Showing posts with label 3 Easter B. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3 Easter B. Show all posts

Saturday, April 17, 2021

Post-Resurrection Eating and Real Presence

3 Easter Sunday B April 18, 2021
Acts 3:12-19 Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7 Luke 24:36b-48

In several of the post-resurrection appearances of Christ,  there is food involved.  On the road to Emmaus, Jesus explained the Scriptures and when he sat down to eat with two disciples, his presence suddenly became known.  In our appointed Gospel today, the Risen Christ asks to eat fish to prove to the disciples that he was not a ghost.  In the Gospel of John, he prepares a fish breakfast for the fishermen disciples.

The Risen Christ is associated with eating, and this is not by accident.

I again remind you of the reverse "chronology" of the writings of Paul and the writing of the Gospels.  The early church leaders believed that they had the mind of Christ.  They believed that they could speak in the name of Jesus.  In fact, the Gospels words of Jesus gives his followers permission to speak in his name.  So the early Christians were what I call, "oracles" of Christ.  They channeled the words of Jesus because they believed that they attained a spiritual identity with Christ, so that the words they spoke could be regarded as the words of Jesus.  Many of those oracle words were written down as red letter words of Jesus in the Gospels.

What was the practice of the early churches?  They gathered around eating.  They had meals called Agape meals or love feasts and the Eucharist was often connected with this communal eating.  Communal Eating was an important symbol of the early fellowship.  While we associate the Eucharist with the bread and the wine, the Agape meals included foods of a common meal which certainly would have included bread and fish.

The early church believed that something happened when they gathered as a community, for prayer and for eating together.  When the two or three gathered with the intention of being identified with Jesus, they believed that they experienced in some way another presence, a real presence of Christ.

Paul in his churches practiced communal eating and Eucharist as a liturgical and mystical way of realizing the presence of Christ.

So how was this custom of the knowing the presence of Christ in communal eating which was the liturgical practice of Paul and earliest gatherings of the Jesus Movement, how was it presented in the Gospels, which were written after all of the liturgical practices of the Jesus Movement had been in practice?

We make a difference between meanings which come from the five senses, and the meanings which come from the interior senses, like feeling and intuition, dreams, visions and interior events like love, joy, peace or fear, anxiety and sadness?

We know that what we see with our eyes is meaningful; but we also know what we experience in terms of things like love and joy are also meaningful.

A scientist might say that what can be seen, measured, controlled, repeated and predicted is more meaningful than the events which happen inside of us like love, joy and dreams, hopes and fear.  The stuff inside of us cannot always be controlled and it can be messy.  But just because the inside world cannot be controlled like a scientific experiment does not mean that they don't have equal true meaning.

If we understand the meaningful truths of what happens inside us; then we can appreciate the post resurrection appearances of Christ and food.

The Gospels present the physical life narrative of Jesus of Nazareth as a way to show the members of the early church that their spiritual experience of the Risen Christ is equal in truth and meaning to the actual physical life of Jesus.

The presentation of the Risen Christ eating fish was a message to the Christian community that the experiences of Risen Christ have equal truth status to the physical encounters with Jesus of Nazareth.

The physical is used as a metaphor of substantiality for the spiritual.  When Jesus is quoted as saying unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no part of me, this is precisely the use of physical as a metaphor for the substantial experience of Christ in the gathered Eucharistic churches.

We live in the age of the resurrection and the departure of Jesus from this world; but we live in the age of the many, many multiplications of the kinds of resurrection encounters of many people with Christ through spiritual or inward experience.

The Gospel writers were trying to say: your post resurrection experiences of Christ through inward events are as substantial as the actual eating of food.

I do hope that we do not forget to be poets and scientists at the same time when we read the New Testament.  Our inward spiritual lives have equal substantial significance to our physical lives.  And this is what the account of the fish-eating Risen Christ is meant to teach us today.

And every account of the post-resurrection appearances of Christ were written after the early Christians were in the regular practice realizing the presence of Christ in the Agape meal fellowship and in the Holy Eucharist.  These presences of the Risen Christ, are true and meaningful even though they are different from the presence of Jesus of Nazareth in his own time.  

Let us be affirmed today by the Gospel to accept the true meanings of our inward experiences of the Risen Christ which result in the genuine practice of love, peace and justice.  Amen.

