Jordan</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Euphrates</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Abana</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 22, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Who is the priest king?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Moses</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. David</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Solomon</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Melchizedek</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. Aaron</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 21, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The oaks of Mamre are associated with what biblical figure?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Moses</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Noah</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. David</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Abraham</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. Boaz</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 20, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which of the following is not true about Abram's wife Sarai?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. she was married to a Pharaoh</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. she was the mother of Isaac</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. she laughed when she heard she'd have a child</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. she was the great grandmother of Jacob</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 19, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of the following, which is both a biblical person and a place?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Abram</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Terah</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Haran</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Bethel</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 18, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What saints are the bookends for commemorating the Week of Christian Unity?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Peter and Paul</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Thomas and Andrew</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Peter and John the Baptist</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Paul and James of Jerusalem</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 17, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ham and his offspring the people of Canaan were cursed by Noah for what?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. disobeying God</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. for getting drunk</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. for insulting his brother Shem and Japheth</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. for seeing his drunken father naked</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 16, 2024</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What is the most common biblical reference displayed by fans at sporting events?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Ps. 23:1</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Rom. 6:23</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Jn. 3:16</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Jn. 11.35</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 15, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What was the post-Flood covenant of God to Noah?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. to provide rainbows in the sky</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. to spare Noah's children</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. refrain from ever killing all the people on the earth</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. to accept animal sacrifices instead of death of people</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> Quiz of the Day, January 14, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How old was Noah when the flood began?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. 100</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. 200</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. 400</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. 600</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 13, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Where might find the names of the wives of the sons of Noah?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Genesis</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Psalms</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. The Book of Jubilee</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. The Book of Revelation</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 12, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Nephilim are </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. angel-human hybrids</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. giant like creatures</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. mentioned in the Bible</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. the genetic predecessors of Goliath and the Philistines</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 11, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Mark of Cain is</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. a curse upon Cain for killing Abel</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. the scoring of Cain's body by his father Adam</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. a curse upon anyone who would harm Cain</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. the symbol for murder</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 10, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Whom of the following was not a son of Adam and Eve?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Enos</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Seth</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Cain</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Abel</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 9, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Clothing for Adam and Eve was</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. none at all</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. fig leaves</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. garments of skins</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. all the above</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 8, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which of the following would be biblically inaccurate?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. shepherd and sheep at the creche</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. angels in the skies over the pastures</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. wise men at the creche</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. farm animals at the creche</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 7, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What is a main difference between the creation story in Genesis One and Genesis Two?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Gen. 2 uses Adonai for the name of God</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Gen. 2 uses Elohim for the name of God</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Gen. 2 uses Yahweh Elohim for the name of God</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. Gens. 2 uses Adonai Elohim for the name of God</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 6, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Why is the date for the Epiphany the date for Christmas in some churches?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. a papal decree</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. a decree from the Patriarch of Constantinople</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. different calendars</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. church council vote</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 5, 2023</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which biblical person composed based upon his experience in a living bathyscaphe?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Noah</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Miriam</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. chariot driver for Pharaoh</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Jonah</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">e. Job</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 4, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Which of the following is not a Pauline saying regarding wine?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. deacons should not be addicted to too much wine</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. don't be drunk with wine</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. abstain from wine completely</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. take a little wine for your stomach</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 3, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In which Gospel does Peter attempt to walk on water?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. Matthew</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Mark</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Luke</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. John</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 2, 2023</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Whom of the following was fed by an angel?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. David</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Moses</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. Elijah</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Jesus</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Quiz of the Day, January 1, 2024</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What is observed on the eighth day of Christmas?