Having a Biblical Identity and not Knowing It

2 Lent B      February 25, 2018
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Psalm 22:22-30
Romans 4:13-25  Mark 8:31-38
Lectionary Link
As part of our Lenten discipline, I am asking for us to explore the identities of our lives.  I know some of you are Californian natives.  That's an identity.  Some of you are Giants' fans.  That's an identity.  I hope that all of us are Christians.  That's an identity.  Many of us are Episcopalians.  That's an identity.  Who we are is often what we receive from the place of our birth and from the influences in our lives.  Who we are is also what we become when we actively study and form our identities by the changes we instigate in our lives.

Part of our identity might be called our "biblical" identity.  I grew up in the home of a Baptist preacher and from day one, I was force fed the words of the Bible.  I received a grounding in a biblical identity.

I am not so certain that our postmodern culture has the same connection with biblical identity as was the culture in which I grew up in.  For many years, the Bible dominated our world as the preferred and only authority for moral authority.  The King James English translation of the Bible was a standard for English language and literature.  Since the Enlightenment, the Guttenberg press, the expansion of general literacy, the rapid increase in the amount of world knowledge, and now in our postmodern world of the internet, there has been an increasing availability of so many words that can form our identities, the Bible has lost its once dominate role in the formation of identity.  The Bible used to be like  a sugar cube placed in a cup of tea.  Now the Bible is like a sugar cube placed in the ocean.  The effect of the sugar cube is more noticeable in a tea cup than it is in the ocean.  This means that we have to be more deliberate in including the Bible in our lives as providing words for our identity.

The biblical identity of the early Christians was an important issue and we can highlight this in our Bible readings for today.

The early church communities included Jews who were familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures; but the early church communities included Gentile members who did not know the Hebrew Scripture traditions.  They came from the cultures steeped in Roman Hellenistic traditions of philosophies, rhetoric and Mystery religions which included a pantheon of many gods and goddesses as well as the cult the divine Caesar.

St. Paul experienced an incredible social phenomenon.  Many Gentiles were hearing the message of Jesus Christ and embracing it.  The Gentiles did not have the tradition of Hebrew Scriptures but they had obvious Holy Spirit life-changing experiences.  They had never read the law of Moses but they had begun to change their lives morally and spiritually.  What was St. Paul to do?  And how could he explain this to the people who had grown up with a Bible identity, the Hebrew Scriptures of the Law, Prophets and the Wisdom and history writings and the corporate prayer tradition of the Psalms?  Could a person have valid faith who followed Jesus, a Jew, and yet be one who had never heard about the Hebrew Scriptures?

St. Paul had some explaining to do.  How could the Gentile Christians be included in the tradition of the Hebrew Scriptures?  St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans wrote the theology of Gentile Christianity.  He showed how the Hebrew Scriptures anticipated the faith of the Gentiles.  He showed how his Judaism had failed in evangelism to the entire world by remaining within a cloistered separatist community.  How did St. Paul explain the faith of the Gentiles?  He went to the pre-Jewish Patriarch of the Hebrew Scripture.  Abraham was not a Jew; he existed before Jacob and his son Judah, from whom the word "Jew" derives.  Abraham existed before Moses received the Torah, the Laws of God.  Abraham did not know the Ten Commandments but he had a faith in God and this faith in God was regarded to be as valid and as good as the faith of Moses, David, Elijah and all the prophets.

The Gentiles Christians were like Abraham; they did not have the benefit of knowing the law of Moses, but by faith they had received the Holy Spirit, the presence of the Risen Christ in their lives.  And they were living faithful lives in the manner of Abraham, but they were not keeping all of the minor laws, like the dietary laws regarding pork or the circumcision law.

St. Paul was saying to Gentile Christians, your faith is valid because your faith is like the faith of Abraham.  St. Paul was saying to his fellow Jews: The faith of the Gentiles is valid like the faith of Abraham and because they have the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, we should not require of them to observe the less important rules of ritual purity.  St. Paul argued for the valid biblical identity for new Gentiles Christians.

