Sunday School, January 10, 2016 1 Epiphany C

Sunday School, January 10, 2016   1 Epiphany C

The theme is the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.  It is also a baptismal occasion within the church.

If the parish has baptismal candidates then it is important for children to be there to witness it and renew their own vows.  If there are no baptismal candidates then there may be an renewal of baptismal vows.

Explore the very basic meaning of baptism.

Use the analogy of having two families, the family of one’s natural birth or adoption.  One’s baptismal family in its most general sense is being a member of the family of God by virtue of our belief that we have been made in God’s image.

What does being made in God’s image mean?

Sometimes children look like their parents in shape of nose, color of eyes and other ways.  Children are born in some ways in the image of their parents but they are not their parents.

Each person is born in the image of God and so each person has the image of God in them as what we call our spirits.  So in spiritual ways we can be like God our heavenly parent even though we are not God.

We have to know about being made in the image of God.  We have to know that we are spiritual people.

Holy Baptism is a celebration of our having been born into the family of God.  But we are also recognized as being born in the family of Christ since Jesus was God’s special Son who came to remind us that we are made in God’s image and therefore we too are God’s sons and daughters.  Jesus is our brother in God’s family who came to remind us that we God’s children.

When we are born we receive a name and it is a sign of belonging to the family of our parents.   When we are baptized we receive our “Christian” name.  We have the sign of Christ written on our foreheads when the oil of chrism is used to mark us as belonging to Christ forever.

So baptism is a reminder to us about being a member of the spiritual family with God as our Father and Jesus as our brother.

It is important to remember that we are made in God’s image because if we remember this we will value our lives and do everything we can to make them better.  Also if we believe that other people are made in God’s image, we will value their lives too and we will give them the same kind of respect and care that we want for ourselves.

This celebration of being in God’s family, the family of Christ, is what is very important to remember about baptism.

When Jesus was baptized by John, he was telling us that he was happy to be a part of our human family but he was also reminding us that we were made to be in God’s family.

A voice from heaven at the baptism of Jesus said, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Each of needs that the voice of God says this to us:  You are my beloved son or daughter.  I like you and I am pleased with you.  If you and I can know that God regards us to be sons and daughters who really likes us, then we can know that our lives have special value.

Baptism as a rite of remember who we are, who we were made to be.

What is the most common mistake that everyone makes, children and adults?

  I think the most common mistake that all of us make is the mistake of forgetting.

  Do you ever forget?  Forget to do your homework?  Forget to clean your room?   Forget what your teacher told?  Forget what your parents told you?  Forget what you promised to your children or spouse?

  Forgetting is easy to do.

  But the most serious forgetting is forgetting about God.   Today we have read the story about John the Baptist on the day that he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.

  John the Baptist and Jesus were special men who were prophets.  And they came to help people recover from their forgetting.  See many people had forgotten some important things about God.  Even the religious leaders had forgotten some important things about God.  And what is often forgotten about God.

  People often forget that God loves them.  People often think that God loves the people in our country, or in our neighborhood or in our race better than people in another country, neighborhood or race.

  When Jesus was baptized, the voice of God said, this is my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.

  You and I need to remember what baptism means.  Baptism looks like just pouring some water over the head of a baby or an adult.  But what does baptism mean?  It means that we celebrate that each and every person is a child of God, a son or daughter of God.

  You see the problems in our life happen when we forget that we are sons and daughters of God.  The problems in our life happen when we forget that other people are son and daughters of God.

  When we remember that we are children of God we treat ourselves with respect.  When we remember that other people are children to God, we treat them with respect too.  When we remember God, then we remember to live good lives for God and we remember to live in peace and love with each other.

  John the Baptist and Jesus came to remind us about some things that we had forgotten.

