Gospel Meanings

3 Epiphany C          January 24, 2016   
Neh. 8:2-10           Ps. 19      
1 Cor. 12:12-27       Luke 4:14-21    

Lectionary Link


Just so you don't think this sermon is pointless, here are four points.  1-Moments in the history of preaching.  2-What Jesus meant by the word Gospel.  3-Releasing our good news.  4-The church has an environment.

First, moments in the history of preaching.  I have been a liturgical preacher now for 35 years.  What does this mean?  It means that I use the appointed readings from the Bible for a given Sunday and I attempt to interpret what those Bible readings could have meant when they were written.  And then I attempt to find a corresponding way to give the sense of what the spiritual and moral principles are for us to apply to our lives today.  I inherited this long tradition of reading from the Bible and then giving interpretations and applications.

In our first reading from Nehemiah we find that the scribe and priest, Ezra also practiced this method of reading scripture and preaching.  Ezra had returned from the exile in the Persian lands.  The Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed.  The people of Israel were carried away into captivity to live in the lands of the Babylonian and Persian Empires.  Without having the Temple as a focal point, the gathering of the people of Israel in their new location became crucial for them to retain their identity as a people.  In fact, the entire history of Israel was presented in an idealized form to inspire the people of Israel to keep their identity and not get assimilated into the societies of their captors.  It happened that the people of Israel gained enough favor with their captors and so the Emperors allowed a group of the people to return to Israel to help them reconstitute their identity in their homeland and ultimately to rebuild their Temple.  Ezra came back as a scribe, priest and teacher and he brought with him the practice of the public reading of the Torah.  And after the Torah was read, Ezra the preacher interpreted the Torah and gave the sense of the meaning of the Torah for the people of his time.  We know now that the in the time of Ezra the Torah and the Hebrews Scriptures were not yet complete.  They were still being written and edited.  What we see in this preaching event of Ezra, this established practice of reading the Scriptures and providing an interpretation and application of the meaning of the Scriptures for a new audience.

Now fast forward to the Gospel lesson.  We find that Jesus is exercising this ancient custom of preaching.  First, he read from the scrolls of the Hebrew Scriptures.  And for Jesus the Hebrew Scriptures were more than the Torah; the Scriptures of Jesus  included the Psalms and the writings of the Prophets.  Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah and after the reading he began to preach on the reading from Isaiah.  And when Jesus preached, he revealed what he meant by the Gospel.

So, point 2, what did Jesus mean by Gospel and why does it have other meanings today?  What Jesus read from Isaiah is this this: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  To bring good news to the poor.  Good news in Hebrew is "basar."  When "basar" was translate into Greek, the Greek word was "euangellio."  When Jesus read what the Prophet Isaiah said about the Good News, essentially, Jesus said, "I resemble these words, because this is what my life is all about.  I am here to bring good news to the poor."  What would good news to the poor be?  It would mean that they would have ample supply of resources for living.  Good news for a prisoner would be freedom.  Good news for the blind would be sight.  Good news for the oppressed would be justice.  Good news for all would be to know God's favor, the sense of being recognized by God.  So for Jesus, the word Gospel could not be separated from the effects of the Gospel, namely resources for the poor, justice for the oppressed, healing and health for those who are sick, and letting everyone know that God is for everyone.  But what has Gospel come to mean in the history of the church?  It is the name of the kind of literature about the life of Jesus.  Gospels are the written books with the attributed titles of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  One who preaches the Gospel has come to be called an evangelist, an English word derived from the Greek word euangellion.  Often in practice preaching the Gospel has been reduced to simply converting people to our particular view of Jesus Christ.  It is unavoidable that Gospel has come to have additional meanings, but as we have read the Gospel today, we cannot forget the meaning of the Gospel which Jesus borrowed from the prophet Isaiah because it was the Gospel meaning of Isaiah that Jesus adopted as the meaning of his life and ministry.

