Are You a Recovering Hypocrite?

Lectionary Link

20 Pentecost, Cycle A  Proper 26, October 30, 2011

Micah 3:5-12           Ps. 43

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13,17-20 Matt. 23:1-12

  Anti-Semitism is a hatred or prejudice towards Jews because of their Jewish heritage.  The very notion of anti-Semitism did not crystalize until after the atrocities of the Nazis in Germany even though from the Crusades on through Christian European history there had been periods when the Jews suffered because of their ethnic identity.  Some later mistreatment is said to have been inspired by some of the portions of the Gospel that seem to present Jesus, as a Jew,  against the Jews especially the various Jewish religious party.

  We need to remember that Gospels were coming to their final forms as the Jesus Movement was separating from Judaism.  As followers of Jesus were being excommunicated from the synagogue, as families were divided by their religious party loyalties and as the Gentiles began to fill the ranks of the Jesus Movement, then one can imagine that the rhetoric got quite heated up.  As the Gospel writers interwove the sayings of Jesus with the situations in their own communities, the meanings within their later communities would be different from the settings for the original sayings of Jesus.

  If we understand the Hebrew Scriptures, we understand that some of the most scathing criticism of  God’s people came from other God’s people.  The prophets were brutal critics of their own people in terms of their relationship with God.  If we understand Jesus as a prophet, we understand that he was one who was a critic of the status quo in how he viewed the religious life in the Palestine of his time.

  Prophets make sweeping generalizations.  If we were to believe the words of Jesus that are in the Gospels, one might say that all Pharisees and Scribes and Sadducees were bad people.  When the Gospels are dislodged from specific contexts where specific people were being referred to, we are left with a generalization: All scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees were bad people.  But that would not be true even in the Gospels, since Nicodemus was a Pharisee and an honest seeker.  The father of John the Baptist was a priest and he is presented in a favorable light.

  We could further deconstruct a bias against the scribes and Pharisees by noting the words of Jesus to love our enemies and to love those who hate us.  Would that not also apply to scribes and Pharisees if they were the enemy?

  When we read the criticism against the scribes and Pharisees today, how can we read this and interweave it with themes of life that are operative for us in our lives today?

  I believe that the issue of reform and renewal are always issues in the life of a person, community or a nation.  The sources of reform come from within and from without and in many ways.  A person like Mahatma Gandhi from a different tradition than our own can inspire us and rebuke us to take new directions of authenticity in how we live our lives and how we treat people in our lives.  He inspired Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr.,  a Christian, in the path of non-violent resistance to injustice.  Prophets from within our own tradition can resurrect forgotten or neglected themes of justice within our own tradition.  Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor, made the witness with his life in exposing Nazism as being non-Christ-like.

  The issue in the appointed Gospel for this day is the issue of authenticity and congruence between the appearance of being faithful and the practice of being faithful.  The critique that confronts each of us today is the challenge of authenticity:  Does the way I appear and present myself in public agree with how I act in my life?

  Halloween costumes are fun because we can appear to be someone different than we are.  Acting on the stage is the art of realistically trying to convince the theatre audience that one is someone else.  And in acting there is great reward for being really good at deception. In golf, one well knows that having the most expensive set of golf clubs and golf apparel does not make one a good golfer.

  The words of Jesus as they were recounted within the Matthean community reveal a community that was concerned about authenticity.  Does our behavior match the words that we speak?  In another place in the Gospel of Matthew, those who look the part of being religious but who don’t back their appearance up with authentic deeds are called hypocrites, or actors.

  And I’ve had people tell me that they don’t come to church because they find so many people in the church to be hypocritical.  And I can’t fully disagree with them, but I also like to distinguish between hypocrites and “recovering hypocrites.”  I consider myself the latter.   Why?  To preach the Gospel, is to preach a very high ideal; one that is quite hard to live up to in every aspect of our lives.  A recovering hypocrite knows that our message asks for more than we can live up to.  And this should make us humble in knowing that we always have more to achieve in authenticity.  A recovering hypocrite is one who knows that one is never good enough to judge another people as less than we are, since the future good that always beckons us never give us cause to judge.