Eating As Mode of the Presence of the Risen Christ

3 Easter Sunday B April 18, 2021
Acts 3:12-19 Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7 Luke 24:36b-48




Are we different than people who lived 2000 years ago?  Are we smarter?   Or do we have the advantage of more cumulative world knowledge and the experience gained from all of the traditions of knowledge which we have inherited?

But how are we the same as people like Paul and the disciples?  Did Paul and the disciples know the difference between poetry and commonsense reporting of experienced events?

When Paul wrote that he was seated with Christ in heavenly places, did he really think that he had a chair in a place above the firmament?  Or was this a mystical poetic expression of his spiritual elation?

I believe that we demean the intelligence of Paul and the Gospel writers if we assume they did not understand the difference between mystical and spiritual discourse and commonsense language about what can happen given the consistency of the natural laws.

A big mistake has often been made by persons who do not understand the priority of the New Testaments as mystical and poetic writings about spiritual relationship.

Paul wrote mystical poetry and theology; Paul never saw Jesus in the flesh, but he believed that he had a real and substantial relationship with the Risen Christ.  He did not feel inferior to Peter or the other disciples who walked with Jesus.

After Paul wrote the mystical poetry of relationship with the Risen Christ, the Gospel narratives of Jesus were written.

The Gospel writers presented Jesus as a physically real person as a metaphor for the spiritually real experience of the members of the early church.

There were persons who had spiritual experiences of the Risen Christ.  Were they real experiences?  And how could they prove that they were real?  Well, they said that Jesus ate fish after he appeared to them, so their experience of him had to be as real as an actual physical encounters.

Dreams and visionary experience include people eating together.  Is such eating real and meaningful?  Yes, but is such eating the same as you and I eating together.  No.

The Gospel writers used physical interaction with the Risen Christ to indicate that experiences with the Risen Christ were meaningfully real and actual for the beholders.

The message of the church in the Gospel is that the Risen Christ eats with us in his resurrected life.  If Jesus was understood to be really present at a meal in his post-resurrection appearances, then Jesus is also present when the church meets for the meal tradition which originated with Jesus Christ.

So let us appreciate the modes of presentation in St. Paul and the Gospels.  Paul uses the mystical poetry to speak about spiritual identity with the Risen Christ.  The Gospel writers, who wrote later than St. Paul, presented the physical mode of Jesus of Nazareth as the model for something that is substantial.  They wanted people to understand that the spiritual relationship with the Risen Christ was as meaningfully real and true as actual physical encounter.

Can any of us prove that mystical experience has happened?  Can anyone prove that they had a specific events within a dream?  Can a person who lost a loved one proved that they saw their departed loved one in an apparition or hallucination?   Can a recovering alcoholic prove that he or she experienced the higher power to change their lives?  We can prove the outcome of such experiences in our behaviors, even as we cannot replicate or make certain events happen again.  But you can not tell people who have had such unique, meaningful events that they did not happen, even if you imply they are mentally imbalanced or have some altered mental states.

The Gospel writers presented the fleshly Jesus to say to the post-Jesus church, that the Risen Christ is as real as the fact that Jesus of Nazareth actually lived.

The Gospel writers are writing that Jesus of Nazareth was real, so that the members of the church could affirm that the experiences of the Risen Christ were equally real and meaningful and life changing with significant moral behavior changes as proof of that profound meaning.

Let us not diminish the intelligence of Paul or the Gospel writers and assume that they did not know the difference between mystical experience and commonsense reality.

For you and me let us note the Gospel record:  Jesus ate with people when he walked this earth.  Jesus ate with his disciples in the visionary states of his post-resurrection appearances.  And what does this mean for you and me?  Christ in his Risen life still eats with us and shares his presence with us when we eat the Mass of Christ together.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen and in his Risen Life, he continues to be present in our Eucharistic Family meal together.  And his presence is still meaningfully true and real.  Amen.












Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Sunday School, April 18, 2021 3 Easter B

 Sunday School, April 18, 2021   3 Easter B


Theme

Jesus eats again with his disciples

Before Jesus died, Jesus had a meal with his disciples.  And he told them to continue to gather in this special meal when they gathered together.  And he promised that he would be present with them when they gathered for the meal that we call the Eucharist.

A meal is a time of not just sharing food; during the meal we talk with each other and we share our stories and our friendship.  When we eat together and share friendship we experience the very best of our relationship.

When Jesus died, he was gone, and he could not be seen.  But he promised his friends that they would see him again.

