Beatitude and Woe-itude

6 Epiphany C, February 13, 2022

Jeremiah 17:5-10 Psalm 1
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Luke 6:17-26

Lectionary Link

We have read the version of the beatitudes from Luke's Gospel today.  This version differs in distinctive ways from the version found in Matthew's Gospel as exemplified in the contrast between "Bless are the poor in spirit..."  And Blessed are the poor....."  Luke seems to be more interested in the actual condition poverty and this is consistent with the themes throughout this Gospel which pertain to the outcast, the foreigner, women, and people of dire circumstances.

It is also contrasted with what I would coin as the Woe-attitudes.

We might look at communication purposes for the presentation of the counter-logic of the beatitudes and the woe-itudes.  Blessed are the poor...woe to the rich.  Blessed are the hungry...woe to those who have their fill of food.  Blessed are you who weep...Woe are you who are laughing.  Blessed are you when people hate you...woe are you when people speak well of you.

What are we to make of this shock speech and counter-logic?  What is the wisdom and teaching purpose of using speech this way?  If taken literally, it might seem to reinforce the habit of machochism, and we don't need that in our world.  So, what is going on here.

I think that the purpose of is to challenge some of the common stereotypes in life in our thinking.  Like money makes us happy.  If you don't have money you can't be happy.  All flattery from other people is good and genuine and to be believed.  If people hate you, you must be doing something wrong.  People who eat well and to excess are really healthy people.  People who don't have enough to eat are unhealthy people.  People who laugh give indication of good emotional intelligence.   People who weep are just the unhealthy chronically depressed.

All of these common logic assumptions are not necessarily true.  The words of Jesus in his extreme beatitudes and woe-ititudes challenge the common logic that one's faith and spiritual life is totally determined by the good or bad things which are happening in one's material conditions and social interaction at any given time.

The Gospel for the people in the church of the writer of St. Luke is this: you and I can have a faith in God and in Jesus Christ which will accompany us and be consistent with our eternal spiritual well-being no matter what our life circumstances.

But God, what about when people hate us?  What about when we have financial need?  What about when we are hungry?  What about when we weep with the losses of life?   What about when we have the self-disillusionment like Jeremiah and discover the deviousness and perversity of the heart?  What when we are tempted to believe in death without resurrection as St. Paul wrote about?  Can all of these situation still be the occasion for us to be integrated with the sense of oneness with God's love and plan and care for our lives?  The Gospel answer is yes we can.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

Let us get with the higher logic of the Gospel of Christ who integrates us with the well-being the love of God in every life situation.

And then what do we do?  We go forth being beatitude people and not woe-itude people.  We seek ways for people to have enough.  We seek to bless people with enough to eat.  We seek to minister comfort and care to people who are faced with the many losses in life?  We seek to be those who bless with words of kindness and esteem forsaking all false flattery and persecuting words.

Let us become beatitude people, blessing people with good news of God in Christ, and let us forsake and resist the woe-itudes of life.  Amen.

Sunday School, February 13, 2022 6 Epiphany C

 Sunday School, February 13, 2022    6 Epiphany C

Themes in a sermon

In martial arts like Karate, or in a soccer game many things can happen.  Some things are fortunate for your team and some things are lucky for the other team.  A game is full of free events.  Some things we can control and some things we can’t.  Sometimes we seem to be lucky and sometimes we don’t.

Life is like that.  We would like that only lucky things happened to us.  But life is not like that.  When we’re learning to walk as a child we fall and get bumps.  We also fall when we ride our bikes.  We scrape our knees.

Some people have to live with more bad things happening to them than others.  The people who were the friends of Jesus and his early followers had to live with some difficult circumstances.  What do we think about people who live with some very hard things and who seem to be happy and content?  What about a person who cannot walk and needs to use a wheel?  What if that person becomes a very good wheel chair basketball player and learns how to be joyful happy?   What do we think?  We think “Wow!”  This person is like a hero.

The words of Jesus in beatitudes were written for people who had to learn how to be happy and content even when lots of bad things were happening to them.