  Let us remember the meaning of baptism.  Our baptism is a reminder that we and all people belong to the same family of God.  And if we remember that we will work to love one another and live in peace with each other.  Amen.St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

January 10, 2016: The First Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah; Peace Before Us; Seek Ye First; This Little Light of Mine

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: Hallelu, Hallelujah   (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 84)

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, 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

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 29

The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; * the LORD is upon the mighty waters.

The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice; * the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.

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.

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

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

1-Peace before us.  Peace behind us.  Peace under our feet.  Peace within us.  Peace over us.  Let all around us be Peace.

2-Love, 3-Light, 4-Christ

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:  Seek Ye First  (Blue Hymnal, # 711)

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you; Allelu, alleluia.  Refrain: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, allelu, alleluia.

Ask, and it shall be given unto you, seek, and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you; Allelu, alleluia!  Refrain

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

    

Be like the Magi on a Journey

2 Christmas C  January 3, 2016

Jeremiah 31:7-14   Ps
Eph. 1:3-6,15-19a Matthew 2:1-12
 Lectionary Link

  Today is the tenth day of Christmas and what gift did your true love bring you?  If you received the ten Lords a-leaping then you’re already had such excitement that this sermon will be but a yawn.  And tomorrow you have the eleven pipers piping to wake you up to get you back on your post-holiday schedule.  Happy New Year. Today we have read narrative about the Wise men from the East, who brought the Christ child gifts. The magi from the East is a curious story that delights us at Christmastide because we've never been able to experience such a unique astronomical manifestation such as occurred in the star of Bethlehem.  We always do an Oliver Stone version of the magi during the Christmas pageant since for staging purposes we have the magi arrive at the stable.  Those producers do not want us to spend extra money on productions cost so we have to make minor adjustments to the script.  Kings are more interesting than “magi” or intellectuals because Kings wear more elaborate costumes.  How did the three kings traditions get associated with the Magi?  The writer of the books of Psalms and Isaiah wrote about kings coming and bringing gifts.  And Kings, of course, would ride camels and there had to be three of them since there were three gifts?  Well, the Gospel does not say that the magi were kings, and we don’t know if they rode camels, and we don’t know how many there were.  They probably traveled in a large group, a caravan for safety on the road.  And they didn’t arrive at the stable with the shepherds; they visited the Christ child at his home at a much later time.  So, if we are supposed to be about truth, are we worried about Christmas Pageant productions, let alone our famous songs about “We three kings?”  I’m not worried; there is much more to be worried about in this world than this.  Could it be that the magi were used by the Gospel writer to characterized learned foreigners and gentiles of faith who had made an honest search to come to know Christ?  They had read in the book of Numbers about the star that came from Jacob.  And like today, the word star can be a metaphor for a famous person.  And so they were interested in that “star.”  The Caesar had a comet at his birth; and Christians believed that Christ was more than a Caesar; they believed that all creation responded to the Christ. So this story is a statement about what was happening in the early church:  Gentiles from far and wide were accepting Christ as the Messiah and many Jews were not.  The Magi represented all of the foreigners who had found the birth of Christ in their lives.  This story of the Magi proclaims that the life of Christ was not to be locked up in Palestine.  It was not to be held captive by the religious ritual practices of the synagogue.  This story is a proclamation that God belongs within the experience of people of all of the earth; it was the birth of Christ coming to anyone who wanted it which made the message of the accessibility of God’s presence known.    

   Amongst the many lessons that are contained in the story of the magi, I would like to offer a reading of this story that centers upon the notion of the journey as a spiritual quest.  Since the Gospels are spiritual manuals for Christian disciples, it is not far-fetched to understand the journey of the magi as encoding important features of the Christian life.  

  The Christian life can be seen as a journey.  One important feature of journey is a time of dislocation from the familiar settings of one’s life.  Why are we often happy to get home after a vacation?  It’s because we enjoy the convenience and predictability of home life.  Life on the road is new and uncertain. But leaps in learning cannot take place unless we are exposed to new experiences.  New experiences help us to surpass old knowledge, old biases, old prejudices.  The Magi gave up the familiarity of home to make the quest for something new.  