An early Christian leader and teacher wrote the Gospel of Mark.  The writer was also interested in the biblical identity of the readers.  The writer of Mark's Gospel was concerned about the biblical identity of the Messiah.  Why was this an issue?  Was Christianity to be a "land-based" religion pertaining only to the people who lived in Palestine in a Promised Land?  In one Messianic tradition, the Messiah was to be a king like David who would arise and save the nation of Israel from her enemies and establish the Jews within their traditional borders.  Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah, but he wanted Jesus to be the kingly Davidic version of the Messiah.  The historical facts of the time indicate that the Romans were well in control even to demolish totally Jerusalem and Temple in the year 70.  These wars further exiled the Jews away from Jerusalem and environs.  Jesus was not such a kingly, military Messiah but as the Risen Christ, he was converting hearts and lives of Jews and Gentiles in the villages and cities of the Roman Empire, even far away from Jerusalem.  Did the Hebrew Scriptures provide the words for the kind of Messiah that the Risen Christ had become in the lives of Christians?  The word of Jesus in our Gospel indicate that Jesus would be the suffering servant Messiah.  The suffering servant Messiah was written about in the prophet Isaiah and he would be a Messiah for all people.  He would not be one limited to retaining the borders of Israel for the national autonomy of the Jewish people.  The suffering servant Messiah would be the Risen Christ who would be available to the entire world and belief in him would allow Christians to fulfill the world evangelism that the Jewish people were unwilling to do.

Today, you and I are invited to both explore our biblical identity but also invite others to do so as well.  We can become like the Jews in the time of Jesus and Paul and use the Bible in very narrow ways to keep people away from faith.  Or we can highlight the portions of the Bible which indicate that God is love, God is inviting and inclusive, God has a large heart and God and Christ are not limited to the Episcopal Church or our liturgy.  We come to church on Sunday, not to lock God in the box of our faith tradition, but to be mobilized to go forth and invite everyone to find faith in God through knowing the presence of the Christ-nature within themselves.

The biblical tradition is wide and broad; let us not make it narrow and petty.  Paul found room for the Gentiles in the witness of Abraham.  There are many people today who have not had a religious upbringing but who live lives like Abraham of old.  Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness or "rightness with God."

Let us learn our biblical identity, not as a strait jacket, but as encouragement to show people in our lives how God reckons them righteous, because of their practice of faith in love, justice and kindness. People can realize the nature of Christ within themselves even without knowing it.  And we need to be there to support and encourage the expressions of the Risen Christ wherever we can find them.  St. Paul found the biblical identity for Gentiles who did not know the Bible; we too can find the biblical tradition for people who do not know it today.  If Christ, is truly universal, Christ knows how to be manifest in people who never read the Bible.  We need to be like St. Paul and affirm the effects of the Risen Christ in all of the peoples of this world today.  And some of them might become Episcopalian and join us to proclaim Christ and the Bible as available to all.  Amen.

Sunday School, February 25, 2018 2 Lent B

Sunday School, February 25, 2018    2 Lent B

Themes

Knowing but not understanding

Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah but he did not understand what that meant.

We know what it means to be a good student, baseball player, a good dancer, gymnast or soccer player, but we don’t always understand it what it means to be a good student, baseball player, dancer gymnast or soccer player.

Knowing and understanding

We can watch Olympic athletes win gold medals and know about greatness.  But we don’t understand greatness until we try to do it.

We can become good, smart or great without practice.  And practice means doing lots of things that are not fun.  To pass tests at school, we have to read and study and memorize.   To become a good soccer player we have to practice many, many hours.  To be a good dancer or gymnast we have to practice many hours.  And we make mistakes.  We fall and might even hurt ourselves.  But we have to keep trying over and over again.  And sometimes we quit because we say, “I’m not good at this and I’ll never be good, so I’m going to quit.”

Peter knew that Jesus was great and he knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but he did not understand what it would mean for Jesus to be the Messiah.  He did not understand that the Messiah would have to suffer and die and over come death.

Peter wanted only a triumphant king Messiah.  But Jesus is God with us.  If God is with us, God has to be with us in the best times and the worst times.  And pain and death are sad times in human life and if Jesus was really the Messiah, he had to be with us in the bad and sad time too.  So, Jesus suffered and he died.  And because he died, he really was with us in everything that we as people have to go through.