To be blessed is to learn how to be content and happy even when we are not lucky, even when everything is not always comfortable for us.

Jesus came to teach us to live by faith.  Faith is the ability to learn how to live with bravery and contentment no matter what happens to us.  Just like in the soccer game, we have to be able to play when we are winning or losing so in our lives we need to learn how to live with joy when it seems that we are winning or when it seems like for a short time we are losing.  To be blessed is to always live with this joy of just being able to play the game of life.

Liturgy:

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

February 13, 2022 The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs: Father I Adore You, Blest are the pure in heart, God is so Good

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: Father, I Adore You (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 56)

Father, I adore you, lay my life before you, how I love you.

Jesus….

Spirit…

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for 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

Liturgist: A reading from the prophet Jeremiah.

Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. I the LORD test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 1

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *

nor lingered in the way of sinners.

Their delight is in the law of the Lord, * and they meditate on his law, day and night.

They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season,

with leaves that do not wither; * everything they do shall prosper.

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!

Birthdays:  Parker Andrews, Kendra Scott, Jillian Dent, Ashley Church

Anniversaries: Bob & Joyce Groth

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.

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 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: Blest Are They #127 Renew!

Refrain: Rejoice and be glad! Blessed are you, holy are you.

               Rejoice and be glad! Yours is the kingdom of God!

Blest are they, the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of God.

Blest are they, full of sorrow; they shall be consoled. Refrain

Blest are they who show mercy: mercy shall be theirs.

Blest are they the pure of heart; they shall see God! Refrain

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 so that we may love God and our neighbor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: Blest Are the Pure in Heart, Hymn # 656, in the Blue Hymnal

1          Blest are the pure in heart, for they shall see our God;

            The secret of the Lord is theirs, their soul is Christ’s abode.

4          Lord, we thy presence seek: may ours this blessing be;

            Give us a pure and lowly heart, a temple fit for thee.

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

     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: God Is So Good  (All the Best Songs for Kids #31)

God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He’s so good to me.

He cares for me (3x), He’s so good to me.

I’ll do His will (3x), He’s so good to me.

He is my Lord (3x), He’s so good to me.

Dismissal:    

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Unhypocritical Beatitude Believers

6 Epiphany C, February 17, 2019
Jeremiah 17:5-10  Psalm 1
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Luke 6:17-26

Lectionary Link

Today we have read one of the versions of what are called the beatitudes.  There are two versions found in the New Testament, one in the Gospel of Matthew and one in the Gospel.  The beatitude sayings in Matthew are part of what is called the Sermon on the Mount.  The beatitude sayings in the Gospel of Luke are within a Sermon on the Plains, not on the Mount.  There are significant differences between the beatitudes in Matthew and Luke.  For example, the Matthew version begins with "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." and the Lucan version is, "Blessed are the poor......" full stop,  What happened to "poor in spirit?" How does one explain the differences?  Two different speeches in different places with different audiences?  Or, are the Gospel writers using words of Jesus to two different early church situations?  The poor in spirit crowd probably had more money than the blessed are the poor crowd.  One can see how actual economic condition of the listening audience would effect how the words of Jesus were recalled.

To further understand the beatitudes, one should understand the liturgy of the synagogue.  There were prayers of benedictions and curses, yes curses.  Benedictions "or good words about" are the blessings or beatitudes.  The Birkat haMinim were "curses" which wished that "heretics" be blotted out of the book of life.  These liturgical forms of curses are used to date the separation of Christians from the synagogue.  After the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, the re-gathered parties of Judaism in Jamnia added a curse against the followers of Jesus.  This would mean that a follower of Jesus would not stay in the synagogue to offer a curse against oneself, so when the curse appeared in the liturgy, one assumes a pronounced separation of synagogue and Jesus Movement.

One can see in the beatitudes this form of curse in the phrase "Woe to you...."  So even in the words of Jesus the liturgical formula of "blessings and curses" are maintained.