  That brings us to the second point of the magi's journey: Their journey involved faith because it involved risk.  They were driven toward an undefined unknown, yet their hearts burned with hope and anticipation. One of the attributes that we like in children is their curiosity.  They have this insatiable drive, this quest for the new.  It often gets them into trouble but it enlarges their life experience.  The writer to the Hebrews, called faith the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.  The magi had this evidence of faith.  This deep sense of outcome before they even arrived at their goal.  We as Christians, live by faith, because we still have not attained to things for which we hope. Hope presents the vision; faith is the mobilization of our lives toward a positive outcome.  

   Next, the magi were star gazers.  They followed their star.  They were in touch with their environment.  They believed that the heavens declared the glory of God.  You've heard it said that there are two types of people: One sees the cup as half empty, the other sees it as half full.  How do you and I read our environments.  Do we see our environment as fatalistically working against us?  Or do we see ourselves as living and moving and being in God.  Do we see the ground of our lives as hallowed ground, a pathway to the new enlargements that God has for us?  Christian faith allows us to interpret our environment as a divine ecology.  In this divine ecology we begin to find God, in bread and wine, and water, oil, fire, in the beauty of nature, and in the people around us.  And we begin to read God's creation as important signs in our spiritual journey.  God’s creation was not made to be a distracting idol or a frightening hindrance to our journey.  We have seen the star.  The magi learned to read God's creation as signs to assist them in their spiritual quest.  

   Fourth, the magi brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  We may think that these are exotic gifts.  But I would call them native gifts.  They brought the obvious gifts indigenous to the place where they lived. There is a message for you and me: We should give to God the native talent of our own lives. God does not ask of us the exotic or the impossible; God wants only what come from our natural abilities.  God is delighted to receive the gifts that we already have.   And if we give what we have, we will find that we have more abilities and gifts than we have ever realized.

   Finally, what is the end of the magi journey?  It is to arrive at the birth place of the Christ, the Messiah, the King. Bethlehem.  What is the goal of the Christian life?  It is to be the very place of the birth of Christ.  We must be born again.  We must be the very place where the Christ child is born and experience the elevation our lives to a sense of dignity and worth, a sense of royalty.  The magi reached their goal.  In Christian baptism, we reach our goal when Christ is born in us, but that is only the beginning of the Christian life.  From the birth of Christ in us, we must return home by a different route.  We must bring that message to aid others in their spiritual quest.  

  Remember today, you and I are the magi, the wise persons.   Are we living up to this calling?  Let us today, comfort and exhort one another in this exciting journey of wisdom, hope and faith.  Amen. 

Sunday School, January 3, 2016 2 Christmas C

Sunday School, January 3, 2016     2 Christmas C

Sunday School

Taking a long trip

Did you ever drive on a long trip with your family for a special vacation?  To Disneyland?  Disneyworld?  Lego Land?  

Do you remember the trip?  Do you remember how excited you were as you waited to arrive at your destination?

The story of the Magi or Wise Men is about three people who took a long trip because they could not wait to arrive at special event, the event of the birth of a very special person who would change their lives and the life of this world.

The Magi or Wise men were foreigners.  They came from other countries to travel to Bethlehem to see Jesus.

This journey is the story of the early church.  The early church was a large group of foreigners who left their homes and their ways of living with the gods of the Roman Empire and they accepted the God who was known to them because of Jesus Christ.  They experienced the birth of Jesus Christ into their lives and so they gave everything, all of the most important gifts of their lives to follow Jesus Christ and to share this message of the Gospel to everyone.

Remember that sometimes we have to take journeys to reach important destinations in our lives.  We have to take a journey through school and education to learn important things which will make ourselves better.

Think about your life as a journey.  The star of God is leading you to new discoveries in your life.  We celebrate the story of the Wise Men because it shows us that we are on a journey to know what the birth of Christ means in our life.

