Showing posts with label B Proper 6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label B Proper 6. Show all posts

Sunday, June 13, 2021

Solve the Puzzles of Jesus to See the Kingdom of God

3 Pentecost Cycle B proper 6     June 13, 2021
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 Psalm 20
2 Corinthians 5:6-10,  14-17  Mark 4:26-34





At least two topics arise from our appointed Bible readings for today, which I would characterize as thoughts about kingdoms and what it means to have enlightened seeing.

How did the notion of kingdom arise for the biblical people?  The key factor in a kingdom, is the king, the central unifying person who would convene armies to protect people and livelihood but who would be very demanding of his people.  Kings also were associated with controlled and settled lands and territories.  In the biblical story of the people of Israel, they were first wandering nomadic shepherds who came to take possession of a land and when they did so they clamored to be like other people around them who had kings, even though God through the Judge Samuel warned them about the problems of having a king.  Yes, a king might convene armies for protection but they would exact taxes and sons for the armies and they would become the necessary dominant focus of the resources of the land.

How do you go about choosing a king?  If a king is supposed to be a warrior, then you probably want some big hunk of fighter.  Samuel believed that all of the older sons of Jesse had the big hunk look to be the next king after Saul, of Israel.  But God told Samuel, "You are looking on the outward appearance; Saul was a big hunk too but look what happened to him?  No, you are going to select the youngest son of Jesse, the one who has been relegated to tending the sheep, spending lots of time alone, enough time to develop a love for poetry and singing and playing the harp to his sheep.  And why are you going to choose David?  Because I see his heart; he has the heart to be the best king for his people."

Seeing David as the anointed king, the Messiah required an ability to see in a different way, to see a person with different kinds of quality than the "status quo" image of kings of the day.

And what was the result of having David as king of Israel?  David was unsurpassable.  There were some moderately good kings after David, but it was mostly downhill for Israel and their kings.  Things went so downhill that the country split into two kingdoms before the people of Israel and Judah were carried off into exiles by the conquering armies of the East.  Israel was occupied for so long that David as a king became a national dream.  "We need another king like David, but the challenge is so great now, we need a king greater than David, who has the complete anointing of God, we need this superhero Messiah."

So, the notion of a perfect ideal king became the metaphor for how God would intervene in the world to bring deliverance.   But the notion of king became a metaphor for God as well.  "Blessed are you, O Lord God, King and Sovereign of the universe...."  This became a invocation prayer of the the psalmist.  God was seen as a king, a ruler, a sovereign who chose a special king to make God's will done on earth as it is in heaven.

What is another name for kingdom?  The realm.  How does one know that one lives in a kingdom?  The king's picture is displayed, especially on the coins for paying the taxes.  The taxes pay for the armies so each soldier stands as an arm of the king.  The local administrative officials who did the king's business, they too were proof that you lived in the king's realm.

During the time of Jesus and St. Paul, one might say that there was a confluence of kingly realms.  There seemed to be a junction of at least three notions of kingly realms.  There was an obvious literal kingly realm in the world of Jesus; it was the worldwide realm of the Caesar of Rome, who had his franchise surrogates in Palestine in the persons like King Herod and Agrippa and Pontius Pilate.  The the Caesar's soldiers were everywhere and so were his tax collectors so that money could be rendered unto Caesar.

At the same time there was a dream kingdom.  The dream kingdom was the political entertainment of the oppressed people who dreamed about a greater David arriving to oust the Romans and re-establish the independence of Israel.  The dream king was a Messiah, a superhero, but this kind of messiah king did not arrive.  The dream Messiah had to remain a dream and a future hope.

But then there was the kingdom about which Jesus spoke and taught, called in the early church either the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven.

If the dream kingdom of a future Messiah like David was not evident, what was the evidence of the Kingdom of God?

Jesus came to say that the realm of God had always been.  Yes, there are many pretenders who come and walk on the stage of history as temporary kings in the lands of people on earth, but they are only temporary, even if for  50, 100, or three hundred years.  Kings don't live often past eighty-something, but Jesus came to say that God as the sovereign of the universe has always presided in the universe.  But God does not do it obtrusively, God does with with a hidden winsomeness.  God does not force worship or allegiance, God does not collect taxes,  God does not send armies, God works through the inner charisma which is the Spirit of God in the universe, the omnipresent effects of God in all that is.

