Sunday School, February 1, 2015 4 Epiphany Cycle B

Sunday School, February 1, 2015  4 Epiphany Year B

Sunday School Themes

Moses wrote at about a future great prophet

The Christians believed that Jesus was this great prophet

The Gospel Story is about Jesus being a people whisperer.

Ask the children if they have heard about people called horse whisperers or dog whisperers?

What is special about these people?

They understand and have a special way with animals to tame them and keep them peaceful and calm.

Jesus was a people whisperer.

We understand when a baby or child has a really bad temper tantrum; a child might kick and scream on the floor or hold his or her breath, but what if an adult does the same thing in public?  What if an adult loses complete control in public?

Sometimes people who are distressed need a people whisperer.  Someone who can calm them down or comfort them.

We also know that people in the ancient world did not know about epileptic seizures as a health condition and so a seizure would frighten people and make people think that a person was controlled by a bad spirit.

Jesus was one who knew how to calm people and accept them and welcome them into the community even when they had some very terrible emotional problems or mental health issues.

Mommies and Daddies can be baby whisperers or children whisperers because they can help us when we feel sad, angry, hurt or sick.

Today we celebrate Jesus as a great People Whisperer.

Puppet Show

George the Alligator Whisperer

Ally the Alligator

Ally (is upset…thrashing and yelling and screaming and showing his teeth)  Ohhh…snap snap….eek …..Ugh…growl…..I am so angry, I do not know what to do…I could eat a horse….

George:  Hold on there now.  Calm down Ally.  What’s wrong?

Ally:  I just have all of these feeling rushing up inside of me and I don’t know if I can control them…..growl, growl, growl..

George:  Come here Ally, let me rub your snout.  Now turn over and let me rub your belly.

Ally: oooooo…that feels so good.  And so relaxing.  How come you aren’t afraid of me?  Everyone else is afraid that I might snap their finger off.

George:  Well, I just know that you are frightened some times and you just need a someone who knows how to be your friend.

Ally:  Well, George, I think that you must be an alligator whisperer?

George: Well, I’ve heard of alligator wrestlers but I’m not that.  I would rather be an alligator whisperer because it is better to have a calming effect on other people.

Ally:  Just like a mom can calm her crying baby, you have been able to calm me.

George:  Did you know that there are people whisperers?

Ally:  And what do they do?

George:  People whisperers are people who know how to calm people and help them be at peace.  If fact there is a very famous people whisperer?

Ally:  Who is that?

George:  Jesus is probably the most famous people whisperer of all.  Because he was able to bring peace and calm to some very upset people.

Ally:  Well, I liked to be whispered by you.  I like it when you make me calm and peaceful and happy.

George:  Well, if you like it then you can learn to be a whisperer too.

Ally:  I can?  How?

George:  If you learn to be kind and loving and caring with others, you can help bring peace to their lives.

Ally: Thank you George.  I am glad that God made us to all whisper each other with love and kindness.

Children's Eucharistic liturgy

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Holy Eucharist

February 1, 2015: Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs:

To God Be the Glory, We Are Marching

Processionial Song: To God be the Glory, Renew! # 258

To God be the glory great things he hath done,

so loved he the world that he gave us his Son,

who yielded his life an atonement for sin,

and opened the lifegate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!

O Come to the Father through Jesus the Son,

and give him the glory, great things he hath done.

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.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; 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 Book of Deuteronomy   

Moses said, The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb…

The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 111

Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, *in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.

Great are the deeds of the LORD! *they are studied by all who delight in them.

His work is full of majesty and splendor, *and his righteousness endures for ever.

He makes his marvelous works to be remembered; *the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

He gives food to those who fear him; *he is ever mindful of his covenant.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. And Jesus healed a man who was troubled in his heart.  They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. …At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

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.

Intercession 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:  Christ Beside Me   (Renew! # 164)

1  Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me—King of my heart;  Christ within me, Christ below me, Christ above me—never to part.

2   Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand, Christ all around me—shield in the strife:  Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting, Christ in my rising—light of my life

3  Christ be in all hearts, thinking about me, Christ be on all tongues, telling of me; Christ be the vision, in eyes that see me, in ears that hear me, Christ ever be.

4  Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me—King of my heart; Christ within me, Christ below me, Christ above me—never to part.

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 God.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

All are born into the family of God by Baptism.

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 neighbors.

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

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

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Word of Administration.

Communion:  Dona Nobis Pacem, (Renew # 240)

Dona nobis pacem, pacem, dona nobis pacem. 

Dona nobis pacem, dona nobis pacem. 

Dona nobis pacem.  Dona nobis pacem.

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: We are Marching in the Light of the Lord, Renew! # 306

1-      We are marching in the Light of the Lord;

            we are marching in the light of the Lord

            We are marching in the Light of the Lord;

we are marching in the light of the Lord

We are marching in the Light of the Lord;

we are marching in the light of the Lord

2-      We are singing in the Light of the Lord…..

           

Refrain: We are marching, marching, we are marching, oh,

we are marching in the light of the lord.        

We are marching, marching, we are marching, oh,

we are marching in the light of the lord.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

  

Evangelism and the Fishing Metaphor

3 Epiphany B  January 25, 2015

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 62:6-14

1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20

Lectionary Link

    There is some irony in putting together the prophet Jonah reading with the Gospel words of Jesus, "I will make you fish for people."

  Jonah was the prophet who experienced the reverse; he was one who was open game for the big fish.  The big fish swallowed the runaway prophet Jonah.  The big fish is the Leviathan of the Bible and Leviathan became a symbol for the state in swallowing up the identity of individual people.