Sermon

  Is Christmas over?  Yes and No.  Christmas Day is gone but the season of Christmas last for 12 days.  Perhaps you’ve heard the song about the 12 days of Christmas.  The song is about getting to open one Christmas gift for each day of the Christmas season.  How many of you opened all of your Christmas Gift on Christmas gifts on Christmas day?  How many of you adults said in July after buying something expensive,”   Dear this is my Christmas and birthday gift?”  How romantic!

  So today is the 10th day of the Christmas Season and when will the Christmas Season end?  It  will on Tuesday night at midnight because, do you know what day Thursday is called?  It is called The Epiphany.  And what season begins on The Epiphany?  Epiphany.

  Today we have read about the wise men who came to see the baby Jesus.  Did any of you play a wise man in the Christmas Pageant?  What did the wise men bring the baby Jesus?  They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Most of us might like gold for a gift…but frankincense and myrrh?  It depends upon how much one is into aroma therapy to appreciate those two gifts.

  How many of you like getting gifts at Christmas?  Well, if you like getting gifts at Christmas then you should thank the wise men, because they are the ones who inspired giving gifts at Christmas.  So let us say to the wise men.  Thank you for starting the gift tradition.

  But the wise men are not just important for the giving of gifts at Christmas time.  They are important for something else.

  Did you know that the wise men were from a different country than Jesus?  And they travelled a long distance to come and visit him.

  Let me ask you a question.  Do you like chocolate?  How many people in this room like chocolate?  If someone who had never had chocolate came to visit us, should we let them have chocolate?  Why should we share our chocolate?  If is it good an sweet, why should we share it?  Does everyone have the right to taste and enjoy chocolate?

Now if we like chocolate and if we should share chocolate with everyone, what about God?

  If we know that God is close to us, should we let everyone know that God is close to them to?  Or should we hide it from them.  Should we let other people know that God loves them and is close to them too?  Why?  Because the best things in life have to be shared with everyone.  The wise men were looking for the best thing in life and they came a long distance to find it.  They found the best person in life in Jesus Christ who is person who taught us that God is very close to us and who taught us that God loves us.  Should we keep that a secret or should we share it?  Just like everyone should be able to enjoy chocolates, everyone should be able to know that God loves them and that God is close to their lives.  That is one of the meanings of the story of the wise men today.  Let us remember that God’s love is for everyone even for the people whom we don’t know.  So let us always be ready to share God’s love with the new people we meet.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

January 3, 2016: The Second Sunday after Christmas

Gathering Songs:

 We Three Kings of Orient Are, Away in a Manger

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: We Three Kings ( Blue Hymnal # 128)

1-We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar, field and fountain moor and mountain, following yonder star.  O, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright; westward leading still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light!

2-Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain, gold I bring to crown him again, King for every ceasing never, over us all to reign. O, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright; westward leading still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light!

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God,  you have wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: All us to share in the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our human life, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

Liturgist: A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Please join in reading from Psalm 84

How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts! * My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

The sparrow has found her a house and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; * by the side of your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

Happy are they who dwell in your house! * they will always be praising you.

Litany of Thanksgiving: Chant: Thanks be to God!

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 Matthew

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

In the time of King Herod  when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him honor to this king of the Jews." When King Herod, who was also called the King of the Jews, heard this, he was frightened, and as well as the people of Jerusalem.  He called together all the chief priests and scribes of the people and he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.  They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search for the child; and when you have found him, come and tell me so I can go honor him too. When they had heard the king, the wisemen went in the direction of the star until it stopped over the place where the baby Jesus lay. The wisemen were joyful to arrive at their destination. They enter the house and they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and honored him.  Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They were warned in a dream not to return to Herod so they left for their own country without telling Herod where the Christ child could be found. 

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon:

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

Song: We Three Kings (Blue Hymnal # 128, vss.3-4)

3-Frankincense to offer have I: incense owns a Deity nigh; prayer and praising gladly raising, worship him, God most hight. O, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright; westward leading still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light!