In the Easter stories, we read stories about how the friends of Jesus saw him again and he ate with them again to prove to them that he was really present with them.

He did this for his friends, so that they could tell the entire world that Jesus was still alive and that he promised to be present with us always.

Jesus ate with his friends after he was raised from the dead.

We eat with each other on Sunday and when we do we celebrate and we recognize how Christ is present with us, because we believe the promise of Christ to be with us always.

The Risen Christ is inside of us and we become the replacement for Jesus in this world.  Jesus, when he was alive could only be in one place at a time.  After Jesus rose again and sent his Spirit to be in us, Jesus can be in us and be present everywhere in the world.

Jesus ate with his friends after he rose again to prove to his friends that he lived after dying, and because he lived, we too will live again after we die.

Sermon
  How many of you have a body?  Do you know what a body is?  Your body is wonderful because it is made up of many parts.   Head, eyes, nose, ears, tummy, arms, legs, feet, hands, muscles and tiny things that you cannot see nerves and blood veins and vessels.  And each part of my body is me, but it is not my entire body.
  In our words we use body in another way.
  We often say that a group of people is like a body.  Why would we say that?
  Have you heard of the Army, the Navy and the Marine Corps?  They are the soldiers, sailors and marines who protect our country.  What does Corps?  It is spelled differently than we pronounce it.  C O R P S…looks like Corpse and we know what a corpse is; but we say “cor” because it is the Latin word that means “body.”  A large company is called a “corporation” and so it too is a body.
  Did you know what “we” are called in the church?  We are called the “Body of Christ.”  Why would we be called the body of Christ?
  Can we see Jesus?  Can we touch him and talk to him?  Is Jesus here on earth now to see?  No, he isn’t.
  When Jesus lived he could only be in one place at a time.  And there was so much good work to be done and so he had to leave and give his work to other people to do.
  When Jesus left, he gave his work to other people to do so that his good work could be done in places all over the world.
  And since Jesus only had two hands, he said to his disciples, “I want to use your hands to do good. I want to use your voice to tell people good news.  I want to use your feet, your mind and your eyes and ears to do the good work that I want to do in this world.”
  And since Jesus is using our lives to do his work, we are called the body of Christ.
  And even though Jesus is not here, we are here, and we are the body of Christ because we are doing what Jesus would do if he were here.  And what would Jesus do?  He would love his neighbor.  He would help.  He would tell people good news.
  So when you think about your body today, think about another body.  The body of Christ.  You and I are the body of Christ because we are to do the things that Jesus would do if he were here.
  Raise your hand.  Say this is my hand.  Say, “But this hand is the hand of Christ, as I use it to help others.”
  To remind us that we are to become the body of Christ, Jesus gave us a special meal…It is call Holy Eucharist, Communion, The Mass.
  And at our Holy Eucharist, I will give you some bread and what will I say to you, “The body of Christ, the bread of heaven.”  When you receive the bread, it goes into you and becomes a part of you, reminding you that Christ is very near to you.  It also reminds us that we are the body of Christ, now that Jesus is no longer seen.  Can you remember that you are a part of the body of Christ?


Interegenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist
April 18, 2021: The Third Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah; I’ve Got Peace; Amazing Grace; When the Saints

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

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

Song: Hallelu, Hallelujah (Christian Children Songbook, # 84)
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, praise ye the Lord. 
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, praise ye the Lord. 
Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah.  Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah. 
Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah.  Praise ye the Lord.

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

Liturgist:  Let us pray
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

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

A reading from the First Letter of John
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 4

You have put gladness in my heart, * more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; * for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.


Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

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

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.
While the disciples were telling how they had seen Jesus risen from the dead, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.
People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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


Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

Song: I’ve Got Peace Like a River, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 122)
I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.  I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.
I’ve got love like a river….
I’ve got joy like a river….

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

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

The Lord be with you
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord.

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

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

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

(All may gather around the altar)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Words of Administration

Communion Song: Amazing Grace, (Blue Hymnal, # 671)
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.
The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures; he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; ‘tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.

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

Closing Song: When the Saints (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 248).
O when the saints, go marching in.  O when the saints go marching in.  Lord, I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.
O when the girls go marching in…
O when the boys go marching in….

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


Sunday, April 15, 2018

Why More Churches than Starbucks?