Today, you and I may be uncomfortable with making curses a part of our liturgy, though we certainly moved the curses of our ill wishes "outside" of the church in the way that we express displeasure for people who significantly disagree with our "correct" view of things.  Fortunately we don't have the guile to associate some of our small views with God's official view.  We still bless and curse in our practice, but we take the scatological stuff outside of the church.

I would like to further state that the beatitudes have been mostly misunderstood or misapplied in the long history of reading these words of Jesus.  Why would I say this?

How many of us would say that poverty, hunger, mourning, being hated, defamed and persecuted are states of blessed fortune?  I can't wait until I'm poor, hungry, weeping, hated, defamed and persecuted because then I will really be lucky.  What kind of thinking would this be?  To wish for states of discomfort might be called unhealthy masochism.  Why would anyone of a sound mind do this?

This misunderstanding caused the philosopher Nietzsche to call the beatitudes the "slave" morality.  How did what is normal get turn upside down.  Wealth, having enough to eat, happiness, public regard and respect are what is normal.  How can someone call the opposite the new normal?  In the Roman Empire, Christians were a minority and therefore liable to miss out on the rights of those in Roman society.  So, do Christians make peace with their suffering by declaring that suffering is the new normal?  Nietzsche criticized this as a dishonesty about what is normal.  This is like the boy who comes into classes and accidentally trips and falls, and when the entire class laughs at him, he replies, "I meant to fall so that I could cause you to laugh; I was in control all of the time."  Nietzsche called this the transvaluation of values; he said that the slave values were declared by Christians to be the preferred values.  But is this dishonest?  How many Christians actually adopt the beatitudes as their preferred values?

The beatitudes became a bit more complicated when Christianity took over the Roman Empire and became associated with dominating economic class of society.  How could triumphant and wealthy Christians legitimately adopt the beatitudes as the true values of their lives?  We can see how the monastic movement developed as a reaction against Christianity's compromise with the wealthy class in power.  Monks and nuns voluntarily chose poverty and spartan conditions to be the true Christians who upheld the beatitudes in a more literal way.  When wealthy Christian nations practiced colonization and slavery, those who were enslaved had the conditions of the beatitude forces upon them just like the conditions that had been forced upon the early Christians.  When Christians introduced the Christian faith to slaves and colonized people, what did slaves and colonized people want?  Not poverty, no persecution, or bias or prejudice or hunger; they wanted freedom and the right to life, liberty and happiness.  Once again, it became rather hypocritical for Christians in power to try to sell the beatitude slave morality on oppressed people as those ordained by God and Christ.

So where does that leave you and me today in our understanding of the beatitudes today.  How do we who prefer comfort and ease, honestly adapt the beatitudes as our honest rule of life?  Are you and I complete beatitude hypocrites today?

I would suggest another insight into the beatitudes which is not hypocritical or dishonest and it has more to do with the transformation and abundant life program which characterized the early Christian New Testament mystics.

I would like to illustrate this with some poignant examples.  Have you ever found your self moody and a bit depressed but then be confronted with a person with really bad circumstances and they are cheerfully blissful.  And you stopped in your track and immediately rebuked by one's own petty and moody self-involvement.  It like the saying, "I complained about having no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet."  You see pictures of children in refugee camps smiling and laughing, and you say, "I'll have what they're having, without all of the suffering."  You see people who suffer from drastic impairments, or parents with handicapped children and you see them cheerful and happy and you wonder, "how do they do it?"    How can they have such empowering contentment given the obvious challenges of their situation?

The mysticism of the early Spirit filled church was about the experience of abundant life also known as a highly conformable contentment.  How does one attain or live from the state of inner contentment, no matter what happens within the freedom of the conditions of what can happen to anyone.  This, I believe, is the essence of the beatitudes.  It is not a masochistic, abnormal wishing for deprivation and bad fortune; it is attaining to an inner state of contentment which allows one who live with grace, hope and faith in any situation.

The secret of Christian mysticism is to find and know the state of contentment that adjusts to no matter what we are facing.

