November 16, 2014 Sunday School, 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Cycle A Proper 28

Sunday School Themes

Song: Hosanna, Hosanna, the Little Children Sing

The parable of Jesus is the parable of the talents.  It is a story which illustrates the natural principle of life called "atrophy."  You might explain to students what atrophy means for the physical body.  Discuss why doctors make people get up and exercise immediately after surgery.  The longer a person waits to exercise an inactive limb, the longer it will take to recover the use of the limb.

This is why we practice everything in life.  It is why we keep repeating things.  We do it to keep our muscles in shape and our mind sharp in thinking.

If we don't use our gifts and talents we will lose them, not because God wants us to but because it is a "law of nature."

The lesson we need to learn is to not let our gift and talents be lost or undiscovered because we are lazy or because we refuse to practice.

Puppet Show:

Billy: Mom, do you know what a trophy means?

Mom: Is that a reward that you get if your team wins the championship?

Billy: I don't think so.

Mom: What do you think it means?

Billy: I'm not sure; I heard a teacher say that a student's brain would suffer a trophy if he did not student more.

Mom: Billy, your teacher did not say a tro fee.  You teacher said, AT-tra-feee

Billy: What does AT-tra-fee mean?

Mom: Atrophy means that if you don't exercise something, you may lose the ability to recover the function of a muscle.  Have you heard the expression: "Use it or lose it?"

Billy: Yes, I have.  That's what my coaches tell me.

Mom:  Atrophy is one of the frightening rules of life.  If someone has surgery to repair their knee and if they do not start exercising right away after surgery, it takes them longer to recover.

Billy:  But when you have surgery on your knee it must be very painful to exercise it.

Mom:  It is but doctors have found from testing many patients that the sooner a person begins to exercise the quicker they recover the full ability to use their knee.

Billy:  Does atrophy only affect our bodies?

Mom: No, atrophy affects most everything.  If we want to become good at something we must practice.  And if we don't practice we won't develop a skill.  And if we wait too long, sometimes it is too late to begin or learn.  There are many adults who wished that they had learned another language when they were children because children pick up  new languages quicker than adults.  

Billy:  I know Grandpa always said he wished he had learned to play the piano when he was young.  He said it was very hard for him to learn when he was old and he could never learn to play very well.

Mom: The parable which Jesus told about the talents is about atrophy.  God gives everyone different kinds of gifts but gifts are like little babies...we have to take good care of them and let them grow up.  We have to practice the gifts which God has given to us.

Billy: Okay....he shouts "O Solo Mio..."

Mom: What are you doing?

Billy: Mom, I'm practicing my gift of singing.

Mom: Great, but could you do it in your bedroom for now?

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist

November 14, 2014: The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: The B-I-B-L-E, I Am the Bread of Life, Peace Before Us

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: The B-I-B-L-E, (All the Best Songs for Kids   # 119)

1.      The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me.  I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.  

2.      The B-I-B-L-E, It is God’s word for me.  I will obey God’s holy word, the B-I-B-L-E.  

3.      The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me.  I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.  

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)
O God, you are Great!  Alleluia
O God, you have made us! Alleluia
O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia
O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia
O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia
O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia
O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

Liturgist: A Reading the First Letter to the Thessalonians
For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 123

So our eyes look to the LORD our God, * until he show us his mercy.

Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy, * for we have had more than enough of contempt,
Too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, * and of the derision of the proud.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!
For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!
For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!
For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!
For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!
For work and for play. Thanks be to God!
For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!
For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!
For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.
   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, `Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' His master said to him, `Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, `Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' His master said to him, `Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, `Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master replied, `You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed
We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.
Since God is so great and we are so small,
We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.
We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and
     resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.
We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is
     welcome.
We believe that Christ is kind and fair.
We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.
And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase:

Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

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

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.
For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.
For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.
For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.
For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.
For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.
For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

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

People:            And also with you.

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

Offertory Music:  For the Beauty of the Earth,    # 416  (blue hymnal)

1-For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies, Refrain: Christ our God to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.