3 Easter Sunday  B      April 15, 2018   
Acts 3:12-19  Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7  Luke 24:36b-48

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John present different accounts of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus and these presentations don't seem to be in exact agreement in the specific details of place, persons, time and activities.  One would assume if the same 11 disciples and the group of women involved would have been able to present a single agreed upon account of all of the details and an exact sequence of the events of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.  But this is a view and a critique from the perspective of modern historical writing, which did not exist until like the word implies, the modern era.

What we call "historical" accuracy and a consistent narratives is a modern criteria of truth which some would try to impose upon the Gospel writings.  Some people might say, I cannot believe in the resurrection of Jesus because the accounts are all so different and even contradictory if one tries to work out the details.

The defenders of the accuracy of the resurrection, then twist and contort the narratives to try to harmonize away the contradictions.

It is wrong to treat the Gospels as modern historical writing; they is not that.

The Gospels are true to the faith experiences of people who lived in the 6-8 decades after Jesus when the Gospels were being written.  We can better appreciate the Gospels if we understand that they are presentations of what had already become the practice of the early church decades after Jesus was gone.

What are those practices and beliefs of the early churches, whose leaders are intent to show how they derive from the oral tradition about Jesus of Nazareth and the oracle tradition of the Risen Christ in the early churches?

The Jesus Movement was a universal movement.  It was not to be limited to the Jewish people.  It was not going to be limited to the Jewish homeland in Palestine.  If the Caesar was a universal king in the Roman Empire which reached to far off places; the Jesus Movement was to go to every place where the Roman Emperor was in charge.  One could say that the Jesus Movement was going to be a spiritual parasite upon the Roman Empire.  The Jesus Movement would ride the coat-tails of the Roman Empire.  You may not see the power and control of Jesus Movement but it was going to be there, spreading from person to person, neighborhood to neighborhood, under the radar in private house churches throughout the Roman World.

The Jesus Movement was a universal movement because of how Christian interpreted the Messiah and how they held that Jesus was the Messiah.  One view of the Messiah was that the Messiah was to be a great King like David who would restore the homeland and free it from any outside rule.  What did this mean?  It meant that a Davidic Messiah would have to be stronger than the Caesar and his armies to liberate Palestine from Roman control.  A Davidic Messiah would be re-established in Jerusalem.  This did not happen; Jesus did not make this happen, and so Jesus could not be such a Davidic Messiah.  How could Jesus, a Jew, still be the Messiah within the traditions which derived from Hebrew Scriptures?  Jesus was the suffering servant Messiah; this was a tradition found within Hebrew Scripture.  A suffering servant Messiah could fly under the radar within the Roman Empire because such a Messiah would not be seen as a military threat to the Caesar.

But how could a suffering messiah be a real messiah in the sense of making a noticeable difference in the world?  The suffering Jesus, the one who died upon the cross made substantial reappearances to people in various charismatic events.  Why didn't the disciples of Jesus simply disperse after Jesus died?  Why didn't the Jesus Movement dissipate after Jesus died?  The John the Baptist movement, a strong movement, slowly passed away after John the Baptist died.  The Jesus Movement did not go away.  It experienced charismatic renewal.  It had the power to convene gathered communities.  Though Jesus suffered and died, there is the uncanny evidence that the community of Jesus continued to survive and thrive and grow after his death.  The appearances of the Risen Christ were given as proof of the kind of power that God used to make the suffering Jesus into the Risen Christ.

There had to be a powerful explanation for how the Christian churches survived  and continued to grow within the Roman Empire.  I believe the post-resurrection stories derive from oral traditions of the spiritual events in the lives of the early leaders of the Jesus Movement.  The truth of the resurrection of Christ was the truth of the Jesus Movement that soon had more franchise locations than the modern day Starbucks.  The social success of the Jesus Movement in the Roman Empire was traced to the power of these charismatic appearances of the Risen Christ.

The resurrection appearance stories of Christ include the themes of early church.  "Peace be with you", is a theme of the church.  We continue this in the Eucharistic liturgy today.  The Risen Christ is evident when people live their lives in reconciliation; people can be different but still live reconciled lives together.  The passing of the peace in our liturgy is how people with difference live in reconciliation.

The Risen Christ stories include stories of eating with Christ and his presence being made real in the Meal event.  Eucharist was the practice of the early Church. Eucharist is a fellowship meal.  It is the practice of eating together and when we do it the great alter-personality of the Jesus Movement looms present.