  Jesus as a prophet was a critic of those who appeared to have achieved a final plateau from which they could judge others.  Jesus reminded them that what God revealed to Moses and to the prophets was nothing less than the perfection of God, and in that direction everyone has plenty of room grow.  And in keeping our eyes upon where we need to grow, we are less likely to spend our time worrying about where we think other people are lacking.

  The dynamic of faith in the Gospel is a dynamic towards authentic lives whereby the deeds of our lives are actions towards the ideals that are always elusive, since there is always a higher rung on the ladder of the perfection of love.  The elusiveness of the perfection love should always keeps us in the state of being “recovering hypocrites.”  Won’t you join a fellow “recovering hypocrite” today?  Amen.

Great Law and Legalism

Click for Audio>Sermon: 10.23.2011

Lectionary Link

19 Pentecost, Cycle A Proper 25, October 23, 2011

Leviticus 19:1-2,15-18 Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 Matthew 22:34-46

   If I were to ask you for the comparative value of any certain laws in terms of their importance; what would you say?  All are created equal with certain unalienable rights, including Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?  Or that jaywalking is forbidden in a downtown areas?

  Which is more important?  The Bill of Rights or rules that govern dog owners and cleaning up after their dogs in the park?

  So there are some great principles of law and there are some very detailed contextual rules.  Those contextual rules are important but they cannot be given the same emphasis as the weightier principles of justice and human worth.

  Jesus and his disciples were known to flaunt in practice some of the detailed religious rules:  They ate with tax-collectors and sinners.  Jesus broke the rule of the Sabbath by healing on the Sabbath.  Jesus touched forbidden people, like lepers. Jesus did not follow the rules about segregation of men and women.   The disciples were not diligent about their hand-washing and other rules of ritual purification.

  The members of the various rival groups in Judaism had the practice of argumentation.  While the Gospels often present the interlocutors of Jesus as being antagonistic, in the original context, it was a very rabbinical thing to do to argue about matters of the law.

  When some noticed that Jesus and his disciples were perhaps a bit lax in following the minutiae of the religious law, they wanted to know from him, “Well, Jesus if you are dismissive about some of our religious practices which laws do you regard?  What is the greatest law for you?  After all, in the Torah there are 613 commandment rules; are all commandments of equal importance?”

  If there are 613 commandments, a person definitely needs a religious specialist to keep one informed about all of the details of keeping these 613 commandments.

  Jesus was more of a populist rabbi in that he saw many people who did not and could not take advantage of the religious specialists who were so keen on regulating the lives of the people in their community.  As a populist, he was more interested in presenting the great principles and then leaving to people the task of applying these principles in the detailed events of their lives.

  What was the greatest law?  Love God with all of one’s heart and soul and mind.  And the second greatest law: Love your neighbor as yourself.

  As a populist rabbi, Jesus was encouraging people to be practical about doing their own moral thinking?  How do I determine the validity of my behavior?  Am I loving God with all of my heart?  Am I loving my neighbor as myself?

  We, religious authorities, need to have jobs and so it is important that we make ourselves important to lay people by our theological specialization and by asserting a role of mediation between lay people and God.  Then a person like Jesus comes along and abbreviates the vast complex laws to but two principles, and so encourages people to do their own moral thinking in applying great principles to the actions of their lives.  Imagine people not needing my highly refined Jesuit casuistry regarding moral actions.

  For religious leaders, the order and administration of a community of people can become a foremost priority.  A subtle switch occurs; legalism becomes the expression of administrative control and what can be lost is what is good for each person, namely, loving God and loving one’s neighbor as oneself.