  When the Gospels record Jesus as telling some fishermen, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people" the fishing metaphor for evangelism was born.

  Any metaphor has it expressive limitations and negative implication if one takes a metaphor too literally.

  The goal of the local Galilean fishermen was to use their nets to catch as many fish as they could.  And to be fishermen, they had to know something about the lake where they fished and the times, seasons and places in the lake where the fish were most likely to be.  They had to remember where they had good luck in finding schools of fish.  They probably had to keep some of their fishing habits secret because they had competitors.  And they probably had to get up really early to beat their competitors to the best fishing places in the lake.   Fishing was their livelihood and so they needed to be successful at fishing to put food on their tables.

  A crassly literal correspondence between commercial fishing and Christian evangelism is unseemly even though Jesus said to the fishermen, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  If evangelism is about my own ministerial success more than it is about a concern for the well-being of other people then evangelism is reduced to but a "commercial" venture.  One can see how churches in the past have used evangelism as a Leviathan for swallowing people and consolidating them into their empire churches.  In the feudal times, only the lord of the manor had to be converted and all of the people of his estate were baptized. This fish net approach to mass evangelism may seem to be preferred by many but does it really honor the individual personhood of one who is born in the image of God with freedom of choice?

  In my earlier life I was exposed to evangelical and missionary communities where it often people seemed to be in competition to convert souls to Christ for their particular brand of Christian theology.  Christian communities in their efforts to grow can reduce evangelism to something like a Henry Ford assembly line technique.  America is known for its famous mass media evangelism.  Think of the string of popular evangelists in the American:  George Whitefield, D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Aimee Simple McPherson, Katherine Kuhlmann, Oral Roberts, and the most famous of all, Billy Graham.  The sheer effect of a large crowd creates the effervescent net to bring hundreds of souls into the fold of Christ in one great "fishing" occasion.  And now we have an entire array of every kind of tele-evangelist doing this "net" style fishing for converts to Christ as well as regular financial supporters of their ministries. Sinclair Lewis, an American novelist wrote about such evangelists in his novel, Elmer Gantry who was a satirical caricaturization of the commercial motives of some of these Gospel fishermen and women.

  We, in the historical, catholic church tradition have mostly relied upon the form of evangelism called infant baptism whereby a person is passively assimilated into the church to begin to undergo the continuous work of growing to become more Christian.   We in the catholic tradition have been a part of colonial and gunboat evangelism as a powerful presence in the colonial situations often resulted in "forced conversions" of indigenous people.  Was the winsomeness of the message at the forefront or was it the superiority of industrial and technological cultures?   Some of mass media preachers have arisen as a protest against automatic assimilation into the church and so they wanted to do their Christian fishing with adults only, they in turn have become expressions of "mob" religious experience.

     How do we turn to this kind of metaphorical fishing in the words of Jesus and not fall into a crass commercialization of the evangelical enterprise?  Do we want people to join us so we can feel good and more secure about our own way of life?  Do we feel like our own faith decision are authenticated and validated because other people choose a similar path?  Does the sheer quantity of people who agree with me, make my way of life necessarily better or superior to the life styles of others?

  Evangelism can be translated or reduced to something like the classic book on sales presentation by Dale Carnegie:  How to Win friends and Influence People.  Any body in sales has probably encounter the techniques found in this classic books which incorporates some very wise tips on human nature and how to behave with other people if one wants to persuade and make a sale.

  So is Christian evangelism the same thing as sales?

  Christians evangelism shares some of the human dynamics of the sales event without being the equivalent of sales.  In sales, one has to convince that another person has the need for the product that one is trying to sell.  One is presenting oneself as a "user friendly" person who is a reputable person to recommend a product or service.

  In Christianity we don't really have a product; we only have states of transformation in understanding who we are and why we are here.  The truth is that many people are stuck in states of dysfunction and alienation from good self-image and successful integration into significant community life.

  Christian fishing is learning how to let people know that their lives can be continuously transformed by understanding good news. When Jesus told his followers that they would be fishing for people, he was not implying that we have to use net techniques to trap large groups of people to embrace our message.  He was simply saying: "You learned the fishing trade; now I want to teach you the people business."  To befriend people means that they become better people after meeting us.  How do people become better after befriending behaviors?  Befriending behaviors means we share with people the good news of our lives; we share with them the very best of our own experience not as a way for them to copy us but as a way to give them the occasion for further insights and meanings in their own lives.  Befriending behaviors means teaching, comforting, caring, healing, giving, supporting, and sometimes a tough message of intervention and interdiction.  The evangelism of words needs the fore-play of the evangelism of the witness of the deeds of one's life.  Our body language deeds speak louder than our words and when our lives are evidence of love and care in action, we earn the permission to tell people how we have come to live in the way that we have.  Befriending does not mean we have to be perfect before we share with other people, in fact, being honest about our own imperfection and practicing a life of one having been forgiven is important for people to know and share.

   In our climate today, we need to find a way to share our good news and learn how we can have a mission as "people" persons here at St. John the Divine.  On the personal level, what we seek to do is find out how each of us can become those who know how to befriend people in a way that lets them know that we honor the image of God upon their lives.  For us to learn how to fish for people, it involves the exercise of our baptismal gifts.  Our gifts are found as we learn how to transform the energies and desires of our lives into winsome charisma.  We need to discover our charisma.  Charisma is the ability to exude an energy around our being to create an atmosphere where people find a comfortable space to be themselves more truly.

  Let us embrace the charisma of our lives as we seek to be people persons, not because we want people to agree with us, but so that we give people the occasion to encounter the sublime presence of God in Christ.  Amen.