2-For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light, 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 our birth into the family of God.
A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.
The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 
Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(Children may gather around the altar)

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:        Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song:  Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart   (Renew!,  # 266 )

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ his Son.  (sing twice)

And now let the weak say, “I am strong”; let the poor say “I am rich” because of what the Lord has done for us.  (sing twice)

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the holy one, give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ his Son (sing twice) Give thanks!

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: Peace Before Us, (# 791, Wonder, Love and Praise)

Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet.  Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.

Love before us,…
Light before us…
Christ before….

Dismissal   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Wisdom as Good Probability Training

22 Pentecost, Cycle A proper 27,  November 9, 2014

Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16   Psalm 78

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13

Lectionary Link


          The sign of effective government in the industrial age was making sure that  the trains ran on time.  The clock is a major symbol of the industrial age because if workers were late to work then there was a domino effect of inefficiency.
           The importance of measured time or clock time is a sense of control because of accurate predictability.  Nature has its own clock; the rising and setting of the sun and the seasons of the year and the moon and the tides.  The regularity of nature's clocks and the ability to measure time with calendars and clocks has given humanity the ability of predictability and efficiency through the exertion of control.  We like Chronos or chronological time because we like precision in predictability.
             But there is another type of experience of time which is common to human experience and it is an experience of time which is harder to deal with.  The Greek language had another word for this kind of experience of time; it was called Kairos time.  Kairos time is "eventful" time because it is defined by the events which cannot be put on a precise schedule.  Kairos time is "waiting time," it is judgment time, crisis time, it is rite of passage time.  The big event which hangs over the life of everyone and is mostly unscheduled is the event of death.  But there are lots of other events which do not provide us with precision in predictability.  And these are the events which challenge us.  The thought of future happy experiences can set us up for a letdown; the dread of future bad experiences can render us powerless with worry and fear.
             The life of faith is the ability to learn not only to live according to regularly scheduled chronological time in meeting our deadlines; we also have to learn to live effectively with eventful time.  This is what we try to teach our children.  We want them to learn the clock schedule and get to school on time; but we also want them to learn to handle the arising events which occur in their lives over which they do not have precise control.  How can they handle unplanned failure, a loss in a contest, or unrequited love?  Can they learn to adjust to the circumstances?  Can they learn to be prepared for a range of possible events?
         The parable in today's Gospel is all about having the wisdom to live under the condition of this eventful or kairotic time.  
        The writer of the Wisdom of Solomon believes that we should devote our lives to Wisdom.  Wisdom is this interpretive ability which is available to everyone.  Wisdom is the ability to interpret events of our lives and respond in the most effective way.
        The Gospel parable presents two groups of bridesmaids, the wise ones and the foolish ones.  Both wisdom and foolishness are presented as ways to instruct us.  We are presented with the actions of the foolish ones and warned not to be foolish.  We are given the model behavior of the wise and encouraged to follow their examples.   You notice that the foolish bridesmaid seem to be emphasized because wisdom is supposed to be what is normal and foolishness stands out as the deprivation of wisdom.
       The parable is based upon an event whose time of occurrence cannot precisely be predicted.  In ancient Jewish marriage customs, the groom would meet with the father of a girl and form a contract for marriage.  When the contract was complete, the state of betrothal began.  The groom would go back to his own home and prepare a place where he could bring his bride.   The length of the time of betrothal was unpredictable, but at any time the groom could have the place ready to bring home his bride.  A shout would go out, the town crier would announce that the groom was ready and was coming to take his bride.  The bride and all members of the bridal party knew the scenario.  They knew that they had to be prepared for the arrival of the groom.  So the bridesmaids had more than just their awful matching dresses to worry about; they had to be ready even for a night time visit.  When the visit of the groom occurred at night everyone would go forth with their torches and lamps to greet the groom as a way of celebrating his arrival and presence.  All ten of the bridesmaids knew the potential scenario but only five had properly prepared.
