Water-Man and Spirit-Man

2 Advent b      December 10, 2017
Is. 40:1-11     Psalm 85:1-2,8-13
2 Peter 3:8-15a,18    Mark 1:1-8
Lectionary Link

In the many calendars which govern the times of our lives, a large number of Christians subscribe to the Christian church calendar to organize the annual cycle in the presentation of Christian events of  our identity.

The church calendar is a curriculum catechetical device to do an annual review in various Christian themes.  Christian truths are divided up into topic matters instantiated in the events in the life of Jesus Christ and the church.  We divide Christian themes up and give different emphasis to the various themes during the church seasons.

In the season of Advent, an oft forgotten penitential season, the figure of John the Baptist appears in our lectionary.  More than any biblical figure, John the Baptist lived what seems to have been a perpetually life of penance.  If we give up things for the season of Advent, consider John the Baptist; he gave up everything for his entire life.

He travelled very light; just the camel hair on his back and he lived off the land.  He ate locusts, surely the kosher variety and one could not blame him for chasing the bug diet with wild honey.

With his life style, John was saying, "I am self-reliant; I don't need anyone.  I can't be bought.  You cannot pay me to say good things about you.  I do not have to do any fundraisers for my community.  And if you don't like it, don't come out to see me."

What did John the Baptist need?  He could have stayed in the wilderness as a hermit.  He could have avoided all human contact.  John the Baptist must have studied in the Judaic tradition.  He must have observed the religious leaders of his time.  We are told that his father was a priest of the Temple, so he had probably begun in the Sadduceean  tradition of Judaism.  Being the son of a priest, he would have in line to be a priest as well, but he went to the wilderness instead.  If Jesus went to the wilderness for forty days of temptation, John was a perpetual wilderness dweller.

John was a wilderness preacher and he must have had quite an effect because his preaching and his baptism became a draw for the people of the cities and the towns.
Why would anyone go out to the wilderness to see John?  Why would the Jews of his time and location submit to his baptism?

In the time of John, there were purification rituals but immersion in "living water" was a ritual requirement for non-Jews who were converted to Judaism and received into the community.

The baptism of John the Baptist could have been seen as a delegitimizing the practice of Judaism of his time.  A person who was born into a Jewish family had no need to undergo a conversion baptism to Judaism, but John the Baptist was requiring it.  It was as though, he was making them return to the Jordan River, the last river crossed when the people of Israel entered the Promised Land.  It is as though John was saying, the practice of the Jews of the past was no substitute for a renewed practice of commitment to God.

"Come to the Jordan and be baptized.  Receive your chosen status again in the renewal ritual of baptism.  Your automatic group identity can not be a substitute for the current practice of moral and ethical living."

The message of John the Baptist was not just a reformation of Judaism; it was start of a renewed community.

Why does John the Baptist figure so importantly in all of the four Gospels?  It could be that he was an early mentor of Jesus.  It could be that Jesus joined the "church" of John the Baptist as an expression of solidarity with John the Baptist and his followers.  The presence of John the Baptist in the Gospels, probably means that there were a significant number of members of his community.  History indicates that his community persisted long after churches became established.  The Gospel indicates that some of the early disciples of Jesus were former disciples of John the Baptist.  This means that their lives modelled moving from John as their leader to Jesus as their leader.  Moving on from John to Jesus is perhaps one of the most obvious persuasive purposes of the Gospel.  John is shown in favorable light and he is shown as one honored by Jesus.  He is shown as one who recommended Jesus to his followers.

So why didn't the community of John the Baptist persist and last?  One might speculate that unlike the Christian church, the community of John the Baptist was most likely limited in its appeal to Palestine and to the Jewish people.  It was perhaps more geographically based close to the Jordan River which was the primary location for the ritual of baptism.  The locations in Palestine were devastated by the invasion of the Roman Army, and the community of John the Baptist did not prove to be community that fared well when follwers had to flee their homelands.  There is no indication that John the Baptist made an appeal to the Gentile peoples in his time and his followers did not either, though Apollos in the book of Acts may be an exception.