Jesus came to say, "Everyone, you literally are tripping over God at every turn and very often not even recognizing."  "But Jesus we want God to be more obvious as our king, just like the Caesar was obvious."

Jesus said, "No, the kingdom of God is a organic as we see in the growth of nature.  The kingdom is God's planting of this world and it grows through phases and cycles, through sameness and differences."  "You look to the artificial cultures of humanity for kingdoms and when you glorify human production who miss what has been God given all along.  The world is God's planting, God's garden, God's realm.  Don't miss this obvious fact."

"And you think greatness is in wealth, power and big armies, but just consider God's uncanny kingdom.  It is like a tiny mustard seed.  Nearly invisible but it steadily takes over.  You think that the Caesar is great; but  he is only as great as having a kind mother and people who tended to him with myriads of deeds of sacrifice.  The Caesar is only one of the results of the work of God which is everywhere.  The collection of all of God's tiny sustaining kindnesses is what the existence of the world is built upon.  Be aware of this stealthy but significant kingdom of God."

How can we learn to achieve this seeing of the kingdom of God?  How can we learn to see as God sees, the heart of things?

The way in which we can learn to see differently is to have our interior word reservoirs continually agitated and added to.  To be born from above by water and the spirit is to take up the education of our hearts.  One of the ways in which Jesus tricked the logical mind was to teach in parables.  The parables of Jesus were like word puzzles which invites the listener to change one's thinking in order to understand and see new insights about the order of things, about the all embracing realm of God within which we live.

Today, we need to let the parables, the word puzzles bring us again to the easy to miss, always, already Kingdom of God.  It is easy to forget the omnipresent unseen and assume that humans are really in control.  Let the parables of Jesus shock us back to the real kingdom, the kingdom and realm of God in which we have always lived, but often forgot.  Let our seeing be converted to recognize the surpassing reality and greatness of God's realm today.  Amen.


Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Sunday School, June 13, 2021 3 Pentecost, B proper 6

 Sunday School, June 13, 2021   3 Pentecost, B proper 6


Lesson:

Parables of the kingdom of God

Jesus tried to translate the life of God and God’s concerns into the language and story of people.
He told stories to try to get people to understand how they were living in God’s kingdom because all of creation is God’s kingdom because God is the creator.
Understanding that we live in the kingdom of God and letting us know how God is close to us was the Good News that Jesus came to tell us.

Parables are stories and in them Jesus used comparisons to teach about the Kingdom of God.

Comparisons use what we call metaphors and similes.

If I say, “He is a bear.”  I am comparing a person directly with an big animal who is not bear but that person may behave or look like a bear in some ways.

If someone says, “He eats like a pig” this is not saying that he is a pig but the way in which he slurps his food reminds a person of the way in which a pig eats.

Have everyone think of some well known comparisons.
He’s fast as a..
He’s slow as a
His neck is long as a
So Jesus said, The kingdom of God is like….and what is it like?

It is like seeds which grow become a plant and then has flowers and blossoms and fruits.
The kingdom of God is also our natural created world; and we should recognize that God’s kingdom is creation and it is as common and ordinary and as close as any garden which grows.

The kingdom of God is like a very tiny mustard seed.  From this tiny seed a great plant grows and spreads and takes over the entire field or meadow and the birds, bees and insects have plenty of food and a place for their rest and bird nests.
By this Jesus means that big things happen because of the collection of little acts of practice that we do every day.

If you study every day, what happens?  Your knowledge collects and some day you do something very big like graduate.  But remember you won’t ever graduate unless you study and learn every day.

In sport, you practice do all of the little exercises over and over again so that when the big game comes you can do your very best.

In dance, you go to practice each week and you practice at home so that when the performance and recital comes you are ready.