4-Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom; sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb. O, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright; westward leading still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light!

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.

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,

(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:       Alleluia, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia.

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Away in a Manger

1-Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.  The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

2-The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.  I love thee, Lord Jesus!  Look down from the sky, and stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

3-Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay close by me for ever and love me I pray.  Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with thee there.

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 Three Kings (Blue Hymnal # 128, verse 5)

5-Glorious now behold him arise, King and God and sacrifice; heaven sings alleluia: alleluia the earth replies. O, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright; westward leading still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light!

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God!  

Aphorism of the Day, December 2015

Aphorism of the Day, December 31, 2015

When people have lost connection with the Church's liturgical season presenting an annual curriculum with varying emphases in teaching and recommended pieties, they still seem to invent their own secular season of moral emphases.  On the last day of the year we are in the season of a "secular penitential season of Lent."  This secular season of Lent has the highlight of the high sacred vow of amendment of life, otherwise known as the "New Year Resolution."  Laden under the guilt of the holiday excesses and extra pounds due to the same, people feel inspired toward amendment of life and taking this vow of a New Year's resolution.  Those same people might be scornful about the people who "give things up" for Lent and yet the New Year's resolution is an arbitrary vow based upon the secular calendar.  It is interesting how universal the amendment of life is and if one does not share this emphasis within the Church community, one often does it in other settings.  New Year's resolutions often are broken early, and maybe such recidivism is due to the fact that they are attempted alone without the support and the mutual embrace of the same disciplines by a community.  Happy secular Lent to all who embrace New Year's resolutions for the amendment of life.  Long live your perfectability as you surpass yourself in excellence in a future state.

Aphorism of the Day, December 30, 2015

Embedded in word and language and in the body language of humanity are what we confess by using language to be the abiding themes of what can be said with words and what can be said in body language.  Therefore the repetition of certain words and themes and the repetition of body language acts are not only possible but likely.  But repetition of the same are all done with difference because the passing of time always means the setting of the act is different and the accumulation of the reservoir of the memory of repeated word acts is greater so as to effect how a word act in speech, writing or deed is articulated.  One can say the past is predictive of the future in that humanity will do the "same ol', same ol'" stuff over and over again but with new setting and context.  The fact that a current event seems to line up perfectly with a previous aspiration of a former generation often results in the experience which produces the confession of fulfilled prediction as destiny.  In the New Testament, the writers were so enamored with the Jesus of history effects and the Risen Christ effects, they could not help but use poetic utterance to make claims about "Deja vu all over again" regarding how Jesus lined up with the great holy people of the past like Moses, David, Elijah, Melchizadek, Son of Man and others.  When a current event seems to partake of the "salvation energy" that characterized an event of the past, in ecstasy one might confess the past precisely predicting the current salvation event.  We need to understand how the principle of the "eternal return of the same" can come to language in the New Testament as being prophetic prediction, at the same time we need to avoid wandering into the assignation of specific clairvoyance in the writings of the ancient prophet "predictors."

Aphorism of the Day, December 29,2015

In the Feast of the Holy Innocents King Herod is presented in the role of the ancient Pharaoh who attempted to snuff out the lives of the Hebrew children.  In hero stories the theme of providential rescue in the very early life of the hero is the author's attempt to show how divine intervention was working on behalf of the chosen hero long before the hero becomes known as the hero.  There is an attempt to draw back a curtain to reveal the struggle between the forces of evil and God.  Ironically, it is shown that the forces of evil have an early inkling about the hero-to-be and tries to place an interdiction in the path of the hero in fulfilling the hero's destiny.  The life of Jesus was presented using the major themes of the presentations of the heroes of Hebrew Scriptures.  Every new hero in life is presented using comparison with the great heroes of the past.  Hank Aaron is like but greater than Babe Ruth.  Jesus is like but greater than Moses and Elijah.  In interpretive presentations the themes do not have to be actual historical events; the teaching issue is the surpassing greatness of the new hero.  One can take the wrong offense with the Gospel writers if one is requiring that they write in the method of one' s own requirement of "literary" truth.  If something is only meaningfully true "if and only if" it can be empirically verified, then one has placed a severe limitation upon meaningful truths and this limitation can't really be consistently instantiated in anyone's life.