The community of John the Baptist could be regarded as a proto-Jesus Movement.  The Jesus Movement and the church transformed the community of John just as they did with the traditions of the Hebrew Scriptures.  A dominant interpretive practice within Christianity was to take what came before and "spiritualize" it.

For Christians, heaven was the new Jerusalem, the church was the New Israel, the work of the Holy Spirit was called the New Creation.

So how was John the Baptist spiritualized within the Jesus Movement?   The church understood that John limited himself to the water ritual of baptism along with the requirement of repentance.  The church contrasted Jesus to John the Baptist by presenting the confession of John about Jesus: "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The Christian practice came to add to the practice of baptism, the understanding that Christian baptism was not a external physical washing of the body, rather it was accompanied by the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a sign that the work of Christ is to recreate our lives by giving us the presence of the Holy Spirit.

In Advent, Christians present John the Baptist as the one who prepared the people of his time to embrace Jesus Christ as the expression of God's destiny for many people.  Christians believed that there would be smooth continuity from following John the Baptist to following Christ.

To say the very least: The Gospel writers present a highly appreciative view of John the Baptist as the Water-man who persuasively recommended Jesus as the Spirit-man.  Amen

Sunday School, December 10, 2017 2 Advent B

Sunday School, December 10, 2017   2 Advent B

Theme:

John the Baptist

Who was he?  He was a cousin of Jesus.  His dad was Zachariah, a retired priest, and his mother was Elizabeth.

John took a special religious vow, the vow of the nazirite.  He did not shave his hair and he did not drink wine.  He lived his life in the wilderness.  Perhaps he learned and studied with a group of people who lived there.

John wore a camel hair jacket and he ate grasshoppers and wild honey.

John began to preach and baptize in the area around the Jordan River.

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.

There were many people who followed John the Baptist.  He was their leader and teacher.

His main message was to asked people to repent and be baptized.  To repent is a special kind of education.  We learn how to be better and then we do something about it to make our lives better.

If we have lied, we quit lying and tell the truth.  If we have stolen things, we quit stealing and respect what belongs to others.  To repent means to learn when we have done wrong, to correct it and never do the wrong thing again.

John the Baptist was very bold.  He even tried to correct the bad behavior of King Herod.  And because of this he was killed.

During and after the life of John the Baptist, many of his followers became the first followers of Jesus.

John the Baptist was not jealous of Jesus; he was happy that his followers became followers of Jesus.

Why do we study John the Baptist during the season of Advent?

Advent is a season of preparation for the birth of Christ.

John was a person who prepared people to receive Jesus Christ.

In Advent, we are supposed to live a simpler life and share some of our extra time, food and money with people who are in need.

John lived a very simple life.  He showed us that we do not need much to live   He showed that we can make our lives simpler and if we simplify our lives we have more time to share with God and with other people.

Also from John the Baptist, we learn that we are to live and prepare others to love and accept Jesus Christ.

Questions:

What do you think about John the Baptist’s clothes and his diet?

How do you think that you can simplify your life during Advent?  What is something that you can do without during Advent?

What projects can you do in Advent to help other people who are in need?

Sermon:

  What does a blocker do in football for a running back?  He pushes and shoves tacklers out of the way so the running back can run far with ball.

  What do we use bulldozers and earthmovers for?  We used them to build straight and level roads so we can get places quicker in our cars.

  Today we read about a man named John the Baptist.  And John the Baptist is a person who was like a blocker or like a bulldozer.

  He was like a blocker, in that he pushed aside everything, to prepare a way for Jesus Christ.  He was like a bulldozer in that he was trying to help people come directly to knowledge of God.

  John the Baptist lived a very different life.  He camped out all the time.  He lived out amongst the wild animals all the time.  He probably slept in caves.  He wore a camel hair robe and do you know what he ate:  He ate grasshoppers and honey?

  John came and he wasn’t very popular, because he saw some things that were wrong that needed to be corrected.  And no one likes to be corrected, do we?  When our parents or teachers correct us, it is not always fun.  But why do they correct us?  Because they want us to be better.