Jesus came to show us that God’s life of love and fairness could be known and understood and that is why he told us the parables about the kingdom of God.  He showed us that we can live better lives if we understand that we live in God’s kingdom.
Sermon:

What is put on the head of the king when he becomes a king?  A crown, right.
  Today we have read about the selection of the king of Israel.  There was a famous judge named Samuel.  And God told Samuel to choose the new king of Israel.  And God told him to go see Jesse, because Jesse had 8 sons.  So Samuel went to Jesse house and Jesse brought the 7 oldest sons to see Samuel.  These seven sons were big and strong and Samuel thought that one of them would make a good king.  But God said, None of these seven is God’s chosen king for Israel.  Do you have another son?  Jesse said, “Yes, there is little David but he’s just a shepherd, surely you don’t think that he could be king.”  And when David came to Samuel.  God said to Samuel, “He is to be king.”  Do you think that Samuel put a crown on David’s head?  No, he took a horn that was filled with olive oil and he poured it upon David’s head.  Would you rather have a crown or oil poured on your head, if you were made king.  When you pour oil on someone’s head…he is called the Meshiach… or the Anointed…that means he is chosen by God.  In English we don’t say Meshiach, we say Messiah.  And how do we say Meshiach in the Greek language?  We say Christos or Christ.  Jesus is called the Christ or the messiah because he was chosen by God to be a king?  But just like the shepherd boy David, Jesus did not always look like a king.  But Jesus told stories about the kingdom of God.  And he said that it might look like the Caesar and the other kings are in charge, but this world is really the kingdom of God.  And Jesus taught us how to see this world as the kingdom of God.
   He said that a very tiny mustard seed grows into a large bush.  And he said the kingdom of God is like that?  What did he mean?  Do you want to graduate from school some day?  Yes, but you can only graduate from school if you do each and every small homework assignment each day.  When all of the little things that you do are added up they begin big and important things.
   Jesus taught us that it is all of the little deeds of love and kindness that really make this world keep going.  Sometimes we think it is only the famous people who do important things.  No so; Jesus said that you can find the kingdom of God in all  the really small deeds of love and kindness.
  So remember each little thing that you do each is very important: doing your homework, cleaning your room, exercising your muscles, eating good food, being kind….all of these little things add up to make your future life even more special.
  Little boy David didn’t look like a king; Jesus did not look like the great Caesar in Rome, but they were God’s chosen kings because they let all of the small deeds of their lives add up to be a great example for us today.
 



Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist
June 13, 2021: The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs:
Sing a New Song; Lord, I Want to Be a Christian; Jesus, Stand Among Us; Hosanna

Song: Sing a New Song (Renew! # 21)
Refrain: Sing a new song unto the lord; let your song be sung from mountains high.  Sing a new song unto the lord, singing, “Alleluia.”
Yahweh’s people dance for joy; O come before the Lord.  And play for him on glad tambourines, and let your trumpet sound.  Refrain

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever.  Amen.

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.

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

Liturgist:  Let us pray
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)

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 Book of Samuel

Samuel, the judge went to the sons of Jesse to anoint a new King of Israel.  When the sons of Jesse came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord." But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

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


Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 92

It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD, * and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;
To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning * and of your faithfulness in the night season;
On the psaltery, and on the lyre, * and to the melody of the harp.

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 Mark
People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.
Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come."  He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."  With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

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. (chanted)

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.

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: Lord, I Want to be a Christian  (Renew! # 145)
Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart, Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart.  In my heart, in my heart, Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart.
Lord, I want to be more loving in heart, in heart, Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart.  In my heart, in my heart.  Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart.
Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart, in my heart.  Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart.  In my heart, in my heart.  Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart.

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

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

The Lord be with you
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord.

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

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

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

Children 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.

The Prayer continues with these words

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,
(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

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

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

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

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

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

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


Breaking of the Bread

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

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Jesus Stand Among Us, Renew! #17
Jesus stand among us, at the meeting of our lives, be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.
So to You we’re gathering out of each and every land.  Christ the love between us at the joining of our hand; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.
Jesus stand among us, the breaking of the bread, join us as one body as we worship Your, our Head.  O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.