  By stating the great principles of the law, Jesus was also giving people the freedom to interpret and apply them in their lives without fear of being condemned because they could not always perform all the 613 commandments in the prescribed ways.  That sort of freedom is very threatening to religious leaders who are “hung up on the administration” of their truths.  Sadly, the truth of administration of religious behavior has often become the chief feature of organized religion.  In the ascendency of legalism, the great principles can get lost.  That is why I think it is important to go back to the summary of the law as viewed by Jesus.

  Jesus came to make God, the law and the messiah accessible to people.  When religious administration creates a barrier to God, the law and the messiah, then the good news of God for people is lost.  The Gospel for us today is that God has become accessible to us through Jesus Christ.  And Jesus as the Messiah invites us to the great principles of life.  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'   Let the work of our lives be the constant effort to bring these two greatest of laws into the details of our lives.  Amen.

A Children's Sermon: God's Image Is On Us

Lectionary Link

23 Pentecost, Cycle a, Proper 24, October 16, 2011

Exodus 33:12-23  Psalm 99
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10  Matthew 22:15-22

  If I had all of the children sit on this side of the room and all of the parents sit on the other side of the room.  And then I have a stranger who did not know anyone here come into the room and look at you.  Do you think that this stranger could tell which children belonged to which parent?  And how could a stranger match you and your parents?  Because you look like your parents…you have their noses, their eyes, their hair color.  So you look like your parents.  You in some way are an image of your parents.  And so you belong together as a family.

  We’ve read a story today about some people who tried to trick Jesus about taxes.  Do you know what taxes are?  Taxes are the money that we pay to the government to pay for the army, the roads, the courts and all of the things that the government does for us.  It is a law that if we make money, we have to pay taxes.

  So some people came to Jesus and asked him if he paid taxes to the King, called the Caesar.  Jesus knew that they were trying to trick him into saying that people should not pay taxes and that would get him into trouble.

  What did Jesus do?  He taught them a lesson.  He asked them to show them a coin.  I’m going to show some of the coins that are just like the one Jesus asked for.  These coins are more than two thousand years old.  If you look carefully at these coins you can see that the head of the King called Caesar is stamped on these coins.  And these coins were used to pay taxes to the King.

  Jesus asked his questioners?  "Whose image is on this coin?"  And they said, “It’s the King’s image.”

  And Jesus said, “Then give the coins that belong to the King to him, but give to God the things that belong to God.”

  Now this was a very smart saying.  Do you know why?

  Jesus had read the book of Genesis about the creation of the world.  And in the book of Genesis it is written that men and women are created or made in the image of God.  So if men and women are made in the image of God, who do they belong to?  To God.

  Was Caesar the King a Man?  Who did he belong to?  To God, because he was made in God image.

  The most important lesson in life is to learn that we belong to God because God made us.  And how do we show that we appreciate God?  We worship God.  We praise God.  We thank God.  And obey God’s rules about how we should live.  And we are to love God and love our neighbors.  That is how we show that we belong to God and how we give the very best of our lives.

  Do we have to pay a tax to God, since we are like God’s coins?  Yes, we do pay a tax to God by loving God and loving our neighbors as our self.

  Jesus came to remind us that we are all children of God and so we need to learn to live as children of God.  Can you remember that?  Amen.

The Backside of God, the Emperor's Head and the Human Person as Icon

Lectionary Link

Click for audio>  Sermon 10.16.2011

23 Pentecost, Cycle A, Proper 24, October 16, 2011

Exodus 33:12-23  Psalm 99
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10  Matthew 22:15-22

  I am a person who probably lives in more constant personal irony than is good for anyone, but things just occur to me, as in our two lessons for today.  We have some rather strange anatomical juxtaposition:   The backside of God and the head of the Emperor.  How’s that for a sermon title:  The backside of God and the head of the Emperor?  And now you do wonder about my inclination to irony.

  The biblical representation of God is that God is a holy God.  God is such an entire other order of Being; how could we even know the existence of this other order of Being without some translation of this Holy Being into the categories of human experience?  No one has seen God at anytime; his Son has declared him.  No one can see God and live and so humanity is the proverbial moth headed towards the flame since we do not have the capacity for either the Heat or the Light of God.  Our God is an all-consuming Fire, Scriptures records.