  John the Baptist corrected people, because he believed that they could be better.  And he really wanted them to be introduced to Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ was an important gift from God to us.

  Today, when we think about John the Baptist, let us remember that sometimes we need to be corrected so that we can get better. What If we never were corrected, then we could not get better.  It does not always feel good to be corrected, but remember we do want to get better.  And the only way to get better is to have someone show us how.

  Jesus Christ showed us how to be better.  He showed how to love God with all our hearts and how to love our neighbors.  Let us be thankful today for the people that God gives to us to help correct our behavior so that we can become better.  That is what the season of Advent is about: Correcting our behavior so that we can be better.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 10, 2017: The Second Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs:  Light a Candle, Prepare the Way of the Lord;   Jesus Stand Among Us,  Lord, I Lift Your Name on High

Song: Light A Candle   (tune: Jimmy Crack Corn)

Light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today.  Advent time is here.  

Light a candle for peace today,…….

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.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: 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

Liturgist:   A reading from the Prophet Isaiah

A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 85

I will listen to what the LORD God is saying, * for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.

Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, * that his glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth have met together; * righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

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.

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"  John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

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.

Offertory Song:   Prepare the Way of the Lord  (Renew! # 92)  Sing four times

Prepare the way of the Lord.  Prepare the way of the Lord,

and all people will see the salvation of our God.                  

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 our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them 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.

(All may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

 the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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

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

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

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

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

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

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Jesus Stand Among Us,  (Renew! #17)

1-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.

2-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.

3-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: Lord, I Lift Your Name on High (Renew!  # 4)

Lord I lift your name on high; Lord, I love to sing your praises.  I’m so glad you’re in my life;

I’m so glad you came to save us.  You came from heaven to earth to show the way,

from earth to the cross my debt to pay.  From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;

Lord, I lift your name on high.

Dismissal   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

John the Baptist: Model of an Unbribed Life

2 Advent Cycle b      December 7, 2014

Is. 40:1-11     Psalm 85:1-2,8-13

2 Peter 3:8-15a,18    Mark 1:1-8

Lectionary Link

  For your Advent kosher eating, I will pass on this from Rabbi Shmini

 "Every flying insect that uses four legs for walking shall be avoided by you. The only flying insects with four walking legs that you may eat are those which have knees extending above their feet, [using these longer legs] to hop on the ground. Among these you may only eat members of the red locust family, the yellow locust family, the spotted gray locust family and the white locust family. All other flying insects with four feet [for walking] must be avoided by you."

  I did not want you to worry as to whether the John the Baptist diet is kosher.  The rabbinical literature suggests that perhaps pickled locust was the preferred way of preparing locust. So John the Baptist was definitely an insectivore; after all honey is the product of an insect, the bee.  Now that we have the Paleo diet, when will we have a proper John the Baptist kosher insectivore diet plan?

  I find the Gospel's reference to John's diet and his clothing to be interesting because diet and clothing would not come to written description if John the Baptist was wearing the regular street clothing of his contemporaries.  So John's diet and clothing were making some sort of life style statement, so much so that it has come to description in Gospel accounts about John.

  John's clothing and diet present to us the lifestyle of what could be called an "unbribed soul."  If one can harvest one's food from the wilderness free of charge and craft one's clothing from animal hair and leather, then one does not have to publicly endorse Armani or Levi the tunic tailor.  By decreasing his reliance upon other people, John was not beholden to anyone.  He did not have to have good approval ratings and he did not have to worry about stepping on the toes of the synagogue elders in speaking his mind about anything.  He did not have to do a pledge drive at the temple or synagogue.

  There is something very fascinating about such figures like John the Baptist.  They grow up and retain the child-like freedom to speak immediately whatever is on their mind; only their mind is usually formed by very strict moral practice.  It is almost like they have a automatic speaking impulse; they speak their mind without thinking about whether people will like them or not.  And it was this practice which led to the death of John the Baptist.   He spoke out about the divorce of the king and the king's wife Herodias was not amused and  asked for John's head on a platter.