Aphorism of the Day, December 28,2015

The foreign Magi seeking the Christ Child are metaphors for the Gentiles seeking the Messiah without the benefit of the Law and th Prophets but with the "natural" theology when the heavens declared to them God's glory.

Aphorism of the Day, December 27, 2015

"And the Word was made flesh and dwell among us."  How about this paraphrase?  "And the Word became Body Language and because expressive to us of what divinity would look like in a human person?"

Aphorism of the Day, December 26, 2015

St. Stephen's Day could be a study of crime in different times.  The famous St. Paul would still remain Saul in a prison in America for being complicit in a religious hate crime in the stoning of Stephen.  Makes one ponder how the "crimes" of religious heresy used to be "adjudicated" and sometimes still are when how one exercises one's faith is criminal behavior.  How long in human history have people been divided even to the point of persecution over believing in One God, differently?  One can see how secularists see such behaviors and cry, "Bah hum bug" on not only the behaviors but belief in God.  How much "atheism" is inspired by "religious" people of all religions acting very badly?

Aphorism of the Day, December 25, 2015

Read the Christmas story as a metaphor to relate the reality of being born again when the arising of the divine image upon one's life splashes evidence of the same to our emotional and intellectual fields to inspire the volitional events empowering the actions to change our lives in the direction of excellence.

Aphorism of the Day, December 24, 2015

Be a Christmas literalist tonight, attend the Mass of Christ.

Aphorism of the Day, December 23, 2015

In the midst of all that has accrued around "Christmas" don't forget that both the Mass of Christ and the Infancy Narratives of the Gospel are the word and sacrament of personal transformation deriving from the actual experiences of people in the early church wanting to inculcate the teaching of "Christ in us, the hope of Glory."

Aphorism of the Day, December 22, 2015

Blessings and curses seemed to be included in ancient prayers.  In our time it might be proper to "curse Satan and the forces of darkness" but not people unless they are diabolically evil.  So how could curses be regarded to be kind and merciful?  They probably weren't but it was a liturgical way of expresses the unavoidable thoughts of revenge which people feel when they have been harmed or mistreated.  Hannah, the scorned childless women offered this as a part of her song when she was finally able to conceive: "My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in my victory."  In the Song of Mary there are pronounced curses, "the rich He has sent away empty and he brought down the mighty from their throne."  It seems that there is rejoicing and praise when one's tormenters are tormented by the fate of "God's hands."  The poetic words of the Psalmist often are words of wishing terrible things upon the enemies of the "writer and the writer's interests."   Jesus who said to love our enemies did not seem to have loving regard for the Pharisees and Sadducees who openly opposed him.  He told parables about weeping and gnashing of teeth as punishment for those who did not "get with the program."  On the other hand, from the cross he pronounces a final forgiveness for those who acted in ignorance: "Father forgive them for they do not know what they do."  In short, there is not a general consistency about the rhetoric of blessing and curses in the Bible and it is probably the same today as we still cry out in situations of pain, intensified by the circumstance of personal attack.  Cursing may be an honest cry of pain or a cry of triumph if "just" punishment has been accomplished.  In the end we can say that the ways of the realization of justice are often very messy and even when we try to absolve our personal conscience by acting with the motive of causing no harm, we can in our group loyalties be committing acts of harm against other unbeknown and so we never know if and how we are the recipients of the curses of others.