St. Paul who experienced lots of suffering but also some comfortable hospitality wrote, "I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Jesus offers the mystical state of spiritual contentment to those who suffer and to those who do not.  Because the state of contentment is offered to all, it does not mean that we should cease to eradicate suffering, oppression and illness in our world.  We should not be people who say, "Since you can experience the state of spiritual contentment in dire circumstances, then I do not need to work for justice or the end of poverty."  This kind of religious thinking is what made Karl Marx call religion the opiate of people.  "You can tolerate your poverty now because, you'll have streets of gold in the heavenly Jerusalem."

Attaining spiritual contentment should inspire us and give us the strength and empathy to work for the best possible conditions for as many people as possible.

Today, let the beatitudes invite us to honesty.  Let us ask God for the blessed state of contentment even while we know that we will not be exempt from a range of good and bad things happening to us.  But in the grace of the contentment of the abundant life of Christ, let us endlessly work to bring good news to others in this world.  Amen.

Sunday School, February 17, 2019 6 Epiphany C

Sunday School, February 17, 2019    6 Epiphany C

Themes in a sermon

In martial arts like Karate, or in a soccer game many things can happen.  Some things are fortunate for your team and some things are lucky for the other team.  A game is full of free events.  Some things we can control and some things we can’t.  Sometimes we seem to be lucky and sometimes we don’t.

Life is like that.  We would like that only lucky things happened to us.  But life is not like that.  When we’re learning to walk as a child we fall and get bumps.  We also fall when we ride our bikes.  We scrape our knees.

Some people have to live with more bad things happening to them than others.  The people who were the friends of Jesus and his early followers had to live with some difficult circumstances.  What do we think about people who live with some very hard things and who seem to be happy and content?  What about a person who cannot walk and needs to use a wheel?  What if that person becomes a very good wheel chair basketball player and learns how to be joyful happy?   What do we think?  We think “Wow!”  This person is like a hero.

The words of Jesus in beatitudes were written for people who had to learn how to be happy and content even when lots of bad things were happening to them.

To be blessed is to learn how to be content and happy even when we are not lucky, even when everything is not always comfortable for us.

Jesus came to teach us to live by faith.  Faith is the ability to learn how to live with bravery and contentment no matter what happens to us.  Just like in the soccer game, we have to be able to play when we are winning or losing so in our lives we need to learn how to live with joy when it seems that we are winning or when it seems like for a short time we are losing.  To be blessed is to always live with this joy of just being able to play the game of life.

Liturgy:

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

February 17, 2019 The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs: Father I Adore You, Blest are the pure in heart, God is so Good

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: Father, I Adore You (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 56)

Father, I adore you, lay my life before you, how I love you.

Jesus….

Spirit…

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for 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

Liturgist: A reading from the prophet Jeremiah.

Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. I the LORD test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 1

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *

nor lingered in the way of sinners.

Their delight is in the law of the Lord, * and they meditate on his law, day and night.

They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season,

with leaves that do not wither; * everything they do shall prosper.

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!

Birthdays:  Parker Andrews, Kendra Scott, Jillian Dent, Ashley Church

Anniversaries: Bob & Joyce Groth

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.

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 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: Blest Are They #127 Renew!

Refrain: Rejoice and be glad! Blessed are you, holy are you.

               Rejoice and be glad! Yours is the kingdom of God!

Blest are they, the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of God.

Blest are they, full of sorrow; they shall be consoled. Refrain

Blest are they who show mercy: mercy shall be theirs.

Blest are they the pure of heart; they shall see God! Refrain

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 so that we may love God and our neighbor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: Blest Are the Pure in Heart, Hymn # 656, in the Blue Hymnal

1          Blest are the pure in heart, for they shall see our God;

            The secret of the Lord is theirs, their soul is Christ’s abode.

4          Lord, we thy presence seek: may ours this blessing be;

            Give us a pure and lowly heart, a temple fit for thee.

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

     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: God Is So Good  (All the Best Songs for Kids #31)

God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He’s so good to me.

He cares for me (3x), He’s so good to me.

I’ll do His will (3x), He’s so good to me.

He is my Lord (3x), He’s so good to me.

Dismissal:    

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

People: Thanks be to God!