Peter only wanted a “half” Messiah.  He wanted a Messiah who did not suffer and not have to face the things that all human beings had to face.

Jesus said to Peter, “Peter, you know about the Messiah, but you do not understand the Messiah.”  The Messiah is one who will suffer and die because the Messiah is proof that God is with us in everything in life, including our death.

Jesus went through death and resurrected; he came back to life to show us that we have an afterlife.

Let us both know and understand Jesus as the Messiah.  Let us know that Jesus is the Messiah because he was strong enough to be with us in our suffering; he will be with us in our death; and he will be with us in our afterlife.

  

Sermon

What is a riddle?  A riddle is a word puzzle to solve.  There many kinds of riddles.  Like, where is the ocean the deepest?  On the bottom of course.   Or why do potatoes make good dectectives?  Because they have so many eyes.  A riddle often includes a word pun.  And what is word pun.  A word pun is when you use the wrong meaning for the word that sounds the same.

  The words of Jesus often sound like riddles too.  Sometimes you have to think about them for a long time to understand them. 

  We have read one of the riddles today.  Jesus said, “If save your life, you will lose it.  If you lose your life you will save it.”  Now that is quite a riddle, isn’t it?  What is solution to this riddle?

  Have you heard about some difference sciences?  Have you heard about biology?  The study of life.  Psychology is the science that studies human behaviors.  Zoology is the science of studying animal life.  The names of these sciences come from Greek words and all of these Greek word mean life.  Bios, pseuche, and zoe.

  So when Jesus said we need to lose our life to save our lives, what meaning of life do you think he was referring to?

  Was he referring to our physical life?  Well, maybe.  Sometimes heroes lose their lives to save people right?  Like when a fireman goes into a dangerous fire to rescue someone trapped in a building.

  But the Greek word for life that Jesus used was pseuche.  And that refers to our behavior.  He is saying that we must lose certain behavior for us to save ourselves.  How can we understand this?  Losing life to save it?

  Did you know that when you read a book and learn something you are losing your life?  You used to know only this much…but now you know this much.  So you lost your old understanding and have received new understanding.

  How else do you lose your life and save it?  Let’s say that you are sitting down to watch the TV, and your mother asks you to do something to help.  You really want to watch TV….but you decide to obey your mother and help.  You lost your life of watching TV but you gained your life of obeying and helping your mother.  And you have made yourself better and you have made your family better by helping.

  Now do you understand this riddle of Jesus, of how we lose our life and save our life?

  We also call this a sacrifice.  A sacrifice is when we say no to something that we really want to do, and do something to help others.

  Our family, our society and our church happen only because people sacrifice.  People say no to being selfish, and they say yes to helping others.  This is what losing our lives and saving our lives means.

  During the season of Lent we practice the life of sacrifice; saying no to some our favorite things, so that we can say yes to helping make our world a better place.

  Do you understand the riddle of Jesus now?  Good.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Holy Eucharist

February 25, 2018: The Second Sunday In Lent

Gathering Songs:  Precious Lord, Take My Hand; He’s Got the Whole World, Break Thou the Bread of Life; Lift High the Cross

Liturgist: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.

People: God’s mercy endures 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.

Opening Song : Take My Hand Precious Lord, (LEVAS #106)

1.         Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.

2.         When my way grows drear, precious Lord, linger near, when my life is almost gone; Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand, lest I fall, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Praise the Lord

O God, you are Great!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have made us! Praise the Lord

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Praise the Lord

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

Liturgist: A Reading from the Book of Genesis

God said to Abram, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous." Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you."

The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 22

Praise the LORD, you that fear him; * stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory.

For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; *
but when they cry to him he hears them.

My praise is of him in the great assembly; * I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Then Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."  He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

Offertory Song: He’s Got the Whole World (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 90)

1          He’s got the whole world; in his hands he’s got the whole wide world in his hands.  He’s got the whole world in his hands; he’s got the whole world in his hands.

2          Little tiny babies.  3    Brother and the sisters   4       Mothers and the fathers

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 the celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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 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:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration.

Communion Hymn: Break Thou the Bread of Life (LEVAS # 146)

Bread thou the bread of life, dear Lord to me, as thou didst break the loaves beside the sea; beyond the sacred page I seek thee, Lord; my spirit pants for thee, O living word.