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">a. New Year's Day</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">b. Feast of the Holy Name</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">c. the purification of Mary</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">d. Feast of St. Joseph</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-86054096185237120342024-01-29T11:13:00.006-06:002024-01-29T11:13:39.336-06:00 Sunday School, February 4, 2024 5 Epiphany B<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> Sunday School, February 4, 2024<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>5 Epiphany B</span></p><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Themes:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Understanding Health</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How many times do most people get sick in their lives?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If we live a long time, we get sick many times.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sometimes it happens several times in a year.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A strong healthy child can have ear aches, strep throat and pink eye all in a month.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We get colds and we get the flu.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There are other kinds of sickness, like from an injury.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we fall and get a sprain or a broken bone, we have to spend a longer time to recover.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We also have sickness that happen that not everyone can see.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can be very sad and we can feel sick in our inside feelings.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we don’t get enough to eat we can feel sick.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we don’t get enough sleep, we can feel sick.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we don’t drink enough water, we can feel sick.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We also can have allergies that sometimes make us feel sick.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So, we get sick and better many times in life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And sometimes we have a sickness that stays with us for our entire lives like an allergy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If we get sick and better many times in our lives, what is the meaning of health?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus is known as a person who healed.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But the people who Jesus healed, still got sick again and again and eventually they died.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So, what does health and healing mean for Jesus?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus healed the insides of people. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He healed their thoughts and their feelings and the deepest place inside of them, he healed their hearts and spirits.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And when your spirit is healed you have health, now and forever. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You have health even after you have died, because you have the promise that God is going to preserve and save your life.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus also healed by starting a community of people who loved and cared for each other. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is the greatest meaning of health.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Think about how you can health even when you can get sick many times in life?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Health is about how we care for each other and how God cares for us in this life and the next. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Health is knowing that God cares for us in this life and in the next and for now God gives us people who care for us and for the health of our hearts, souls, minds, feelings and our bodies.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus is a healer because he showed us as persons and as a community to live in the most healthy way.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Today, we have read a story about how Jesus healed the mother-in-law of Simon Peter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And if we read all<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>the stories about Jesus, we will read about how Jesus had the gift of healing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He healed people with many, many problems.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus did have a special gift of healing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To be able to help someone get well, is a very important gift to have.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And even though you and I may never be able to heal people in the same way that Jesus did, we can learn to heal people in some very important ways.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Did you know that an empty stomach is a great sickness?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Did you know that many men and women and children in our world do not have enough to eat?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, if the people who have more than enough food help feed those who don’t have enough, then we are helping to heal the empty stomachs in our world.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>People who don’t have enough to eat really feel sick.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And so we can help heal them.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can heal in other ways too.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When someone is hurt and crying, we can heal them by being kind to them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we make them feel better, we are helping to heal them.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When people are fighting with each other, this too is like a sickness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we can help make peace and help to make people friendly with each other, then we can be healers, even though we are not doctors.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we can make people happy, give them joy and hope and faith, then we are helping to heal their lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Every person needs hope.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hope means that we feel like we are going to live forever because we feel like God is inside of us in our hearts.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And when we have this feeling that God is inside of us in our hearts, we call it salvation or health, or Good News.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus was a great healer because he was able to give people hope.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And when Jesus came back to life, he showed us that death isn’t the strongest thing in life.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Today, we come here to celebrate the hope that Jesus has given to us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And we also come here to remind each other that we are to help Jesus heal the people in this world who need to have hope and joy and faith.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus was a great healer and he was not even a doctor.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You and I can do many good things to help heal people as well.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Can you help Jesus in healing this world?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You can by loving your neighbors and being kind to one another.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is how we can help heal the many problems in our world.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">February 4, 2024: The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gathering Songs:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>O Be Careful,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia, Give Thanks, Into My Heart, Do Lord<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Song: O Be Careful (Christian Children’s Songbook # 180)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O be careful little hands what you do.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>O be careful little hands what you do.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There’s a father up above and he’s looking down in love so be careful little hands what you do.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O be careful little feet where you go. ……</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O be careful little lips what you say….</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Through Jesus Christ our Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Lord be with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us pray</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Reading1"></a><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you are Great!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made us! Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made yourself known to us!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have given us a Christian family!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have forgiven our sins!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A reading from the Prophet Isaiah</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He does not faint or grow weary;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: The Word of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 147</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Great is our LORD and mighty in power; * there is no limit to his wisdom.