Now in the absence of Jesus of Nazareth in the world today, St. Paul said that the church is the body of Christ in the world now.  And so we as the church need to be committed to embodying the good news as it was understood by Jesus of Nazareth.  How do we embody and release the good news of the life of Jesus?  We do it together collaborating as the body of Christ.  Just as every part is equally a part of the body, each part has a different function in the total function of the body.  In the body of Christ we celebrate the fact that we are equal but different.  Each of us has a different way to express our contribution to the good news of Jesus Christ in the world.  We should not presume to over-estimate our own ministry nor should be underestimate the ministries of others in the body of Christ.   And none of us should presume to be the brain or the head of the body of Christ.  St. Paul clarified this for us when he declared that Christ is the head of the body of Christ.  And so we all look to take direction for our ministry from Christ while we remember what Jesus meant by the Gospel.  The Gospel is not just words; it has to be followed up with deeds of love or justice or we are left but being sad and deluded hypocrites.

And finally the 4th point; the body of Christ has an environment.  The body of Christ is not to be a group of narcissistic inward looking Christians fighting with each other and excommunicating and excluding and sanctioning each other.  We live in a very needy world and so we need to be outward looking:  We need to bring good news to the poor.  We need to release people from the prisons of addiction.  We need to bring justice to the oppressed.  We need to bring enlightened insights to the blindly ignorant.  We need to bring health to all.  We need to let people know that God's favor is toward them.

So we will continue our tradition of reading Scripture and interpreting the meaning of it for our own time.  We will remind ourselves about what Jesus believed the Gospel to mean.  We will practice the equal but differing ministry of the body of Christ, always honoring Jesus as our head.  And finally, we are called outside of ourselves to the people in our world who really need to know good news for their lives.  Amen.

Sunday School, January 24, 2016 3 Epiphany C

Sunday School, January 24, 2016      3 Epiphany C

Theme: Explore the meaning of Gospel

What does Gospel mean?

Gospel is the name for the type of writing in the first four books of the New Testament:  The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?

Gospel is an English word which is a translation of a Greek word found in the New Testament.  The Greek word means, “Good News.”

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are called Gospels, because they are “good news” about the life of Jesus Christ.

The word Gospel was also used in the Prophet Isaiah.  The book of Isaiah is found in the Old Testament, the first part of the Christian Bible.  The Old Testament is the Bible for the Jewish people and for them it is the Hebrew Scriptures.

The prophet Isaiah used the Hebrew word, “basar” which means in English “Good News.”

Jesus used to go to the gathering place of the Jews called a synagogue.  And he read from the Law and the Prophets and the other Hebrew Scriptures.  One day he read in the synagogue this from the Prophet Isaiah:   "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ,because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 

When Jesus read this, he preached a sermon and he told all of his listeners that what he had read from Isaiah was what his work was in this life.  Jesus had the Spirit of God on him in a special way.  He told poor people good news and gave them hope.  He taught people how to get out of the prison of their sins.  He healed the seeing of people by helping them to see good things in their lives.  He came to free people who were mistreated.  He came to tell people that God wanted to do something special for them.

Can you and I be like Jesus?  Can we discover that the purpose of our lives is to learn how to bring good news to people?

Remember the Gospels are not just books in the Bible.  Gospel means good news.  Jesus came to show us how to discover good news for our lives and then we learn how to tell other people good news for their lives.

A Children’s Sermon on Good News.

Are you a person who likes to tell good news?  How would like to be the person who gets to say to someone, “You’ve won a prize!  You’ve won a million dollars!  It is fun to tell the good news.

  How would you like to be a doctor who tells patience:  You’re all better now.   You’re healed!

  How would you like to be the person who goes to a corral of wild horses and opens the gates and lets them go free to run into mountains where they like to run and play?

  How would you like to tell people:  Today is a good time in your life, because God is close to you and wants to bless you?