  We, in community, don't appreciate people who speak without censoring filters and who do not have the ability to be sensitive to the needs, customs and insecurities of their communities.  In fact we call such speaking with censoring filters, "courtesy."  Perhaps you remember the Geico commercial about whether Abraham Lincoln was really honest?  Mary Todd asks Honest Abe whether her new dress made her backside look bigger.  And poor Abe, hems and haws, sheepishly makes a wee little sign with his finger and sheepishly says, "perhaps."  To which Mary Todd storms out of the room.

  No we do not like unfiltered people like John the Baptist.  Since they do not have to be responsible to anyone, they don't have to practice our games of common courtesy which thankfully insist that we don't tell the whole truth.  We are supposed to leave lots of thought unpublished, and  unspoken.

  People like John, and Jesus, and Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. get themselves killed for their unfiltered speech.  And we need such unfiltered speech to remind us about the greater values of love and justice which call us to excellence beyond just living lives within our safe communities where we are often taught to be exclusionary and unwittingly prejudicial in some of our practices.

  These prophets who say the hard things which need to be said probably can be few in number.  A community of John the Baptists would probably not get along with each other.  Thankfully, not everyone can or should live like John the Baptist or Jesus or St. Francis of Assisi.

  But we need such figures to model for us the "unbribed life."  We in our lives live such co-opted lives; we live in such compromise with our social and economic situations.  We are absolved of so much simply because we fold into the "everyone" is doing it syndrome.  Or “ I didn’t do it, the drone did it because the bombs weren’t smart enough to miss the civilians.”  Our social sins are invisible or they are so great that we despair of being able to make any significant improvement.  Issues like social and economic justice or environmental disaster loom so large that we who belong to the crowd of the largest consumers respond with the guilt of trying to put band aids on a gushing wound or we fatalistically despair of doing anything or we deny that such issues exist or we say that every individual is equally responsible for the conditions of one's life.

  We need models of the unbribed soul.  We need the ascetic principle, the principle of being able to have the power to fast from things which hurt us and our communities.

  We cannot find or discover and activate this power without having it drawn from us by events and people in our lives.  The power to change our lives is to discover again the unbribed aspect of our souls.  We all have the lingering effects in our lives of being a new born infant and young child.  We have this memory of being totally "unbribed" and happy and joyful beings.  But our orientation into adulthood in imperfect environments has cut off our memory and access to this part of our being.

  John the Baptist, Jesus, babies, children and poignant events and people in our lives allow us to have projections from within and access again our own "unbribed" souls.

  An Advent question which the presentation of John the Baptist evokes is this:  How do I live an "unbribed way" in a life which is already totally formed and shaped by incredible compromises to my various social and economic environments?   Or one of the questions of the Gospel of John:  How do I live in world without being of the world?  Or the question of Martin Luther: How does one live knowing one's depravity while knowing the full measure of God's redeeming grace?

  Advent Season is a time to access the place of the "unbribed" soul within us.  And how can this help us?  It can help us learn to be content in the uneven circumstances which can come to us in life.  We get so used to assuming that the life of excess is the normal life and so when that normality of excess is threatened by loss of financial stability, we find that our habits of addiction to excess threaten to overwhelm us in our faith and in our emotions and in our relationships.  We can become completely dysfunctional when our excess is taken away.  Finding the aspect of the "unbribed" soul within us can help us to rediscover how little we need to survive in our physical lives if we have learned the wealth of the sources of self-reciprocating Spirit.  Any Advent discipline which can help us not to take anything for granted and encourage us to find that truly the greatest things in life are both free and abundant, will be a discipline toward greater contentment in our future lives.

  Let the unbribed soul of John the Baptist be for us a witness to an aspect of ourselves which we can discover within our lives which can call us to the practice of humility and generosity in our days of excess and a sense of spiritual fullness in our days of need.

  Dear people of God, let us find the unbribed soul within us today.  Amen.