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The LORD lifts up the lowly, *<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>but casts the wicked to the ground.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; * make music to our God upon the harp.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"> </span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For work and for play. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Glory to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus left the synagogue at Capernaum, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Gospel of the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon – Father Phil</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Children’s Creed</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since God is so great and we are so small,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>resurrection of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>welcome.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that Christ is kind and fair.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Peace of the Lord be always with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Offertory <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks, Hymn # 178, in the Blue Hymnal</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Refrain: Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the Risen Lord, Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to his Name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1 Jesus is Lord of all the earth.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He is the King of creation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2 Spread the good news o’er all the earth: Jesus has died and has risen. Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3 We have been crucified with Christ.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Now we shall live forever. Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">4 Come, let us praise the living God, joyfully sing to our Savior. Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Doxology</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prologue to the Eucharist</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All become members of a family by birth or adoption.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Lord be with you</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lift up your hearts</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We lift them up to the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us give thanks to God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is right to give God thanks and praise.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(All may gather around the altar)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You have made us in your image</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>the bread and drink the wine, we can<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>this food and drink<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>that becomes a part of us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbors.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father who art in heaven:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Breaking of the Bread</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Celebrant: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore let us keep the feast.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Words of Administration</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Communion Song: Into My Heart<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>(Christian Children’s Songbook, # 126)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Into my heart, into my heart, come into my heart Lord Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Come in today, come in to stay.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Come into my heart Lord Jesus.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Into our church, into our church, come into our church Lord Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Come in today, come in to stay.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Come into our church Lord Jesus.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Into our homes….</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Into our work…</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Into our lives…</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Post-Communion Prayer</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And His Presence has been known to us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and sisters in Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Closing Song: Do Lord (Christian Children’s Songbook,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span># 42)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I’ve got a home in glory land that outshine the sun.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I’ve got a home in glory land that outshines the sun. I’ve got a home in glory land that outshines the sun, way beyond the blue.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Refrain: Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me, ‘way beyond the Blue..</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I took Jesus as my savior, you take him too.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I took Jesus as my savior, you take him too.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I took Jesus as my savior, you take him too, ‘way beyond the blue.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Refrain</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dismissal<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thanks be to God!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-85279327398207622832024-01-27T11:42:00.000-06:002024-01-27T11:42:05.500-06:00Monotheism or Henotheism?<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>4 Epiphany B<span style="margin: 0px;"> January 28, 2024<br /></span></span><span>Deut. 18:15-20</span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span>Ps. 111<br /></span><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">1 Corinthians 8:1-13<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Mark 1:21-28<br /></span></span><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Epiphany/BEpi4_RCL.html"><b>Lectionary Link</b></a><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /><span>We are taught that Christianity and Judaism are monotheistic religions, and yet our Scriptures indicate writings which suggests that both are henotheistic religions, which means that they acknowledge a superior deity among other deities.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>The unfolding of Hebrew Scriptures includes the ascendency of a supreme God over the other gods in the invisible realm even as the God of Israel was showing superiority over the gods of the people of the land of Canaan, but mostly when the people of Israel were being obedient to the One God.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>The contexts of origin of both the Hebrew and Christian religion was polytheistic, meaning that people who did not embrace the Hebraic and Christian notions of a superior God, were people who followed a variety of gods and and goddesses. In the Roman Empire context, there was also the cult of the Emperor who was designated as a god.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Just as the Hebrew Scriptures is a record of how the God of Israel demonstrates a superiority over the other gods in the ancient world, so too the New Testament presents Jesus Christ as one who demonstrates a power over the interior hierarchies of principalities and powers of darkness. In the New Testament, these lords of the interior life had their messenger agents, the demons, and the unclean spirits.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><span>St. Paul wrote that life is first an interior battle before it becomes an exterior battle. "</span></span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"><span>For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." </span></span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;">In effect, the former gods were renamed as interior principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness.</span></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the Gospel rendering of this Pauline view of interior cosmology, Jesus is presented as the one who went interior to flesh and blood and was known to be the Higher Power against principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness in this world.</span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our interior world can be experience as an interior bundle of unnamed sensations, emotional instincts, and forces until a creative word can name, tame, and designate alternative acting out for such powers and energies.</span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">St. Paul in giving practical advice for those who worried about food sacrificed to idols, asserted that the One God of all made false any other claim to the proper designation of the word God. The Anselmian definition of God is that which none greater can be conceived. St. Paul was recognizing the many divine pretenders which were part of the human experience of his time, but he was asserting the first commandment of not having any other god but the One God. And Jesus was the human representation of the one God to be the one who could tame all the pretending forces of superiority.</span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the cry of the Psalmist, was a request for a clean heart and a renewed right spirit within him. O that I could know my interior life as a place of peace and calm and organized in such a way that I could act out with impulse control.