  So how do we deal with such a holy and great God who is another order of Being incomprehensible to those who do not have the divine capacity?  How do we know that such a Being exists since if we declared God’s existence, why would anyone trust our limited knowledge of such a Being?  We are rescued from the problem of an unknowable God by the concession that there are energies and emanations from God that are perceptible to human experience and they are such enhanced perceptions that they are able to be for us an adequate proof of God’s existence.

  Moses was a great man because of his encounters with God.  He had several theophanies or encounters with God; God in the burning bush, God in the inscription of the laws on the stone tablets, and yet when it came for Moses to see God, he could not.  He was allowed to see only the energies of God; he was allowed to see the backside of God as he passed by.  Moses was like a moth that did not fly into the flame and get consumed.

  Certainly this theophany or encounter with the divine, bespeaks of what is called God’s glory.  And how is it that we human beings can be aware of God’s glory or the sublime evidence of the Divine?  We confess that there is enough of a likeness with divinity in human capacities to be able to know God who is way beyond human capacity.  If the heavens can bear or carry the glory of God, so too it is the belief in the biblical tradition that men and women can bear the glory of God.  Why do men and women bear the glory of God?  What is one of the most often used words since we have been using computers?  Icon.  In the book of Genesis, it is written that Adam or the first human being was made in the “image” of God.  The Greek word for “image” in the famous Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures is the Greek word from which we get the word “icon.”  Humanity was made to be like the “icon” of God.

  If human beings were coins, then God’s icon or image would be stamp upon us, because we belong to the one whose likeness we bear.  When a child looks like a parent, we can say that “child” belongs to the one whose image is seen in the child’s face.

   Now let us fast forward to the time of the Gospel of Matthew.  What did the writer or editors of the Gospel know?  They knew the Caesar during the ministry of Jesus?  Caesar Tiberius.  And he was the step-son of Caesar Augustus who had been elevated to the position of a god by the Roman senate.  And so what was one of the titles of Caesar Tiberius?  Tiberius was a divi filius, a son of a god.  What was the right of every Roman Emperor?  An Emperor would stamp his image or icon on the coinage as a sign of his economic power in his realm.  His image or icon on the coins was also his right to collect taxes in his empire.  What did the Gospel writers believe about Jesus Christ?  They believed that he was more than divi filius  or son of a god; they believe he was Son of God, Dei filius,  Son of the Lord God, the God of Moses. And being the Son of the God of Hebrew monotheism, he was special indeed.

  I am trying to coax you into the irony of the numismatic encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees and Herodians who were trying to stir up trouble about paying taxes to the Emperor.

  Jesus who is the exact image or icon of God as God’s Son makes a comment about the image or the icon of the Emperor Tiberius on the Roman coinage in Palestine.  And this same Caesar is one who was call divi filius or son of a god.

  Jesus said that Caesar could have all of those coins on which his image was stamped.  But let God have everyone  on whom the image of God is stamped.  And who is that?   That is all men and women, including the emperor.

  Let the emperor keep his coins but let him honor the profound image of God that is stamped upon even the emperor by virtue of his being made in the image of God.

  Do you now see all of the symbolic irony of this Gospel text?

  But there is a further faith assumption in this text?  If the Emperor really is made in God’s image and belongs to God, then the coins and all of the Emperor’s possessions also belong to God.

  There is a message of faith and stewardship for each of us in this Gospel.  We can live our lives as strutting Caesars on the stages of our little empires.  We mark the image or icons of our lives on things in our lives with possessive words like my and mine.  These clothes are mine.  This talent is mine.  This house is mine.  This church is mine.  This money is mine.  This fame and notoriety is mine.  This car is mine.  This is my time. This is my right.  This is my privacy.  This is mine…mine…mine…mine.

    We stamp our image on what we think that we possess and we create the “mine field” of our lives.  Mine…mine…mine…mine….don’t step on my mine. 