(Repeat during communion)

  

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: Lift High the Cross, (Blue Hymnal # 473)

Refrain: Lift High the cross, the love of Christ proclaim.  Till all the world adore, his sacred name.

Led on their way in this triumphant sign, the hosts of God in conquering ranks combine. Refrain

Each newborn servant of the Crucified- bears on the brow the seal of him who died.  Refrain

O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree, as thou hast promised, draw the world to thee.  Refrain

So shall our song of triumph ever be: praise to the crucified for victory.  Refrain

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Explaining the First Great Paradigm Shift in Christianity

2 Lent B      March 1, 2015

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Psalm 22:22-30
Romans 4:13-25  Mark 8:31-38

Lectionary Link

    If Jesus was a practicing Jew and a rabbi, why is it that we today are not a part of the synagogue communities?  Why do we attend church instead of synagogue today?  The readings from the Scriptures provide for us some answers to this question which we don't ask because we are quite used to the near 2000 years of separation between the church and synagogue communities.

  Some people might say that Jesus is the inspiration for the Christian church and he is the founder of the rabbinical school which became the Jesus Movement.  He was different sort of rabbi in that he invited into his following a wider cross section of society than did other more exclusive scholarly rabbinical schools.

  If Jesus is the inspiration for the church, St. Paul might be called the theological founder of the Christian churches.  He is a figure who represents a major paradigm shift which account for fact that the synagogues and the churches eventually became separate communities of worshiping people.

  And if we ask ourselves as to why we are Christian instead of Jewish today, the clues are to be found in our Scripture readings for today.

  In short, two of the reasons that we are not Jewish today is first because of Gentile Christianity.  And second is because a disagreement about the nature of the Messiah.

  I believe the success phenomenon of the effects of the message of Christ was something which perhaps caught St. Paul and others off guard.  St. Paul was the former, rabbi Saul who persecuted members of the movement who followed rabbi Jesus.  But when Saul converted I think he expected that other conversions to Christ would be mostly within the communities of Judaism which were a part of the diaspora in the cities of the Roman Empire. In these cities, the Jews could live a relative separate existence and meet in their gathering places and live in neighborhoods where they could segregate enough so as to be able to support each other in maintaining the rather rigorous and specialized ritual purity.  The dietary rules alone required community support; one could not just eat with anyone's Gentile neighbor because of these rules.   Rules of ritual purity required of the Jews a high degree of segregation.

  When many Gentiles become followers of Jesus, they did not become proselyte Jews and embark upon keeping all of the practices of ritual purity.  The rules of purity were too onerous and unnatural for the Gentiles to conform to.  Paul saw that message of Jesus Christ changed the lives of Gentiles; he saw evidence of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  So St. Paul exempted the Gentile converts from the Jewish purity rituals. He felt that this exemption from the Jewish ritual should be tolerated too by the Jewish followers of Jesus.  But can you see the difficulties which would arise between a communities of people who were trying to live together and yet had different lifestyle issues as it concerned ritual purity.

  The sheer numbers of Gentiles who became followers of Jesus forced St. Paul to justify this innovation of departing from the practices of ritual Judaism.  St. Paul was such a "liberal," progressive and reforming Jew that eventually the members of the synagogue felt as though he compromised too much of the essentials of Judaism on behalf of accepting the Gentiles into the church and allowing them to be exempt from being practicing Jews in their adherence to the basic Jewish rituals and customs.

  What is the first thing that a reformer often does?  A reformer claims to be the true conservative and shows how an innovation is really in keeping with spirit of the tradition.  So how was Gentile Christianity compatible with the Hebrew Scriptures?  St. Paul wrote a defense of Gentile Christianity by appealing to the ancient Patriarch Abraham.  Abraham was an ancient Iraqi who was called from his country to travel westward to the area we know as Palestine.  Abraham was not a Jew; he was pre-Jewish.  He had his name changed when God made a covenant with him to make him a "father of many" nations.  For St. Paul, Abraham was the father of faith, both Jewish faith, pre-Mosaic law faith, but also the post-Judaism faith of Gentile Christians.  If Christian faith derives from Abraham, the father of many nations, this sort of faith had less to do with bloodline and ethnicity or geography, it had everything to do with the grace of God's Spirit entering covenantal relationships with people giving them the knowledge of their membership in God's family but also power to live faithful lives.