</span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The words of Moses promised a prophet who would speak in the name of the interior one who could rule and tame the principalities, the powers, and the rulers of the darkness in this world.</span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Psalmist proclaimed a superior Lord who if given the ultimate respect would provide wisdom for living, wisdom for impulse control, wisdom for peace, and wisdom for justice.</span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How is the Pauline battle of the interior presented in a narrative of Jesus? Jesus is the ultimate interior whisperer. He is the one who does interior repair. He is the Eternal Christ, the Word of God, who moves again over the face of the interior deep and void of untamed forces, and he speaks and tames to peace and quietude to return people to their "right minds." </span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the religious purity code of his time, something which is designated as unclean was the ultimate in a cursed and condemned state of being. Imagine having one's interior life designated as an "unclean spirit." It was the extreme state of condemnation for his time. And yet such a condemned designated person came into the synagogue to hear Jesus speak. This person who was said to have an unclean spirit, a controlling impulse, co-existed with the volition of this person who was seeking an empowerment for his frail sense of impaired freedom. He was the like the addict needing an experience of a Higher Power to restore his freedom to learn self control.</span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus Christ is presented in the Gospel as the Higher Power to the release of our human freedom to give us power to repent and be on the path of becoming better each day. Jesus is the One who can make real within each person a new monotheism out of the henotheistic past lives of having yielded control of our lives to many unworthy principalities, powers, and rulers.</span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">May each of us be delivered from our apparent henotheistic devotions to other gods, idols, and controlling impulses, and may we see the One God of Jesus Christ rise in us as the one who whispers our lives to the freedom of self control which comes from the Holy Spirit being the clean heart within us. Amen.</span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><br />Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762663228395821939.post-70445409815966373932024-01-26T12:24:00.005-06:002024-01-26T12:24:27.362-06:00 Sunday School, January 28, 2024 4 Epiphany B<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> Sunday School, January 28, 2024</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">4 Epiphany B</span></p><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Theme:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Being a people whisperer.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Have you ever seen a mother calm her crying baby?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How does she do that?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Have you ever seen a dog owner calm a barking dog?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How does a person do that?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Have you ever seen a horse trainer, tame and calm a wild horse?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How does a person do that?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Some one who knows how to calm an animal is called a whisperer.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A dog whisperer is able to be so friendly with a dog that a dog becomes calm, friendly and peaceful with a dog whisperer.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A horse whisperer can be so friendly with a wild horse that they horse calms down and will let the horse whisperer ride without being bucked off.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How does a horse whisperer do that?</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is something that you can learn, but it is also a special gift.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We might call Jesus a people whisperer.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Today we read about Jesus meeting a man who was really upset.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He was like a crying and screaming baby out of control.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But he wanted to be in control.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He wanted to find someone who could calm him.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The people were afraid of this wild acting man and they wanted him removed, but Jesus calm the man down and showed him how he could be friendly and peaceful.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus was a people whisperer.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You and I are supposed to be people whisperers too.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How do we do that?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When people are hurt or in pain or when people are sad and angry, we can help them by being kind and feeling safe.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When we say: The Peace of the Lord be with you, we are accepting our role to be people whisperers. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are to learn how to make people feel calm and peaceful and we are to learn how we can accept the help of others when we need it to have some calm in our lives. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us remember that Jesus was a people whisperer and he taught us to be people whisperers today. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Remember we exchange the greeting of peace today, we are accepting our role as people whisperers.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Today, we read about when Jesus went to a synagogue.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A synagogue was a place where people in the time of Jesus went to pray and to read their holy book.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And Jesus surprised the people by how he taught.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Usually, the teachers of his time were taught by a famous teacher or rabbi.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And when a someone graduated from the<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>school of a famous rabbi, a student’s diploma depended upon the reputation of the teacher whom he studied with.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, the people were surprised by the teaching of Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because they did not know where he had learned everything that he knew.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They said that he taught with authority.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What is authority?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Authority is a power and strength and ability.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We say a doctor has authority, because a doctor knows all about medicine.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A doctor can use knowledge of medicine to help patients recover from their illnesses. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, a good doctor has authority…power and ability to make people better.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus was a person who had authority.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He had power and ability to make people better.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How can you and I get the kind of power and authority that Jesus had?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We like powerful people.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We like football heroes, baseball heroes because of their strength and their ability.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We like super heroes because of their power.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Big muscles may make us strong and powerful, but that does not give us the kind of power and authority that Jesus had.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus wants us to have the same kind of authority and power that he had.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And how can we have that same authority?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How do you and I get authority in our lives?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We get authority by keeping our word, and by doing the right things that we’re supposed to do.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why is it hard to clean your room?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why is it hard to do your homework?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And why does it look easy when your mom or dad are cleaning your room?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we do not have practice in cleaning our room, we do not have authority or power.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Mom and dad have cleaned before many times and so they have authority and power to clean.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The same thing with our homework.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Mom and dad can do your homework because they have practiced.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So they have authority and power to do it.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus wants you and me to have authority.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And how do we get authority?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We get it by practicing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we learn how to do something well, then we have authority.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Sometimes practice is very difficult, but we need to remember that with practice we are gaining the power to have authority.