  And Jesus reminds us about our image and about derivative iconography.  “Okay, render unto you the things that are yours….but render unto God the things that are God's.”

  And there’s the catch.  Whose icon do you and I carry in our lives?  If you and I bear God’s image, we belong to God and so in a derivative sense, we are fooling ourselves every time we say “mine.” 

  Faith in Christ who is the Divine Image of God for humanity means that we learn to transform the attitude of “mine” into the attitude of “yours.”  It’s all yours, God.  And when we transform the attitude of it’s all mine, into it’s all yours, God; we will hear God say to us, “My children, it all belongs to us, because I have shared it all with you and with everyone.  Now go forth and enjoy and share what belongs to us."  

  The Gospel today invites us to get our derivative “iconography” in order so that we can be converted to know that all things belong to God and then we can know God’s conversion to us to hear God say, “It all belongs to us, now go enjoy and share.”  Amen.

Participatory Stations of the Cross for Children

This is a Stations of the Cross for Children that I wrote many years ago and have used it to involve children in this Lenten and Holy Week Devotion.  It incorporates the stewardship of environment theme as well themes of dignity of all human beings (click on the images to zoom)

Settings for the Sanctus and Our Father

Here are settings of the Sanctus and the Our Father that I wrote with Virginia R. Scott.  (click to zoom)

Prayer Beads for Children and Adults

Prayer Beads

For a Vacation Bible School Project, we developed prayer beads for children to make and some prayers for children and adults to use with the beads.  The Anglican Rosary seemed to be too many beads and so we simplified by using the week as a the basic "time" unit with days of the week and three prayer times of the day.   (click on the graphic to zoom)

A Palm Sunday Story Sermon for Children

Palm Sunday      

Story for Family Service

  Once upon a time in a village near the city of Jerusalem, the village of Bethphage; a little donkey was born in the pasture.  And that donkey was called by his owner, Shorty, because he was so tiny when he was born.

  But the donkey’s mom, called him Christopher.  When Christopher became old enough to talk to his mom, he asked her, "Why does my owner call me Shorty, even now when I've grown to be a tall and strong donkey?"  Christopher's mom said, "Well once you get a name, it sometimes just sticks and people won't let you be anything else."

  Christopher asked his mom, "Then why do you call me Christopher?"  His mom said, "Well, I'm not sure but I just had this feeling that it was the right name for you."

  Christopher looked in the other pasture and he saw a beautiful big stallion prancing around.  He saw important Roman Generals ride this beautiful horse.  And Christopher thought, "I wish that someone important would ride on my back some day.  And Christopher was a little jealous of the stallion.

  But one day something exciting happened to Christopher.  Two visitors came to the farm where Christopher was kept.  They called themselves  disciples of Jesus, and they said there was going to be a parade into the great city of Jerusalem.  They also said that they needed a donkey to carry their king.  Christopher's owner Farmer Jacob, said, "I've got two donkeys, that jennet over there and her colt that I call "Shorty."  If Jesus needs the donkeys, take them.  Jesus is my friend, he healed my son, and I owe him everything I have."

  So the two disciples took Christopher and his mom with them and they went to a place just in front of the sheep gate in Jerusalem.  There was a large crowd gathered who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover Holiday.  After waiting for about an hour, the crowd soon got excited.  Jesus arrived and it was time for the parade to start.  The people put some robes on Christopher to make a saddle for Jesus.  Christopher had never been ridden before, and he was nervous.  But Christopher's mom said, "Calm down, Jesus is the nicest man in the world.  You don't need to buck him off."

  Jesus climbed up on the back of Christopher and the parade started.  The people took some branches from some palm trees and they began to wave and shout and scream, because their superstar was there.  They followed Jesus as he was riding Christopher into the city of Jerusalem and Christopher trotted proudly through the streets.  This was the happiest day of his life.  At night, he and his mom were tied up at the house of one of the disciples in Jerusalem.  Christopher's mom was proud of him and she said, "Well now I know why I named you Christopher.  "Christopher" means, "the one who carries Christ."  And today you have carried Christ on your back, so today you have lived up to your name."  Christopher was so happy he wanted hee haw with joy.  But his happiness didn't last too long.