  So St. Paul appealed to Abraham to establish the Scriptural validity of Gentile Christianity, even though this appeal did not prevent the separation of Christianity and Judaism into two different faith communities.  The leaders of the synagogue felt Paul and others had compromised too much of their traditions by fully accepting Gentile Christians and exempting them from the traditional ritual practices of Judaism.  This is one of the main reasons why we are not members of the Jewish faith today.

  The other reason that we are not members of the Jewish faith today, is due to fact of a major disagreement about the identity of the Messiah.  The Greek word Christ, simply is the Greek version of Messiah which derives from the Hebrew language.  When we say Jesus Christ, Christ is not the surname of Jesus, it is a confession by us of his designated title and role.  In all of the Gospel, there are lots of dialogues and questions about who the Messiah is.  Obviously the identity of the Messiah was a hot topic of discussion in Palestine in the first century.  The country of Israel was an occupied country for many, many years by Empires:  The Assyrian Empire, Babylonian, Persian, Alexander the Great and his Generals and finally, the Roman Empire.  The long occupied people of Israel had their own hopes and dreams.  For a very short time they had a King David who was one who presided over a free and undivided kingdom of Israel and Judah.  Everything after David was downhill.  In exile to Babylon and Persia and after,  the compilation and editing of the literature of the Hebrew Scriptures created and maintained the identity of a people who would not just totally accommodate themselves to their conquerors.   The literature and the synagogue and the ritual practices kept the Jews as a people with a distinct identity.  Even when they did not live as the owners of their own land, their religious leader wrote about the myths of land and the great king David and in their hope they envision another one like David to come to restore their country to independence and freedom.  They had suffered so much that they also envisioned an afterlife and a Son of Man who would return and usher the world into a realized justice because scores would get settled in the afterlife of the judgment.

  So a very gifted and charismatic rabbi Jesus, raised the hopes of his followers.  But if the Messiah is to be one like David, how could one present Jesus as the Messiah after he suffers and dies?  What was the nature of the Messiahship of Jesus for his followers after his death?  Early followers of Jesus  had post resurrection appearances of Christ.  Others had other kinds of experiences of the Holy Spirit associated with the life of Jesus.  They believed that the ability of Jesus to be known after his death was a sign of God's power present in Jesus, a sign powerful enough to designate him as the Messiah.  With the narrative of the Ascension of Jesus and his being seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, his glorification, one finds that Jesus was this heavenly and unseen kingly messianic Being.  But Jesus was not a visible earthly king; the actual evidence of the power of Jesus was seen in effects on the moral and spiritual lives of people who came to have these post-resurrection events or encounters with Christ.

  So how does one convince about this hidden or incognito Messiah to the Jews who needed the Messiah to be a visible conquering political king such as David?  The early Christian expositors following St. Paul, adopted the theology of suffering and the theology of the cross.  How could they then present Jesus as a Messiah using suffering and the cross? The New Testament writers used the themes from Isaiah of the "suffering servant" to show how Jesus of Nazareth was the valid Messiah in his suffering and death.  He became a "revealed" Messiah to those who had post-resurrection experiences.  And he became a delayed Messiah for those who anticipated a Messiah like David; so the future returning Messiah will be one like David.

  I would want us to understand how the early Christian leaders were explaining the meaning of the life of Jesus.

  So today we are not meeting in synagogues, because the message of Jesus became too popular for non-Jewish people who could not conform to the ritual practices of Judaism.  We are not  meeting in synagogues on a Friday night Sabbath because we are within a tradition who believe Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah because of his incomparable life ministry, his suffering, his death, his post-resurrection appearances and because of his exalted role in the interior kingdom.

  And in believing this the church, following St. Paul, took the life events of Jesus and made them into corresponding spiritual metaphors.  So taking up our cross means that we "die to unworthy states of mind in our "psuche," our soul life but in attaching ourselves to the resurrection we receive new "psuche" new soul life which is expressed in transformed behaviors.