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are gaining the power to do something well.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus wants each of us to have authority and power today.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He wants us to work hard at practicing how to live good lives, so that we can have power and authority.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus wants each of us to be a superhero of our own lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I am powerful.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I have authority.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I can control myself.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I can practice to be better everyday.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Intergenerational liturgy with Holy Eucharist</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">January 28, 2024: Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Gathering Songs:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To God Be the Glory, Christ Beside me, Dona Nobis, We Are Marching</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Processionial Song: To God be the Glory, Renew! # 258</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To God be the glory great things he hath done,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">so loved he the world that he gave us his Son,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">who yielded his life an atonement for sin,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">and opened the lifegate that all may go in.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O Come to the Father through Jesus the Son,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">and give him the glory, great things he hath done.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: And blessed be God’s Kingdom now and forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Through Jesus Christ our Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Lord be with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let us pray</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you are Great!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made us! Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have made yourself known to us!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have given us a Christian family!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you have forgiven our sins!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A Reading from the Book of Deuteronomy<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Moses said, The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb…</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Word of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us read together from Psalm 111</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, *in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Great are the deeds of the LORD! *they are studied by all who delight in them.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">His work is full of majesty and splendor, *and his righteousness endures for ever.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He makes his marvelous works to be remembered; *the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He gives food to those who fear him; *he is ever mindful of his covenant.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litanist:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For work and for play. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Glory to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. And Jesus healed a man who was troubled in his heart.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. …At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Gospel of the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Praise to you, Lord Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sermon – Father Phil</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Children’s Creed</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since God is so great and we are so small,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>resurrection of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>welcome.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that Christ is kind and fair.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Youth Liturgist: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Peace of the Lord be always with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Offertory Song: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ Beside Me<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>(Renew! # 164)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me—King of my heart;<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ within me, Christ below me, Christ above me—never to part.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand, Christ all around me—shield in the strife:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting, Christ in my rising—light of my life</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ be in all hearts, thinking about me, Christ be on all tongues, telling of me; Christ be the vision, in eyes that see me, in ears that hear me, Christ ever be.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">4<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me—King of my heart; Christ within me, Christ below me, Christ above me—never to part.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Doxology</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Prologue to the Eucharist.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All become members of a family by birth or adoption.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All are born into the family of God by Baptism.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Lord be with you</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And also with you.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lift up your hearts</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We lift them to the Lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let us give thanks to God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is right to give God thanks and praise.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hosanna in the highest.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(All may gather around the altar)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You have made us in your image</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>the bread and drink the wine, we can<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>this food and drink<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>that becomes a part of us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbors.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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."</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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, resurrection of Christ and that his<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>presence will be with us in our future.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing, (Children may rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father (Sung): (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Our Father who art in heaven:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Breaking of the Bread</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Celebrant: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Therefore let us keep the feast.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Alleluia!</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Word of Administration.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Communion:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Dona Nobis Pacem, (Renew # 240)</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dona nobis pacem, pacem, dona nobis pacem.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dona nobis pacem, dona nobis pacem.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dona nobis pacem.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Dona nobis pacem.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Post-Communion Prayer</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And His Presence has been known to us.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and sisters in Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Amen.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Closing Song: We are Marching in the Light of the Lord, Renew! # 306</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We are marching in the Light of the Lord;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>we are marching in the light of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are marching in the Light of the Lord;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">we are marching in the light of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We are marching in the Light of the Lord;</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">we are marching in the light of the Lord</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We are singing in the Light of the Lord…..</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; margin: 0px;"> </span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Refrain: We are marching, marching, we are marching, oh,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">we are marching in the light of the lord.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We are marching, marching, we are marching, oh,</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">we are marching in the light of the lord.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dismissal:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">People: Thanks be to God!<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div>Philip R. Cookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182807269607171026noreply@blogger.com0