  He looked out on the street and he saw another parade.  In the darkness he saw a tired and naked Jesus walking with soldiers.  And the soldiers were forcing him to carry this large wooden cross on his back.  He was bleeding and he was too weak to carry the cross, so at one place they forced a man named Simon to carry the cross for Jesus.  The people who were following the soldiers were laughing and making fun of Jesus.  They were saying, "you're going to die Jesus.  You were just pretending to be a king, but you don't have any power, you're going to die Jesus."

  Christopher ran to his mom and said, "If I had known that this would happen to Jesus, I would not have brought him to Jerusalem."

  Christopher's mom said, "It is a terrible, terrible thing, but we must trust God.  Jesus is the best and nicest person who ever lived and God will take care of him."

  Well, Jesus went on to die on the cross.  And he was buried in a grave.  But the story does not end here.  Come back next week and we will tell you the end of the story.  What happened to Jesus after he died and was put in the grave?

  What was the donkey's name?  Christopher.  What does Christopher mean?  It means "The one who carries Christ."  In a way, every Christian could be called Christopher.  Because you and I are asked to carry the presence of Christ into this world by being loving and kind.  Amen.

God, an Unrequited Party Giver and Generous Haberdasher

Lectionary Link

17 Pentecost, Cycle A  Proper 23, October 9, 2011

Exodus 32:1-14  Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23
Philippians 4:1-9 Matthew 22:1-14

  

  Today’s installment of the parables of Jesus provides us with some very interesting images.  What if God threw a party and nobody came?  What would that tell you about God and what would that tell you about those who were invited?

  The other part of a tag on to the parable is an image of a “wedding crasher” of sorts.  And the issue of the wedding crasher seems to be a trivial matter of clothing, so we need more cultural information regarding wedding customs of the time to truly understand the significance of the “wedding crasher with the wrong attire.”

  What is you favorite image of the end of everything?  Some people look to apocalyptic images of a battle of Armageddon where there is a fierce war and the bad guys are defeated.

  I much prefer the image of a party, a great marriage feast as the image of what the end of life is all about.  The end of life is a big party hosted by God and all are invited, unless they by their own choice excommunicate themselves from the party.

  In the first parable, Jesus tells about a king who is having a wedding banquet for his child and he invites the A-list, and they don’t show up.  How rude it is for them to treat the king in such a way.   And this is an ironic tale because in a kingdom, this would not happen.  You could not say no to the king without consequences.   What does the king do?  He tells his servants to go and invite others, those who were not on the A-list and compel them to come.

  What insights are evoked for us by this parable?  This parable speaks to me that the heart of God is all about a hospitable God who wants to bring heaven and earth together and who also wants to bring the people of this earth together in this great feast of hospitality.  So God is the great Host of our world, a host who wants us to celebrate our relationships with God and with the people of the world.

  But God has big problem; it is the same problem that parents have.  God is not like an earthly king who could force people to do what he wanted.   God is a hospitable God who has the profound experience of being unrequited.  A parent often has the experience of being unrequited.  Parents desire the very best for their children, but sometimes children do not know how to appreciate or even perceive what is best for them.  And it really hurts when things are given and offered with good intention, but rejected because of ignorance or willfulness.  So parents are often cast in the role of being people who are enforcers or persuaders of their children, in the hopes that they can get their children to choose good things for their lives. 