 Aphorism of the Day, December 21, 2015

The perception of there being a "war on Christmas" by the media and commercial sectors of our society perhaps is driven by those with a nostalgia for Empire Christianity.  In Empire Christianity one assumes if everyone is not Christian, they should be and they can be helped by adopting all Christian holy days whether they want to or not.  Empire Christianity has had various notions of legitimizing power to proclaim "official" holidays.  If the majority of people in a locale are "Christian" then Christians should be able to determine official holidays.  If a conquering nation is "Christian" then "Christian" conquerors should be able to determine the "official" holidays.  It could be that members of minority religious communities have adjusted to the "forced" Christmas holidays by "secularizing" them and taking the "religious" aspects out of them while retaining the vestiges of joy and giving.  How many secular "Christmas" songs have been penned by Jewish songwriters?  It could be that any Christian worth his or her salt, is more interested in the gentle persuasion of the Christ child being born into one's life, rather than relying upon forcing one's religion upon everyone.  We need to be sensitive about the after effects of Empire Christianity rather than feeling like members of an emasculated Christianity under siege because "Merry Christmas" is replaced with "Happy Holidays" by a store clerk.  

Aphorism of the Day, December 20, 2015

A week of aphorisms on the Song of Mary. The promise made to our forebears, *   to Abraham and his children for ever.    One can note in any family the practice of strategic genealogy and by this I mean that we highlight the more notable people in our family tree rather than those who "made no impression" or lived toward infamy.  The New Testament writers used branches on the family tree of Judaism for strategic purpose.  St. Paul used the pre-Israelite Patriarch Abraham and the promise of God to him as the father of faith as the place to graft Gentile Christianity on the tree of salvation history.  And this appears in the Song of Mary in the reference to the promise of God made to Abraham.  So the Christ child in Mary was in the lineage of the promise to Abraham.  In this Song one can see the strategic retrofitting of the period of the gestational Jesus toward the Patriarch who provides the interpretive possibilities of the Gentile church within the long tradition of salvation history of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Aphorism of the Day, December 19,2015

A week of aphorisms on the Song of Mary.   The song of Mary is proof that both visions of utopia and dystopia can come to language.  There is enough of bliss and perfection in the world to envision its victory but there is also enough chaos to project catastrophic outcomes.  The Song of Mary is the mystical vision of justice winning and this vision can be experienced even when actual situations of justice are not fully realized.  The conception and birth of Jesus did not result in the immediate realization of justice on earth.  On the continuum between dystopia and utopia we need the arising of figures who show us how utopia or "no such place" can be manifest in a "no such person" who is not yet because a self surpassing person in our future will always deconstruct each of us as the not yet and "no such person."  The Risen Christ born in us is also subject to Time and Becoming within us.  The Song of Mary seems to seal a moment of time by assuming completeness, "He has filled the hungry with good things."  What is more true to process would be the statement, "He is continuously and always filling the hungry with good things."  Being hungry and being filled are moments in process.  Might we offer that mystical vision occurs in the threshold location between being hungry and being filled, justice rendered and justice lacking?  In the threshold one has a directional orientation.  One can look toward justice rendered or turn 180 degrees and look toward justice lacking.  In the Song of Mary, we are encouraged to choose the direction of our vision in the threshold experience of always being between.

Aphorism of the Day,  December 18, 2015

A week of aphorisms on the Song of Mary.  He has filled the hungry with good things, * and the rich he has sent away empty.  He has come to the help of his servant Israel, * for he has remembered his promise of mercy, The promise he made to our fathers, * to Abraham and his children for ever.  Again the words of this song are words of poetic arousal in the state of a lover being loved and loving.  The words of poetic arousal clearly distort the nature of what is actually happening outside of the state of arousal.  The good things which fill the hungry is the self-authenticating reality of mystical union; in the outside world people are still hungry.  And the rich want to buy a drug replacement for the mystical union and are left empty.  The grace of mystical union cannot be bought.  And how has God helped Israel in the conception event for the maiden Mary?  The Temple and Jerusalem has been/will be destroyed and the people of Israel will be scattered and divided between synagogue and church.  But in the mystical experience the ancient promise is renewed; the promise that all could discover the life of the heavenly parent arise as the telling identity of one's life.  The promise of creation funneled through Abraham and given covenantal fluidity in the life of the people of Israel and exploding as a gift to a wider world in the Christo-centric Judaism.  The promise is fulfilled when each person can sing the song of Mary as one's own song of knowing the mystical union of one's divine identity, one's original image being brought to the surface in the ecstatic moments when the Song of Mary really makes sense.