  Let us not worry about being "different" from Judaism.  Let us be grateful that we stand upon the heritage of so much within Judaism and that we have benefited from those who followed the lead of the Spirit of God to make the Messiahship of Jesus Christ accessible to us.

  And let us get with this ancient practice of spiritual transformation whereby we take up our crosses and understand the death of Jesus to be the power to die to what is unworthy in us, but then grasp on to the resurrection as the power for new creative advance in excellence, love and justice to come to expression in our lives.  Amen.

  

Sunday School, March 1, 2015 The Second Sunday in Lent, Cycle B

Sunday School, March 1, 2015   2 Lent B

Sunday School Themes

Who put the “ham” in Abraham.  Abraham’s used to be Abram but God added “ham” to his name.  This has nothing to do with the pork meat we call ham.  “Ham” is a Hebrew suffix meaning many.  So Abram who did not have any children was given a promise by God to be the Father of “many.”  Abraham and Sarah went on to have a son Isaac who was the father of Jacob, whose name also was Israel, the name of the country and people.

Abraham is called by St. Paul the father of faith.  Abraham was born before the nation of Israel and so he was not a Jew.  He did not know about Moses and the Law.  St. Paul said that Abraham had faith and he obeyed God before there was the Law, and Paul said that Gentile people who accepted Christ received God’s promise even though they did not grow up in families of the Jewish faith.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus tried to tell his disciples that he was going to suffer and die.  But his disciples did not think that the Messiah would suffer and die; they thought the Messiah would be a strong king like David.  But Jesus wanted to teach his disciples that he would suffer and die.  He would be like a king when the power of God brings him back to life and he is taken away to live with God his Father as a heavenly king.

Gospel Puppet Show: What kind of Messiah Is Jesus?

Puppet dialogue between Roary the Lion and Interviewer

Roary the Lion (holding a soccer ball and sobbing): Wah…Wah….Wah….Wah….

Interviewer: What’s wrong Roary, why are you crying?  Have you been playing soccer?

Roary the Lion:  Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah…

Interviewer:  Roary, I think you need a hug… Calm down now and talk to me.  Can you tell me what’s wrong?  Did you have soccer game?

Roary the Lion: Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah……

Interviewer: Roary,  I’m here to help you.   Let try to help you.  May be I can help you get your happy roar back.  Will you let me try?

Roary the Lion:  Wah…Wah….okay but I’m not too happy.

Interviewer:  What happened to make you so sad?  I’ve never heard a lion cry so loudly?

Roary the Lion:  Well, I played soccer today and our team lost the game, 4 to zero.  And I was the leading scorer.

Interviewer: Well that’s good isn’t it?

Roary the Lion: No..no…no…I scored two goals for the other team.   Wah…Wah And I’m so embarrassed.  Why did that happen to me?  And why did my team lose?

Interviewer:  Well, let’s see if we can learn something from you and your soccer game?  All of us will be winners if we can learn from you and your soccer game?  Will you help us all?

Roary the Lion:  Okay but I don’t know how my losing a soccer game can help others.

Interviewer: Was anyone happy after your soccer game ended?

Roary the Lion:  The winning team were happy, of course.

Interviewer:  When it rains really hard the farmer is happy to get rain for his corn and his wheat.  But if the same rain comes in the middle of the baseball game, the teams are sad because they have to stop playing baseball.  You see the same rain made some people happy and made some people sad.

Roary the Lion:  So that’s like every soccer game; if one team wins the other team loses.

Interviewer:  Yes and life is like that some times there are things that make us happy and there are things that make us sad.

Roary the Lion: I don’t like to be sad.  What good is sadness?

Interviewer:  It is not fun to be sad but being sad can turn out to be good?

Roary the Lion: How can being sad turn out to be good?

Interviewer:  Well, let us remember the Gospel story today.  Peter was upset at Jesus.  Peter only wanted Jesus to be a strong King.  Peter did not want Jesus to ever suffer.  He did not want Jesus to ever feel sad.

Roary the Lion:  That’s right!  Jesus told Peter that some very sad things were going to happen to Jesus.  He told Peter that he was going to suffer and even die.