  The parable presents God in the role of an unrequited king giving a party, and the people whom he invites do not come.  The king of the parable is more like a parent who wants the freedom of one’s children.   Why won’t they come?  What have I done to them to make them ignore such an invitation?  Do they not know how important this invitation is in that it is the wedding of my son who will be their next king?  But in his unrequited feelings, the king honors the right of those invited, not to attend.  What does he do?  He simply invites the “B” list, and the “C” list until his party is full.  The “A” list and the “B” list and the “C” list are only human bias regarding who we often think is or should be favored guests of God.  If you are Jewish, then you think it is the Jews, and Baptists think they are favored guests, or Muslims, just as Roman Catholics and Lutherans do, but we Episcopalians, think that we are natural guests because we know how to party so well.

  The parable of Jesus tells us about God.  God is a hospitable God who invites all to communion.  Invites, not forces.  And yet God experiences rejection because people are ignorant of the importance of this feast of feasts, this communion of communions that God desires with everyone.  Even though God must face rejection and be an unrequited party giver, God does not stop inviting.  God cannot but be hospitable.  That is God’s nature.  So the invitation to the feast is always open.  This invitation to communion with God and each other is always open.

  Now what about the tagged on parable of the party crasher?  In the second parable a guest gets unceremoniously bounced from the wedding for not having the right wedding attire.  From our perspective this seems rather unfair.  But what is the issue here?

  In the time of Jesus, a king who gave a wedding party would also be one who provided the wedding attire for each of his guests.  This was the custom for a king or someone of means.  Obviously the guests did not have the means to dress lavishly for such an important event and so the wealthy host would provide the wedding garments as a sort of social leveler.  It would give the appearance that everyone was equal at the feast since they were all dressed because of the largesse of the host who was pleased that they had come to share in the joy of honoring the bride and the groom.

  So when one of the wedding guests decides to do his own thing, retains his own clothes and rejects the wedding garment of the host, it is a matter of offense to the host.  It is motivated by wanting to stand out from the crowd based upon the pride of one’s own appearance.

   In this is an important understanding about God’s grace.  Because of the redemptive grace of God in Christ, we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ and that is the great equalizer amongst us all.  No matter what we have done in our lives, at anytime in our lives, we still need God’s grace to make it appear as though we are presentable to God.  And that is how God grace works; we are not invited to communion of God because we are better than anyone else.  We are invited to communion with God, because God dresses us with a grace that has been provided by God and not because of something of our own doing or worth or even brilliance or heroism.

  If we want to do our own thing, and think that God should be more impressed with us because we’re doing our own thing, then we have fallen into pride in thinking that we attain the pleasure of God’s hospitality because of our own doing.

  So what can we learn in these parables?  First God is a hospitable God who has offered us the invitation to communion with God and with each other.  And we do well and are wise to accept this marvelous invitation.  Secondly, in accepting the invitation, it does not mean we are on the “A” list and others are not.  It means that with everyone else who is invited we allow ourselves to be attired with God’s grace and not of our own accomplishments. The party is a celebration of  the largesse of the generosity of God’s loving heart.

  Today, let us accept the invitation to communion with God.  That communion involves receiving God’s grace which cleans us up and makes us acceptable in a way not of our own doing.  This Holy Communion today is but an advance party to the big One.  And so God says to us now, “Y’all come to the party and get used to my abundant hospitality!” Amen.

Labyrinth Prayer Beads

When we developed a Labyrinth at St. John the Divine, Morgan Hill, I wanted to add to meditative walking prayer beads designed to correspond with the turns in the Labyrinth.  The Labyrinth Prayer Beads and the accompanying prayers provide a way to turn pacing and fidgeting into a holy pacing and fidgeting by a fuller kinesiology.  Prayerful mind directing prayerful hands and feet.  Karen, my wife, completed the task by constructing the beads to fit our particular labyrinth.  (click on the graphics to zoom)

Blessing of the Animals Liturgy

Each year we do an outdoor service for the Blessing of the Animals on the Sunday closest to the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  We ask each person to make a vow to be a good steward of creation and for the pets that he or she presents for a blessing.


Here is the liturgy that we use:

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist 
& Blessing of the Animals
October 2, 2011: The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost 


Gathering Songs: 

Morning Has Broken, If I Were a Butterfly, Make Me a Channel of Your Peace, All Things Bright and Beautiful

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And blessed be God’s Kingdom now and forever.  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.

