Jesus Works Remotely

2 Pentecost Proper 4
1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43
Psalm 96:1-9
Galatians 1:1-12
Luke 7:1-10

Lectionary Link
Chike: In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.  You may be seated.
Catherine:  Help!  Help!  I need help!   Like a good neighbor.  State Farm is there.
Arinze: How can I help you Catherine?  I’m not a State Farm agent wearing Khakis but I’m happy to help.
Catherine:  Perhaps you could help me understand the Gospel that we have read today.
Chike: Well, the centurion in the Gospel at first did the State Farm thing.
Catherine:  What do you mean?
Chike: When the Centurion wanted help for his valued employee, he cried, and like a good Savior, Jesus is there.
Arinze: But Jesus did not get there.
Chike:  This is strange.  First he wanted Jesus to come and then he stopped him before he could arrive.
Arinze: A Centurion was a high ranking officer who was in charge of a hundred or more soldiers.  If he gave a command to an officer, the officer would give the command to all of the other soldiers.  Each soldier did not have to come and get the command directly from the centurion because they knew how the system of command worked.  The order came from the centurion and the soldiers would follow the command even if the centurion was not present.
Catherine: Okay, but what is this Gospel trying to teach us?
Chike:  I think there are several lessons.
Arinze: Like what?
Chike:  This Gospel shows us that during the time of Jesus slavery was practiced and that even though Jesus said to love our neighbors as ourselves, the people of his time did not yet understand how people were equal in the eyes of God.
Catherine:  It shows us that sometimes good rules exists and people are blind to how they should practice these good rules.
Arinze:  Yes, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutions of the United States are very good rules for justice, but it has taken a very long time for us to really bring equal justice to all people.
Chike:  I think there is another important lesson in the Gospel today.  I have a clue in my pocket here.
Catherine:  Chike - you have remote control.  How is that the clue to understanding the Gospel?
Chike:  With this remote control, I don’t have to be at the TV to change the channel.  In fact, I can bounce the signal off the wall and even change the channel from another room without even being in the same room as the TV.
Arinze:  I get your clue.  The Gospel lesson tells us that faith works like remote control.  Jesus did not have to be present for the centurion’s slave to be healed.  He had faith that Jesus could heal remotely.  And sure enough remote healing happened.
Catherine:  That is still true for us today.  We don’t see Jesus but we often need his help and so we have to have faith that Jesus can still help us from a distance. 
Chike:  Yes and you know what our remote control device is?
Arinze: No, what is it?
Chike:  It is prayer.  We use our prayer as an expression of our faith and we believe that our prayers are remotely delivered by God’s Holy Spirit.
Catherine: Well, do you guys ever fight over the remote control?  We do in our house.
Arinze: Well, yes we do because sometimes my brother wants to watch the wrong show.
Chike:  No, you want to watch the wrong show.
Catherine: Guys, don’t argue.  But I think I just thought about another lesson from the Gospel.
Arinze:  What?  That we should both have our own TV’s right?
Catherine:  No, during the time of Jesus and the early church, people fought about who could have the remote control.
Chike:  You’ve lost me, Catherine.  I don’t think they had TV’s then.
Catherine: No, no, no, no…..I’m not being literal. I’m speaking metaphorically, of course.
Arinze:  Metaphorically?
Catherine:  Yes, during the time of Jesus and the early church people argued about who could have access to God.  Many religious people did not think that Gentile people could have access to God.
Chike: I see what you are saying.  The centurion was not a Jew because he controlled soldiers in the Roman Army.  So he was a Gentile, but he still exercised his faith towards Jesus and Jesus honored his faith.
Arinze:  Yes, and all of us are Gentiles too.  And we believe that God honors our faith.  We learn from this lesson that Jesus honors the faith of all people who seek his help.
Catherine:  So today, we have learned that not even Jesus could stop slavery in his own time.  And we have learned that faith gives us the ability to have remote access to Jesus.
Chike:  And we have learned that our prayers are an expression of our faith.
Arinze:  So today, let us exercise our faith with our prayers and
All three:  Like a good Savior, Jesus is here!  Amen.

Sunday School, May 29, 2016 2 Pentecost C proper 4

Sunday School, May 29, 2016   2 Pentecost C proper 4

Themes for Sunday School

What does remote mean?  What does remote control mean?

How do we order pizza without going to the pizza restaurant?  We make a phone call or a text.  We order from a remote location.  It saves time.

How does remote control work on our televisions and video games?  How do the wi-fi and Bluetooth work?  They work remotely.

A person does not have to be at the TV to change a channel.  With a remote control you can push a button and change the channel on the TV across the room or you can play a DVD.

We like to use remote because it means we don’t have to be present to make something happen.

The Gospel story is about how faith is remote.  A Roman officer had a sick servant.  He wanted Jesus to heal his servant.  And he believed that Jesus did not have to be at his home in order for his servant to be healed.