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: Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest! (Renew! # 71)
1          Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!  Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!  Lord we lift up your name with hearts full of praise; Be exalted, oh Lord my God! Hosanna in the highest!
2          Glory, Glory, glory to the King of kings! Glory, Glory, glory to the King of kings! Lord we lift up your name with hearts full of praise; Be exalted oh Lord my God! Glory to the King of kings!
Dismissal:   
Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ. 
People: Thanks be to God! 

Sunday, June 17, 2018

St. Paul As Blind Ninja Faithman?

4 Pentecost  proper 6  June 17, 2018
Ezekiel 17:22-24  Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14
2 Corinthians 5:6-10,  14-17  Mark 4:26-34
Lectionary Link
St. Paul wrote: "We walk by faith and not by sight."  And in walking by faith he believed that he perceived life in a superhuman way.  He saw things that other people could not see.  Was St. Paul like one of those proverbial blind ninja warriors?  You know the ones who can beat everyone in martial arts and sword fighting even when they are blind because they have perfected the art of seeing from within.

No, I don't think that St. Paul was like a blind ninja warrior.  I think what St. Paul implied was this: "We walk by faith and not by physical sight alone."  St. Paul believed that this inner disposition of faith gave him another way of seeing.

We use the word "faith" so often that we don't stop to think about what it means.  Faith can be the disposition of trust in God.  It can be a synonym for belief.  Faith can be the general reference to a particular community of belief, like the Episcopal Faith, the Catholic Faith, the Christian Faith, the Jewish Faith.

I have come to appreciate a fuller meaning of faith by returning to the classical meaning of the Greek word for faith.  In the New Testament Greek, the Greek word, "pistos" is used for faith or belief.  New Testament Greek was the "low standard" Greek left over in the world as a result of Alexander the Great conquering the world and bringing Greek to commerce, politics and learning throughout the world.  The Hebrew Scriptures was translated into Greek as an outcome of the pervasiveness of the Greek language.  People in various locales had their own native language but for business and government, a very low standard of Greek was used.  The New Testament was written in this koine Greek even as Latin in the Roman Empire was vying to become a new lingua franca.

In the classical Greek of Aristotle and Plato the Greek word "pistos" was important for the discipline of rhetoric.  Public Speaking was important for the ancient Greeks; they studied and developed the art of public speaking and they had hired speech writers called rhetoricians.   The goal of rhetoric according to Aristotle was "pistos" or persuasion.  Why did one make a speech?  To persuade.  Rhetoric was the study of how to persuade through the use of language.  Why does one want to persuade?  One wants to convert another person to one's proposed values.  Pistos or persuasion is important in life.  Every salesperson wants to be good at "pistos" or persuasion.  Every politician wants to be good at "pistos" or persuasion.

This notion of persuasion adds a greater fullness to how faith or belief is presented by St. Paul and by Jesus in his parables.  What is faith?  Faith is that internal constitution of one's life expressing what one is persuaded about?  And what is one persuaded about?  One is persuaded about one's highest values, the ones which draw our interest, our devotion and our allegiance.   One's life is all about being persuaded by our values.

St. Paul had a great event when his values changed significantly.  He was a Pharisee well-versed in his religion and yet he used his religion as a justification for persecuting the followers of Jesus.  In Paul's famous conversion, he was confronted in a vision of Christ and he had a change of heart; he had a conversion.  He became persuaded about the value of Jesus Christ in his life.  And because of this new persuasion, he saw things completely different.  If St. Paul walked only by sight what would he see?  In his world, Jesus was not King; the Caesar was.  In his world, the "main" religions were the religion of the synagogue and the Roman Mystery religions with their gods and goddesses and their temples.  In his world, people were devoted to the Caesar as a god and son of a god.  The Caesars had propaganda about their being saviors and peacemakers through military might.  If St. Paul walked only by sight, he would see small house churches of diverse people beginning to gather because they too had this inward conversion experience to Jesus Christ as the new value in their lives.

St. Paul did not live to see these little house churches take over the Roman Empire and move into the basilicas; but he was so convinced about the profoundness of Jesus Christ that he saw things differently.