Song: Morning Has Broken  

1-Morning has broken like the first morning; blackbird has spoken like the first bird.  Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!  Praise for them springing fresh from the word.

2-Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven, like the first dewfall on the first grass.  Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden, sprung in completeness where his feet pass.

3-Mine is the sunlight!  Mine is the morning born of the one light Eden saw play!  Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s re-creation of the new day!

Liturgist: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

Liturgist:  A reading from the Book of Exodus

Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.  Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work.  Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.  

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 8

You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *you put all things under his feet: 

All sheep and oxen, * even the wild beasts of the field, 

The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, * and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.

Birthdays: 

Anniversaries:  

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For our animal friends and pets, past and present. Thanks be to God!

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 Matthew

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, `They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, `This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time."

Liturgist: The Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Lesson – Fr. Cooke: 

Collect for the Feast of St. Francis

Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfect joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Vow to Creation

Celebrant:  Will you cherish the beauty of the Good Earth that God has entrusted to you, and will you do all in your power to preserve the beauty for own age and for the people of the future?

Response:  I will with God’s help.

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Word of God that issued from God’s mouth and created all things and God’s Spirit moved over the deep and made creation happen; you have called creation good, and we celebrate the goodness of creation which you have given to us to enjoy and tend; Bless the Good Earth and its fruits, and us as we commit ourselves to stewardship, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Vow to our Animal friends

Celebrant:  Will you promise to love, enjoy, and care for all God’s creatures, and especially for the pet whom you present for a blessing?

Response:  I will, with God’s help.

Blessing:

Lord Jesus Christ, your friends, have brought to you these special friends:  Bless we pray these delightful creatures, and grant that those who tend to their care will take delight in all of God’s creation, in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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

People:   And also with you.

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

Offertory Song: If I Were a Butterfly  

1-If I were a butterfly, I’d thank you Lord for giving me wings.  And if I were a robin in a tree, I’d thank you Lord, that I could sing.  And if I were a fish in the sea, I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee, but I just thank you Father for making me ‘me.’

Chorus:  For you gave ma a heart and you gave me a smile.  You gave Jesus and you made me your child.  And I just thank you, Father for making me, ‘me.’

2-If I were an elephant, I’d thank you, Lord, by raising my trunk.  And if I were a kangaroo, you know I’d hop right up to you.  And if I were an octopus, I’d thank you Lord, for my find looks, but I just thank you Father, for making me, ‘me.’  Chorus

3-If I were a wiggly worm, I’d thank you, Lord that I could squirm.  And If I were a Billy goat, I’d thank you, Lord for my strong throat.  And if I were a fuzzy-wuzzy bear, I’d thank you, Lord, for my fuzzy-wuzzy hair, but I just thank you, Father, for making me ‘me.’  Chorus

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 God.”

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 up 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)

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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.

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, 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 may rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

Our Father (Sung): 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 by 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 Hymn: Prayer of St. Francis

1-Make me a channel of your peace.  Where there is hatred, let me bring your love.  Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord, And where there’s doubt, true faith in you.  Refrain

Refrain:  Oh, Master, grant I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love with all my soul.

2-Make me a channel of your peace.  Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope.  Where there is darkness only light, and where there’s sadness ever joy.  Refrain

3-Make me a channel of your peace.  It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, in giving to all men that we receive and in dying that we’re born to eternal life.  

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: All Things Bright & Beautiful  

Refrain:  All things bright & beautiful, all creatures great & small, all things wise & wonderful, the Lord God made them all.

1-Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings, he made their glowing colors, he made their tiny wings.  Refrain

2-The purple-headed mountain, the river running by, the sunset, and the morning that brightens up the sky.  Refrain

3-He gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell how great is God Almighty, who has made all things well.  Refrain

Dismissal:    

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ. 

People: Thanks be to God!  

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