One of the mistakes we make in reading the Bible is that many people literalize the physical, when the Gospel writers spiritualized the physical.  You and I allow ourselves to make a metaphor out of physical presence, but somehow we won't allow the Gospel writers to do same.  Physical Presence, the use of empirical experience is used to say that something is really real or substantial.  We often say that a non-empirical experience is so real that it seems as though it was happening here and now.  The physical is used as a metaphor to indicate that something is real and significant in its impact upon our entire life.  If you and I can use physical and empirical existence as a metaphor of significance, surely we can allow the Gospel writers to be saying that the experiences of the Risen Christ were very significant, in fact, so significant that they account for the fact that there became to be more home churches in the Roman Empire than MacDonalds restaurants in our world.

The Jesus Movement was becoming a universal spreading social movement.  The only way for accounting for the power of this success was to relate the traditions of the stories of the re-appearances of the Risen Christ.

The Gospel writers were saying, "the Jesus Movement is here to stay and will continue to grow because the experiences of the Risen Christ are really real.  And you can have one too, one that is tailored to how your various life experiences have constituted you."

You and I are still in the Jesus Movement.  That we are still in it so many years after Jesus has been gone, should keep us incredibly curious about the staying power of Jesus Christ in our lives and in the lives of people in this world.  The Resurrection Story traditions of Jesus are still a valid reason for the power and the success of the Jesus Movement.  You and I in modesty, but with gratitude can add to the Risen Christ story tradition, as we try to prove every day how the Risen Christ is alive and well in us.  Amen.

The Jesus Meal and the Resurrection


3 Easter Sunday  b      April 1,  2018   

Acts 3:12-19  Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7  Luke 24:36b-48


I would like to tell you a story about a little girl named Sally.  It may seem like a sad story, because Sally was a young girl who got sick as a baby and she lost her eyesight.  Sally was blind.  But Sally had good parents, grandparents and friends and she had a brother and a sister. 

And the family had a special name for Sally; they called her Super Sally.  Why?  Because even though she could not see, she had a super sense of touch, she had super hearing and she had super smelling ability.  Her brother and sister would sneak into the room and Sally would say, ”You guys are so loud, I know you are here.  I can smell you Jim in the corner and Sarah, I can smell you on the other side of the room.  You can’t trick me.” 



Sally had a special grandma and she really loved her Nana’s cooking, especially her chocolate chip cookies.  Nana had a secret recipe and Sally could recognize Nana special cookies, while her brother and sister could not recognize the difference between Nana’s cookies or store-bought cookies. 

   Sally and her Nana always had a special time together, but Nanas take vacations too.   And Nana and Papa went away for a long vacation for an entire month.  And Sally really missed her Nana.  Every day she would wake up and ask her mom, “Is Nana home yet?”  And mom would say, “Not yet.”  And every day Sally would wake up and ask the same question, “Is Nana home yet?”  And mom would say again, “Not yet.”

Well one morning Sally was awakened by her nose; she could smell something very familiar.  She ran into her mom’s bedroom and said, “Mom, Nana’s home, Nana’s home, get up!”  And Mom said, “how do you know?”  And Sally said, “I can smell her cookies.”

So they went down stairs to the kitchen and there was Nana and she had a plate of her special chocolate chip cookies.  Sally said, “I just knew you were home because I could smell your cookies.”  After they hugged and kissed they sat down and they broke the rules of breakfast.  They had milk and cookies for breakfast.

   Today we read a story about the disciples who were friends with Jesus.  Jesus left and went away.  They were very sad that they lost him.  Jesus died.  And yet some of them suddenly had the ability to see Jesus alive again.  And many of them did not believe this.  So, Jesus proved that he was alive.  He ate some fish with them.

  Before Jesus left this world, he asks his friends to gather and to have a special Jesus meal in his honor.  And this is what we do every week; we have a Jesus meal.  We remember Jesus and when we remember Jesus in the Jesus Meal, we know that he still lives close to us inside us because like Sally,we have something Super;  we have the Super Spirit of God to know that God is inside of us to help us know that Jesus is close to us.  Isn’t that wonderful?








Saturday, April 14, 2018

Sunday School, April 15, 2018 3 Easter B

Sunday School, April 15, 2018   3 Easter B

Theme

Jesus eats again with his disciples

Before Jesus died, Jesus had a meal with his disciples.  And he told them to continue to gather in this special meal when they gathered together.  And he promised that he would be present with them when they gathered for the meal that we call the Eucharist.