This seeing by faith is also found in the parables of Jesus.  What did Jesus see with eyes in his time?  Caesar was the king of the world and the Roman Empire was the main kingdom visible everywhere.  But Jesus taught his disciple to walk by faith and not by the sight of the obvious.  He taught using parables to teach a different kind of seeing from the heart.  He taught about being able to see or perceive the kingdom of God.

Jesus taught that the kingdom of God was so obvious that it was easy to miss.  Coming to faith is like the harvest of life.  One is in the cycle of life to achieve the harvest of coming to faith to be able to see the obvious presence of God everywhere even when it looks like the kings of the world are prancing as those who presume to be in control.  People with faith know that God will outlive all kings and us.  People of faith know that we have inherited a Plentitude of life which we did not make or create.

Jesus said the kingdom of God was like the small mustard seed, tiniest of seeds and yet suddenly it takes over and one can suddenly discover a yellow meadow of paradise, one variety which became large shrub trees.  Jesus valorized the individual deeds of faith, love and kindness because when they are collected they become impressive character.  When the small deeds of love and kindness are really seen, then one realizes that they are the hidden scaffold which preserve and sustain the world even while the television and the media tells us it is the  kings, politician and the publicly famous who sustain the world.  Mustard seed thinking works in our personal lives and in the world at large.  We only attain character by the repetition of deeds of faith, love and justice.  People may dream for things to be better and when the reward is not easily seen or instant, they give up in disappointment and discouragement.  People give up on churches and parishes because they stop seeing their own small deeds of faith as valuable to build the character of the whole.

St. Paul and Jesus invite us not to live by sight alone; they invite us to this interior seeing, the seeing of faith, because we have been converted and persuaded by the surpassing love and greatness of Jesus Christ.  Today, you and I are invited to this seeing with eyes of faith and we can have this kind of seeing because we have been converted by surpassing love of God in Christ.  Amen.

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Sunday School, June 17, 2018 4 Pentecost, B proper 6

Sunday School, June 17, 2018   4 Pentecost, B proper 6

Lesson:

Parables of the kingdom of God

Jesus tried to translate the life of God and God’s concerns into the language and story of people.
He told stories to try to get people to understand how they were living in God’s kingdom because all of creation is God’s kingdom because God is the creator.
Understanding that we live in the kingdom of God and letting us know how God is close to us was the Good News that Jesus came to tell us.

Parables are stories and in them Jesus used comparisons to teach about the Kingdom of God.

Comparisons use what we call metaphors and similes.

If I say, “He is a bear.”  I am comparing a person directly with an big animal who is not bear but that person may behave or look like a bear in some ways.

If someone says, “He eats like a pig” this is not saying that he is a pig but the way in which he slurps his food reminds a person of the way in which a pig eats.

Have everyone think of some well known comparisons.
He’s fast as a..
He’s slow as a
His neck is long as a
So Jesus said, The kingdom of God is like….and what is it like?

It is like seeds which grow become a plant and then has flowers and blossoms and fruits.
The kingdom of God is also our natural created world; and we should recognize that God’s kingdom is creation and it is as common and ordinary and as close as any garden which grows.

The kingdom of God is like a very tiny mustard seed.  From this tiny seed a great plant grows and spreads and takes over the entire field or meadow and the birds, bees and insects have plenty of food and a place for their rest and bird nests.
By this Jesus means that big things happen because of the collection of little acts of practice that we do every day.

If you study every day, what happens?  Your knowledge collects and some day you do something very big like graduate.  But remember you won’t ever graduate unless you study and learn every day.

In sport, you practice do all of the little exercises over and over again so that when the big game comes you can do your very best.

In dance, you go to practice each week and you practice at home so that when the performance and recital comes you are ready.