  One day Jesus went to the synagogue in his hometown.  Can you say synagogue?  That is the place where people gathered to worship and learn about God.  Jesus read from the Bible.  He read about a person who told good news; he read about a person who healed other people; he read about a person who let people who were locked up, go free.  He read about a person who told people that God was close to them in their lives.

  And when he read those word in the Bible, he knew that is what he was doing this in his own life.

  What does Gospel mean?  It means Good News.

  There are lots of bad things that can happen to us.  There are lots of sad things that can happen to us.  And it is easy for us to just look at bad things and sad things.  And when we do that we can get fearful and we can worry a lot.

  But even when bad things happen and when sad things happen, we need to practice and look at all of the good things in our life.  It is sad to be sick; but it is very good that we have parents and friends and doctors to help us when we get sick.

  So we have to practice looking at the good things in our life.  And what happens when we practice looking at the good things of our lives?  We begin to be able to give people good news.  We help other people look at the good news of their life too.

  Jesus came to tell us Good News about God and God’s love for us.  And Jesus wanted everyone to discover good news in their lives so that they too could tell good news to other people.

  We come here to praise God and thank God, because we are practicing the ability to find and see the good news in our lives.

  And if we can find the good news in our lives, then we will help other people find good news in their lives too.

  Jesus came to bring us good news.  And he wants us to find good news and then share good news with other people.  And you know what?  It really feels good to share the good news with others.  It is like sharing a wonderful secret.  Can you share some good news this week with your family and friends?  Let’s try.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

January 24, 2016: The Third Sunday 3fter the Epiphany

Gathering Songs: Glory be to God on High, Awesome God, I Come with Joy, May the Lord Bless

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

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Glory Be to God On High (The Christians’ Children Songbook, # 70)

1          Glory be to God on high, alleluia. Glory be to God on high, alleluia.

2          Praise the Father, Spirit, Son, alleluia.  Praise the God Head, Three in One, alleluia.

3          Sing we praises unto Thee, alleluia, for the truth that sets us free, alleluia.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 19

1  The heavens declare the glory of God, *  and the firmament shows his handiwork.

2  One day tells its tale to another, * and one night imparts knowledge to another.

3  Although they have no words or language, * and their voices are not heard,.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.  When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

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 Hymn: Our God is An Awesome God, (Renew # 245)

Our God is an awesome God,

He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power and love,

Our God is an awesome God.

(Sing three times)

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

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.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit that we may love God and our neighbor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

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

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Hymn: I Come With Joy   (Renew! # 195)

1.         I come with joy a child of God, forgiven, loved, and free, the life of Jesus to recall, in love laid down for me.

2.         I come with Christians, far and near to find, as all are fed, the new community of love in Christ’s communion bread.

3.         As Christ breaks bread, and bids us share, each proud division ends.  The love that made us makes us one, and strangers now are friends.

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: May the Lord (Sung to the tune of Eidelweiss)

May the Lord, Mighty God, Bless and keep you forever, Grant you peace, perfect peace, Courage in every endeavor.  Lift up your eyes and seek His face, Trust His grace forever.  May the Lord, Mighty God Bless and keep you for ever.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

  

Universal Society of Music Lovers: Bagpipers not welcome!?

3 Epiphany C          January 27, 2013   

Neh. 8:2-10           Ps. 19      

1 Cor. 12:12-27       Luke 4:14-21    

Lectionary Link

   We are familiar with the word Gospel, but what is the etiology of this word?  Gospel comes from the middle English word, god-spell, meaning “good tidings or good news.”  It is a translation of the Greek word “euangellion” meaning the same thing “good news.”  Gospel is the title that we use for the first four book of the canonical New Testament.  These literary accounts used narrative presentations of the life of Jesus to teach and guide the liturgies of the communities from which they were written.