        What is the punchline of the parable?  Practice wisdom.  Be ready to respond to anything, any time. This parable about the wisdom of being ready is somewhat different from the statistical and probabilistic thinking of our actuarial scientists.  Much of our actuarial science has to do with the probability of bad things occurring so insurance premiums can be set accordingly.
       This parable is more like gaming statistics in that it about the wisdom of being prepared for a positive event.  Gaming statistics chart the odds of winning.  The coming of the bridegroom was a positive event.  Those who were wise were ready to fully participate in the event.  And so it could be that "luck favors those who are prepared."
        Many have interpreted the coming of the bridegroom to be a reference to the second coming of Jesus. In the eschatology or the orientation of the early followers of Jesus toward significant events which would signal a significant end or change of life, the suffering community interpreted the coming of the messianic groom to get his bride as a positive event.  And in the midst of suffering, each person needed to have wisdom to be prepared to participate in the celebration.
        The first writing of the New Testament was the letter to the Thessalonian church by St. Paul.  He was writing to this church because of their anxiety.  They believed that the day of the Lord was imminent and so they were worried when some of their members died before this event happened.  What would happen to the people who died?  St. Paul wrote within the logic of believing that God was just and kind.  St. Paul said that they should know that the people who died before the day of the Lord would rise from the grave and meet their companions in the air.
What is true of the ancient world is also true of our world.  We believe in the reality of our interior world as much as we believe in what is happening outside of us.  We believe in our interpretations and perceptions as often being indistinguishable from what is happening outside of us.
         Our interior life is the life of interpretation and it often has to accomplish great compensation for the experiences of pain and loss in our world.  Just as we have the resurrection from the dead as the narrative of compensatory hope for our personal deaths and the deaths of our loved one, the coming of future justice for all is the narrative of hope for the entire human community.  We should not judge the people of the past for their interpretations of hope and justice through their apocalyptic narratives and eschatological stories of hope.  We do the very same thing today except we have pushed our stories outside of religion and moved them into politics, economics, and all of the vast array of compensatory entertainments.  I heard someone say that the Giants winning the Series provided them great comfort in the midst of their current illness and pain.  We are no better than ancient people in the way in which we use the wisdom of our interior lives to compensate for the great range of losses which come to anyone in this life.
         Even though many people in the time of Jesus and Paul were concerned about an imminent end of the world, I think that the wisdom of the parable is valid for an entire range of life events.  Wisdom is learning to live in a state of preparedness so that we can respond effectively to an entire range of life events from the disastrous to the sublime and wonderful.
         In the Bay Area what are we all preparing for?  We are waiting for what is called "The Big One."  We waiting of the mother of all earthquakes to occur, and we gradually improve our construction techniques and our disaster training and we try not to let the thought of the "Big One" upset our everyday lives.
       Having wisdom is like knowing gaming statistics.  We know that every game has rules but what makes a game interesting is that even though we know that there are a range of predictable outcomes, we cannot know the exact outcome in advance.  People who have learned wisdom have studied the range of probable outcomes in life events and prepared in some way for the best and worst.  And part of preparing for the best and the worst is doing it together as a community.
       Wisdom is about being prepared to share losses and mourn together but also to share the joyful events and rejoice together.  Wisdom is about the great invitation to a future and about knowing that neither personal death nor the end of human life as we know it will take away the invitation to another future because we believe in a greater all-embracing and all inclusive life, the life of God.
       But in the meantime, let us have wisdom to prepare for the worst as just one of the things which could happen to us even while we prepare in hope for the new and wonderful things which we will be able to discover precisely because we are prepared.  One of the reason that we need to keep our parish up and running because we don't know yet what wonderful things could occur here in our midst.
        Today, let us choose to follow in the path of wisdom.  Let us learn from past experiences and act with probabilistic wisdom in our future.  It is the invitation to the future which makes our lives excitingly wonderful, because life itself is the really big World Series.  It is the big game.  And I pray that each of us today is prepared to know and receive the truly Wonderful.  Amen.