Sunday School, 2 Advent, Cycle B, December 7, 2014

2 Advent b      December 7, 2014

Is. 40:1-11     Psalm 85:1-2,8-13

2 Peter 3:8-15a,18    Mark 1:1-8

Sunday School Themes

Light two Advent Candles today as we count down towards Christmas

On the Jesse Tree, add pictures of honey and locust to signify the diet of John the Baptist

Introduce John the Baptist as a "set up man" for Jesus

Teach them about the Baptism of John the Baptist and why the Jordan River Baptism is important

John the Baptist taught that even though people were born into a faith tradition, each person had to renew their individual commitment to God.

The Jordan River was the last crossing for the people of Israel to enter their Promised Land

The Baptism of John meant that each person had to enter the Promised Land by personal choice

Talk about John's dress and diet and how he lived in the wilderness so he could hear God clearly and not be distracted by life in the city.

Talk about the fancy religious word for education: Repentance.

Repentance means the future state of mind that one has after learning something new.

But repentance means that after we learn new things we also change our behaviors.

A sermon lesson for this day:

  What does a blocker do in football for a running back?  He pushes and shoves tacklers out of the way so the running back can run far with ball.

  What do we use bulldozers and earthmovers for?  We used them to build straight and level roads so we can get places quicker in our cars.

  Today we read about a man named John the Baptist.  And John the Baptist is a person who was like a blocker or like a bulldozer.

  He was like a blocker, in that he pushed aside everything, to prepare a way for Jesus Christ.  He was like a bulldozer in that he was trying to help people come directly to knowledge of God.

  John the Baptist lived a very different life.  He camped out all of the time.  He lived out amongst the wild animals all of the time.  He probably slept in caves.  He wore a camel hair robe and do you know what he ate:  He ate grasshoppers and honey?

  John came and he wasn’t very popular, because he saw some things that were wrong that needed to be corrected.  And no one likes to be corrected, do we?  When our parents or teachers correct us, it is not always fun.  But why do they correct us?  Because they want us to be better.

  John the Baptist corrected people, because he believed that they could be better.  And he really wanted them to be introduced to Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ was an important gift from God to us.

  Today, when we think about John the Baptist, let us remember that sometimes we need to be corrected so that we can get better. What If we never were corrected, then we could not get better.  It does not always feel good to be corrected, but remember we do want to get better.  And the only way to get better is to have someone show us how.

  Jesus Christ showed us how to be better.  He showed how to love God with all our hearts and how to love our neighbors.  Let us be thankful today for the people that God gives to us to help correct our behavior so that we can become better.  That is what the season of Advent is about: Correcting our behavior so that we can be better.  Amen.

Family Eucharistic Liturgy

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 7, 2014: The Second Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs:  Light a Candle, Prepare the Way of the Lord;   Jesus Stand Among Us,  Lord, I Lift Your Name on High

Song: Light A Candle   (tune: Jimmy Crack Corn)

1                          Light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today.  Advent time is here.   

2                          Light a candle for peace today,…….

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.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: 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

Liturgist:   A reading from the Prophet Isaiah

A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 85
and to those who turn their hearts to him.
Children’s Creed

Doxology
 
Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;
You have made us in your image
And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

 Post-Communion Prayer
Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;
People:      Thanks be to God! 

I will listen to what the LORD God is saying, * for he is speaking peace to his faithful people

Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, * that his glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth have met together; * righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

  

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

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.

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"  John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

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.

  

Intercession

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.

Offertory Song:   Prepare the Way of the Lord  (Renew! # 92)  Sing four times

Prepare the way of the Lord.  Prepare the way of the Lord,

and all people will see the salvation of our God.                                                                                           

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 our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them 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.

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 he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

 the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

1-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.

2-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.

3-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.

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: Lord, I Lift Your Name on High (Renew!  # 4)

Lord I lift your name on high; Lord, I love to sing your praises.  I’m so glad you’re in my life;

I’m so glad you came to save us.  You came from heaven to earth to show the way,

from earth to the cross my debt to pay.  From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;

Lord, I lift your name on high.

Dismissal   

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