  So, we might think that the Gospel originated from Jesus Christ, but today’s portion of our Gospel lesson reveals a more ancient origin for the notion of Gospel.  Jesus is the lector and preacher at a synagogue in Nazareth and he read from the scrolls of the prophet Isaiah.  He read the portion of Isaiah 61:1: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.”  The Hebrew word for “good news” is basar, and in the Greek translation of basar the same root word for euangellion is used.  So Gospel comes from the ancient prophetic tradition of Israel.  God sent  messengers to proclaim good news to the poor.  Jesus of Nazareth locates himself within this ancient “good news” tradition.  From euangellion we have the word evangelism and this word sometimes has gotten a bad name in our society.  “Evangelical Christians” are regarded to be a voting bloc in our county and sometimes identified with what is called the Christian Right and they are people who seem to be motivated by only two social issues of our time.

  We are in dire need of rehabilitating the word evangelical, because if we are to be like Christ we are to be evangelical.  To be evangelical is to be in this ancient Good News tradition.  The Good News tradition is a more than a Christian tradition because it pre-dated Christianity.  And we should look for the Good News tradition everywhere in life even if it comes without Christian sub-titles.

  When Jesus read from the ancient prophet Isaiah he read, “"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."   After Jesus read these words, he in effect declared, “My life resembles these words.  My calling is to live this life of the good news.  My life is Evangelical.”

  When one reads these words, we cannot avoid the fact that they have material, physical, social, economic and political meanings as well as spiritual meaning.  What is good news to the poor?  Good news for them would be to have enough to live. What would it mean to release the oppressed?  It would mean the justice of freedom coming to those who were held back by an oppressive authority.  What would sight for the blind mean?  Certainly anyone who has been temporarily blind would know the recovery when it came.  Good news would mean having access to health care.  What would proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor mean?  It would mean that we experience our life circumstances as being fortunate or lucky.  The freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

  Jesus lived in an era of lots of bad news in the conditions of the people with whom he lived.  Jesus did not literally release any political prisoners in his time.  Jesus is known to have brought sight to the eyes of blind people.  And if Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet, was he proclaiming the favor of God’s imminent intervention to bring a final cosmic justice to Palestine?

  What happens when words do not seem to have any literal reference?  We are forced into their spiritual meanings to maintain their credibility for our lives.  The kingdom of God did not have an earthly manifestation in the form of an actual perfect government with righteous armies and judges.  Jesus did not bring about a New Deal or Great Society or Social Welfare for the poor of Palestine in his time.  When the Christian movement became the Christendom of the Holy Roman Empire, we find that absolute power corrupted absolutely both empire and church.

   The Good News tradition may indeed always be a parallel inner spiritual tradition that we have access to in order to bring manifestations of good news into actual physical order of our lives.  Justice may never be fully realized but it is always there to be the model for our laws and our social, political and economic behaviors.

  So what would good news be like in the community?  St. Paul believed that good news in his community had to do with the finding and the mutual support and tolerance for the gifts of everyone in the community.

  Can you imagine this oxymoronic sign: Universal Society of Music Lovers: Bagpipers not welcome!  Our kilt wearing friends from Scotland would be highly offended.  How could you proclaim yourself to be universal and exclude bagpipers?

  St. Paul encouraged his community to live up to the universality of God’s love and the good news of God in Christ.  If a person in the community is excluded because of the way in which he or she knows her gift to be available as a valid expression of the good news of their life and the benefit of the community, how can that be good news?  How can the community pretend universal love and good news with exclusionary practices of the gifts of people who want to be contributing members of the community?

  St. Paul was saying, “Live up to the universality of love and good news and this cannot be done by exclusionary practice of those who are gifted for the benefit of the community.”

  My friends, the good news tradition is still an invitation to us.  We are invited to be truly Evangelical as Jesus was in seeking to embody in his life practice what good news is for all people.  Let us not be afraid of the word evangelical today.  Let us renew our commitment to this ancient tradition of the prophets and that was given the ultimate stamp of approval in the life, death and resurrection of Christ.  And now in the resurrection of Christ, the Christ life is within us to keep us firmly in this Good News tradition.  Amen.