Today, we do not see Jesus.  But we believe he is still alive and we can still talk to him.  We have faith that Jesus is still alive and still hears us and helps us.  Our remote control device of faith is called prayer.  Prayer is like pushing the remote control buttons because they are asking Jesus to help us, keep us safe and to help others to need help.

Remember the lesson in faith: Believing that Jesus is still alive even though we don’t see him.   And we exercise our remote faith when we offer our prayers to Jesus.

 Sermon

  What do we call the people in the army who give the orders; the most important officers?  We call them generals and some have four stars and some have five stars.  And they give orders to many soldiers.  And all of those soldiers don’t get to see the general.  He gives the order and soldier who are around the world follow those orders even though they don’t see the general.

  Today in our Gospel we read about a Roman Centurion.  A Roman Centurion in the time of Jesus was like a General in the Emperor’s army.  A centurion was one of the top army officers and he commanded 800 to over a thousand soldiers.

  Now he did not live with all of those soldiers, but he would just give an order to one of his officers and they would make sure that his orders would be obeyed by all of the soldiers.

  One day there was a centurion and he had one of persons in his house who was sick and he wanted to help him get better.  He heard about Jesus and about how Jesus could heal people and so he arranged for Jesus to come and see his sick friend.  But before Jesus arrived, he sent people to  tell Jesus not to come.  The centurion said, “Jesus is so great and I am not worthy to bother him….but just as I give orders and my orders are obey, let Jesus just give and order and my friend will be healed.”

  And sure enough, Jesus did not go to the centurion’s home; he just gave the order and the servant was healed.

  And then Jesus said that this centurion had great faith.

  And this story teaches us about our faith too.

  How many of you have Jesus living in your home?  I don’t.  How many of you can see Jesus living here at the church?  I can’t see Jesus, can you?    But how many of you believe that in some way Christ is still alive and with us and can hear our prayers and help us when we are in need?

  We all do; that is why we are here.  We are just like the centurion.  We don’t see Jesus and yet we still have faith that Christ can help us in our lives.

  And that is what this Gospel story is trying to teach us.  We can have faith even when we don’t see or touch Jesus.  Jesus left love and kindness and goodness in this world and we can have faith in this love and kindness and goodness, even when we don’t see Jesus.

  Let us remember to have faith today, even when we don’t actually see Jesus.  Faith is being able to believe in goodness and love even when we cannot see all of the proof of goodness and love.  Jesus honors us when we have faith to believe in goodness and love even when it isn’t the only thing that we see or experience in life.

  Let us remember to have faith today, even though we don’t always see or understanding everything.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

May 29, 2016:  The Second Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: As the Deer,  This Little Light, Eightfold Alleluia,  When the Saints

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

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

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: As the Deer Pants for the Water, (Renew # 9)

1          As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you; you alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship you.  Refrain: You alone are my strength, my shield, to you alone may my spirit yield; you alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you!

2          I want you more than gold or silver, only you can satisfy; you alone are the real joy-giver and the apple of my eye.  Refrain.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the Letter to the Galatians  

Paul an apostle-- sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead-- and all the members of God's family who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 96

 Sing to the LORD a new song; * sing to the LORD, all the whole earth.

 Sing to the LORD and bless his Name; * proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.

 Declare his glory among the nations * and his wonders among all peoples.

 For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; * he is more to be feared than all gods.

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.

After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us." And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and the slave does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

 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: This Little Light of Mine (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 234)

1-This little light of mine.  I am going to let it shine.  This little light of mine, I am going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

2-Hide it under a bushel, no.  I am going to let it shine.  Hide it under a bushel, no.  I am going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

3- Don’t let anyone blow it out; I’m going to let it shine.  Don’t let anyone blow it out, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

4-Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine.  Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

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.

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,

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Alleluia (Renew! # 136)

1          Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

2          He’s my Savior, alleluia.  He’s my Savior, alleluia.  He’s my Savior, alleluia.  He’s my Savior, alleluia.

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: When the Saints (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 248)

O when the saints go marching in, O when the saints go marching in.  Lord I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.

O when the girls go marching in….

O when the boys go marching…

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Elijah's Holy Barbecue and Having Faith When Jesus Is Not Physically Present

2 Pentecost Cycle C Proper 4 June 2, 2013
1 Kings 18:20-21, (22-29), 30-39 Psalm 96

Galatians 1:1-12  Luke 7:1-10

Lectionary Link

  Our lessons appointed for our reading today highlight the clash of people in their religious thinking and in their beliefs about God.

  In the reading from the Hebrew Scripture we read about the prophet Elijah issuing a challenge to all of the prophets of Baal.  He was pitting the God of Israel against the god Baal.  The challenged involved building altars upon Mount Carmel, placing the offerings upon the altars and then the challenge was to see if Baal or the God of Israel would respond by zapping the offerings upon the altars with fire from heaven.  Now in Texas we used to be awfully proud of our competition barbecue but never anything like this.  Yes, the winner often thought his barbecue was divine, but there has never been anything like this holy barbecue showdown on Mount Carmel.