Jesus came to show us that God’s life of love and fairness could be known and understood and that is why he told us the parables about the kingdom of God.  He showed us that we can live better lives if we understand that we live in God’s kingdom.
Sermon:

What is put on the head of the king when he becomes a king?  A crown, right.
  Today we have read about the selection of the king of Israel.  There was a famous judge named Samuel.  And God told Samuel to choose the new king of Israel.  And God told him to go see Jesse, because Jesse had 8 sons.  So Samuel went to Jesse house and Jesse brought the 7 oldest sons to see Samuel.  These seven sons were big and strong and Samuel thought that one of them would make a good king.  But God said, None of these seven is God’s chosen king for Israel.  Do you have another son?  Jesse said, “Yes, there is little David but he’s just a shepherd, surely you don’t think that he could be king.”  And when David came to Samuel.  God said to Samuel, “He is to be king.”  Do you think that Samuel put a crown on David’s head?  No, he took a horn that was filled with olive oil and he poured it upon David’s head.  Would you rather have a crown or oil poured on your head, if you were made king.  When you pour oil on someone’s head…he is called the Meshiach… or the Anointed…that means he is chosen by God.  In English we don’t say Meshiach, we say Messiah.  And how do we say Meshiach in the Greek language?  We say Christos or Christ.  Jesus is called the Christ or the messiah because he was chosen by God to be a king?  But just like the shepherd boy David, Jesus did not always look like a king.  But Jesus told stories about the kingdom of God.  And he said that it might look like the Caesar and the other kings are in charge, but this world is really the kingdom of God.  And Jesus taught us how to see this world as the kingdom of God.
   He said that a very tiny mustard seed grows into a large bush.  And he said the kingdom of God is like that?  What did he mean?  Do you want to graduate from school some day?  Yes, but you can only graduate from school if you do each and every small homework assignment each day.  When all of the little things that you do are added up they begin big and important things.
   Jesus taught us that it is all of the little deeds of love and kindness that really make this world keep going.  Sometimes we think it is only the famous people who do important things.  No so; Jesus said that you can find the kingdom of God in all  the really small deeds of love and kindness.
  So remember each little thing that you do each is very important: doing your homework, cleaning your room, exercising your muscles, eating good food, being kind….all of these little things add up to make your future life even more special.
  Little boy David didn’t look like a king; Jesus did not look like the great Caesar in Rome, but they were God’s chosen kings because they let all of the small deeds of their lives add up to be a great example for us today.
 


St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist
June 17, 2018: The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs:
Sing a New Song; Lord, I Want to Be a Christian; Jesus, Stand Among Us; Hosanna

Song: Sing a New Song (Renew! # 21)
Refrain: Sing a new song unto the lord; let your song be sung from mountains high.  Sing a new song unto the lord, singing, “Alleluia.”
Yahweh’s people dance for joy; O come before the Lord.  And play for him on glad tambourines, and let your trumpet sound.  Refrain

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever.  Amen.

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.

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

Liturgist:  Let us pray
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)

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 Book of Samuel

Samuel, the judge went to the sons of Jesse to anoint a new King of Israel.  When the sons of Jesse came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord." But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

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


Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 92

It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD, * and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;
To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning * and of your faithfulness in the night season;
On the psaltery, and on the lyre, * and to the melody of the harp.

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 Mark
People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.
Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come."  He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."  With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

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. (chanted)

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.

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: Lord, I Want to be a Christian  (Renew! # 145)
Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart, Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart.  In my heart, in my heart, Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart.
Lord, I want to be more loving in heart, in heart, Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart.  In my heart, in my heart.  Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart.
Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart, in my heart.  Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart.  In my heart, in my heart.  Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart.

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

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

The Lord be with you
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord.

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

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

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

Children 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.

The Prayer continues with these words

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,
(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

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

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

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

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

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

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


Breaking of the Bread

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

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Jesus Stand Among Us, Renew! #17
Jesus stand among us, at the meeting of our lives, be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.
So to You we’re gathering out of each and every land.  Christ the love between us at the joining of our hand; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.
Jesus stand among us, the breaking of the bread, join us as one body as we worship Your, our Head.  O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.


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: Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest! (Renew! # 71)
1          Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!  Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!  Lord we lift up your name with hearts full of praise; Be exalted, oh Lord my God! Hosanna in the highest!
2          Glory, Glory, glory to the King of kings! Glory, Glory, glory to the King of kings! Lord we lift up your name with hearts full of praise; Be exalted oh Lord my God! Glory to the King of kings!
Dismissal:   
Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ. 
People: Thanks be to God! 


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