A meal is a time of not just sharing food; during the meal we talk with each other and we share our stories and our friendship.  When we eat together and share friendship we experience the very best of our relationship.

When Jesus died, he was gone, and he could not be seen.  But he promised his friends that they would see him again.

In the Easter stories, we read stories about how the friends of Jesus saw him again and he ate with them again to prove to them that he was really present with them.

He did this for his friends, so that they could tell the entire world that Jesus was still alive and that he promised to be present with us always.

Jesus ate with his friends after he was raised from the dead.

We eat with each other on Sunday and when we do we celebrate and we recognize how Christ is present with us, because we believe the promise of Christ to be with us always.

The Risen Christ is inside of us and we become the replacement for Jesus in this world.  Jesus, when he was alive could only be in one place at a time.  After Jesus rose again and sent his Spirit to be in us, Jesus can be in us and be present everywhere in the world.

Jesus ate with his friends after he rose again to prove to his friends that he lived after dying, and because he lived, we too will live again after we die.

Sermon
  How many of you have a body?  Do you know what a body is?  Your body is wonderful because it is made up of many parts.   Head, eyes, nose, ears, tummy, arms, legs, feet, hands, muscles and tiny things that you cannot see nerves and blood veins and vessels.  And each part of my body is me, but it is not my entire body.
  In our words we use body in another way.
  We often say that a group of people is like a body.  Why would we say that?
  Have you heard of the Army, the Navy and the Marine Corps?  They are the soldiers, sailors and marines who protect our country.  What does Corps?  It is spelled differently than we pronounce it.  C O R P S…looks like Corpse and we know what a corpse is; but we say “cor” because it is the Latin word that means “body.”  A large company is called a “corporation” and so it too is a body.
  Did you know what “we” are called in the church?  We are called the “Body of Christ.”  Why would we be called the body of Christ?
  Can we see Jesus?  Can we touch him and talk to him?  Is Jesus here on earth now to see?  No, he isn’t.
  When Jesus lived he could only be in one place at a time.  And there was so much good work to be done and so he had to leave and give his work to other people to do.
  When Jesus left, he gave his work to other people to do so that his good work could be done in places all over the world.
  And since Jesus only had two hands, he said to his disciples, “I want to use your hands to do good. I want to use your voice to tell people good news.  I want to use your feet, your mind and your eyes and ears to do the good work that I want to do in this world.”
  And since Jesus is using our lives to do his work, we are called the body of Christ.
  And even though Jesus is not here, we are here, and we are the body of Christ because we are doing what Jesus would do if he were here.  And what would Jesus do?  He would love his neighbor.  He would help.  He would tell people good news.
  So when you think about your body today, think about another body.  The body of Christ.  You and I are the body of Christ because we are to do the things that Jesus would do if he were here.
  Raise your hand.  Say this is my hand.  Say, “But this hand is the hand of Christ, as I use it to help others.”
  To remind us that we are to become the body of Christ, Jesus gave us a special meal…It is call Holy Eucharist, Communion, The Mass.
  And at our Holy Eucharist, I will give you some bread and what will I say to you, “The body of Christ, the bread of heaven.”  When you receive the bread, it goes into you and becomes a part of you, reminding you that Christ is very near to you.  It also reminds us that we are the body of Christ, now that Jesus is no longer seen.  Can you remember that you are a part of the body of Christ?

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist
April 15, 2018: The Third Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah; I’ve Got Peace; Amazing Grace; When the Saints

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

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

Song: Hallelu, Hallelujah (Christian Children Songbook, # 84)
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, praise ye the Lord. 
Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, praise ye the Lord. 
Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah.  Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah. 
Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah.  Praise ye the Lord.

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

Liturgist:  Let us pray
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

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

A reading from the First Letter of John
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 4

You have put gladness in my heart, * more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; * for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.


Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

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

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.
While the disciples were telling how they had seen Jesus risen from the dead, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.
People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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


Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

Song: I’ve Got Peace Like a River, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 122)
I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.  I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.
I’ve got love like a river….
I’ve got joy like a river….

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

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

The Lord be with you
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord.

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

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

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

(All may gather around the altar)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Words of Administration

Communion Song: Amazing Grace, (Blue Hymnal, # 671)
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.
The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures; he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; ‘tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.

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

Closing Song: When the Saints (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 248).
O when the saints, go marching in.  O when the saints go marching in.  Lord, I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.
O when the girls go marching in…
O when the boys go marching in….

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



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