  And Elijah was confident and maybe a little cocky don’t you think?  He insisted that water be poured upon his altar just to make it harder for the God of Israel to start a fire upon the altar.   And sure enough, the God of Elijah and the God of Israel came through and zapped that offering on the altar that had been soaked in water.  And the prophets of Baal could get no response from their god  who could not even flick his Bic.

  And the God of Israel won this Holy Barbecue and a message was sent to the rotten King of Israel, Ahab and his wife Jezebel who had gone after the god Baal.  Jezebel is perhaps one of the most infamous woman’s name in history.   She was the daughter of the king of Tyre who Ahab married for political reason but she also brought with her the worship of Baal.

  We have legendary super heroes today and many children use those heroes to inspire their imaginations of doing the impossible.  Elijah was one of those super heroes whose place in the writings for Israel was to accentuate the power of the Lord God of Israel and to warn them not to forsake the Lord God for other gods.  The Hebrews Scriptures are realistic in portraying that the God of Israel had competitors in the gods and goddesses of Canaan.  And sometimes the God of Israel was not their choice.  Much of the writing in the Hebrew Scriptures blames the bad luck of the people of Israel upon their infidelity to the God of Israel and their running after other gods.

  The legendary event of the holy barbecue with Yahweh sending fire from heaven was a super story with an obvious message about God’s greatness.

  St. Paul also makes reference to a religious clash within his communities.  He has some very strong words for some Gospel competitors.  Apparently some other prophets arrived in Galatia after Paul left and they preached the Gospel differently than Paul did; it was different enough for him to issue a curse upon those who preached a Gospel different from Paul.  This isn’t quite as impressive as the Holy barbecue showdown of Elijah and the prophets of Baal but it does reveal to us that there must have been quite a diversity of preachers of the Gospel within the early Christian communities.  And Paul disagreed with Peter and others about how the Gospel should be lived and preached.  We should not put the past on a pedestal of purity as if the people of the past were exempt from all sorts of religious disputes and disagreement which seem to be characteristic of our age.

   We probably too should remember that the Nicaea Council was the beginning of the effort to remove all religious disagreement and diversity from the church.  What the Emperor was for the Roman Empire the Pope and Patriarch were to become for a Holy Empire Church with a central authority removing all disagreement from the worldwide church.  Such has never worked and it still doesn’t.

  The Gospel lesson for today has a rather interesting religious judgment upon the faith of Israel.  A centurion was a Roman military commander for 800-1200 soldiers.  He was loyal to the Caesar and would be required to venerate the Caesar as a god.

  But someone a certain centurian loved and cared for was ill; he had heard about the wonder worker Jesus and so as a patron for a synagogue, he asked some Jews to arrange an audience with Jesus, and Jesus agreed.  But then the centurion thought, “If I issue a command, I don’t have to be present with all of my troops for it to be carried out, surely this Jesus can do the same.”  So this centurion, who had to be loyal to his Caesar god, paid homage to Jesus by saying, “I am not worthy to have you in my home; just say the word and my servant will be healed.”

  And this is what Jesus said about the faith of the centurion and about faith in Israel: “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

  Remember that this Gospel is being recounted within a Lucan Christ community, after followers of Jesus have been dismissed from the synagogue and had curses read against them in the prayers at the synagogues.  The followers of Jesus had increasingly become gentiles and Roman citizens and were people who did not have eyewitness contact with Jesus.  They were like us; “They and we have not been in the worthy situation of  having eyewitness encounters with Jesus.”  They had to believe and we must believe that the salvation power of Christ works apart from his physical presence.

  Like the centurion, we say, “We’ve not been worthy for the presence of the historical Jesus within our home, but just let the words of Jesus be said and his saving health can still be known to us.”  And our faith can be as real and as valid as the faith of the eyewitnesses in Israel in the time of Jesus.

  Elijah was involved in a religious dispute; so was St. Paul, and so was Jesus, but I prefer the judgment of Jesus.  Jesus affirms the faith that is great and possible even when we don't actually see him.  Jesus does not seem to be concerned about controlling a community, he seems to be concerned that we have faith and that we be affirmed in our faith when we believe in a saving health that comes without ever seeing him.

  We probably will never cease fighting in the church and out of the church about God, faith and religion.  It might be good for us to step back and realize that Jesus saluted the faith of one who was already committed to venerate the divinity of an Emperor.  It is a good witness for us not to rush into sectarian judgments based upon our own preference; rather, let us rejoice when we find faith in people to embrace the saving faith of Christ.  Let us remember the words of Christ before the Christian religion was even born;  “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”  Let us hold to Jesus who honors faith from all sorts of persons, and he honors our faith too.  Amen.