Interviewer:  And Jesus said that Peter had to understand life better.  He said that Peter needed to understand that life is made up of wins and losses.  Life is made up of sickness and health.  Life is made up of happiness and sadness.

Roary the Lion:  So to learn how to live is to learn how to live with both.  But I prefer to win.  I would rather be happy.  I don’t ever want to be sick.

Interviewer:  I know Roary,  but what good can come from sadness, loss and sickness?

Roary the Lion:  I don’t know Interviewer.  It would take a great magician to turn sickness into health, happiness into sadness and losing into winning.

Interviewer:  Well, Jesus is better than the greatest magician.  And he showed us how to do one of his greatest tricks.

Roary the Lion:  I like magic.  What is the greatest trick?

Interviewer:  Roary, the next time you play a soccer game and when you win the game, what are you going to say to the little boy who lost the game to your team?

Roary the Lion:  Well, I’m going try to make him feel better.  I’m going to tell him that I lost a game too and it was very sad.  I going to tell him that he played a good game.   And I’m going to tell him that is more important that we have fun playing the game than if we win.

Interviewer:  Why would you say those nice things to him Roary?

Roary the Lion:  Well, because I know what it is to lose and be sad.  So I want to help someone else when they are sad.

Interviewer:  And Roary, that is the magic of Jesus.  Because you were sad, you knew how to help a boy who also was sad.  And that was the message that Jesus was trying to teach Peter.

Roary the Lion:  So God can help us better because God gave his Son Jesus to suffer too.  And so we can know that God is with us when we are sad.

Interviewer:  Bingo!  Now do you see how your loss and your sadness can turn out to be winning.  You always win when you are able to help others.

Roary the Lion:  Interviewer do you think that the boys and girls can learn this too.  I’m shy, could you ask them?

Interviewer:  Boys and Girls, do you see how Jesus taught us the meaning of suffering and sadness?  We can turn our sadness into happiness and winning because what really makes us happy in life is to be able to help someone else.  Have you learned the lesson from the Gospel today.  Can you say, Amen?  Amen.  Can you say bye, bye to Roary?

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Holy Eucharist

March 1, 2015: The Second Sunday In Lent

Gathering Songs: 

Kyrie Eleison; Precious Lord, Take My Hand; Break Thou the Bread of Life; Lift High the Cross

Liturgist: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.

People: God’s mercy endures 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.

Opening Song : Take My Hand Precious Lord, (LEVAS #106) 

1. Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.

2. When my way grows drear, precious Lord, linger near, when my life is almost gone; Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand, lest I fall, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.

Liturgist: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Praise the Lord

O God, you are Great!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have made us! Praise the Lord

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Praise the Lord

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

A Reading from the Book of Genesis

God said to Abram, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous." Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you."

The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 22

Praise the LORD, you that fear him; * stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory. 

For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; *

but when they cry to him he hears them. 

My praise is of him in the great assembly; * I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist: The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Then Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."  He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Liturgist: The Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil 

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and 

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is 

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. 

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

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

People:   And also with you.

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

Offertory Song: He’s Got the Whole World (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 90)

1 He’s got the whole world; in his hands he’s got the whole wide world in his hands.  He’s got the whole world in his hands; he’s got the whole world in his hands.

2 Little tiny babies.  3 Brother and the sisters   4 Mothers and the fathers

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 the celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory. 

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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 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 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: Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People: Therefore let us keep the feast.  

Words of Administration.

Communion Hymn: Break Thou the Bread of Life (LEVAS # 146) 

Bread thou the bread of life, dear Lord to me, as thou didst break the loaves beside the sea; beyond the sacred page I seek thee, Lord; my spirit pants for thee, O living word.

(Repeat during communion)

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: Lift High the Cross, (Blue Hymnal # 473) 

Refrain: Lift High the cross, the love of Christ proclaim.  Till all the world adore, his sacred name.

Led on their way in this triumphant sign, the hosts of God in conquering ranks combine. Refrain

Each newborn servant of the Crucified- bears on the brow the seal of him who died.  Refrain

O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree, as thou hast promised, draw the world to thee.  Refrain

So shall our song of triumph ever be: praise to the crucified for victory.  Refrain

Dismissal:    

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

People: Thanks be to God!