Aphorism of the Day, December 17, 2015

A week of aphorisms on the Song of Mary.  He has shown the strength of his arm, *  he has scattered the proud in their conceit.  He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, * and has lifted up the lowly.  Songs and poetic utterance produce statements which are meaningful but do not have regular empirical verification.  In ecstatic trance one can like Lady Julian confess that "all manner of things shall be well" even when there is in actual circumstantial proof to the contrary.  What is true about experiences of mystical union is that the rational facilities get flooded by the parallel heavenly realm and one confesses that "God's will on earth is done as it is in heaven."  However, in the earthly realm, Caesar was still on the throne and the strength of God's arm is the poetic state of knowing the "Time Before" when strength is represented in Pure Creativity and in the "Time After" because the One who endures the longest has the power and the right to re-write and re-interpret all outcomes.  In mystical union, one confesses in the present tense a present faith based upon the future anterior tense, that "Every manner of things will have been well."

Aphorism of the Day, December 16, 2015

A week of aphorisms on the Song of Mary.  He has mercy on those who fear him * in every generation.  Given the plenitude of what the definition of God implies and understanding God to be addressed with a personal pronoun, Mary's song reveals what each person in every generation needs to discover.  Plenitude like an ocean inspires the fear known as awe or reverence.  Plenitude is the giant realm of what has been, what is and what might be with the full expression of the freedom of every sort of causal connection, and in the awe and reverence of living in this great zone of possibilisms to discover and isolate the experience of mercy as the significant and telling experience one confesses as one's own is most significant.  Blessed are  the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.  If in the Plenitude of what has happened, is happening and what will happen, one discovers the experience of Mercy as the telling experience then founding the character of one's life on mercy rather than upon "what-might- go-wrong-fear" is a way of living in the Plenitude of God as Merciful Fate and weaver of a protective garment with multi-experiential threads all with the providential purpose of surrounding one with warmth and beauty.


Aphorism of the Day, December 15, 2015

A week of aphorisms on the Song of Mary.   From this day all  generations will call me blessed: *  the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.  In the tradition of Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth who had marvelous births because of their "barren" conditions, Mary as a young maiden had miraculous conception.  Because of the way in which women's bodies are made, they are the child-bearers.  In ancient times, their child-bearing was used to limit them into roles pertaining only to child-bearing.  Their "success" was defined by bearing children since a child was the evidence of objective immortality for their families in the future.  Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary all believed that God had done a great thing for them.  This Song of Mary turns out to be her also being a prophetess about her own standing in the memory of the people of this world.  The famous prayer, "Hail Mary" retains the phrases from the Magnificat: The Lord is with thee=looked with favor.   Bless art thou among women=all generations will call me blessed.  While most want to read this song as one which was composed on the spot on the occasion of the visitation of Elizabeth to Mary, its spiritual practice is a prayer of ecstasy of the experience of knowing the life of Christ being born in oneself by the presence of the Holy Spirit.  All generations calling one blessed is the poetic expression of eternal life and knowing the holy Name of God is the experience of intimacy with God because of permission to know and be known by God in the way of spiritual union.

Aphorism of the Day, December 14, 2014


A week of aphorisms on the "Song of Mary."  My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *    for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.  This song is in the song tradition of Hannah who was given a special child.  It is an ecstatic song of praise attributed to Mary and retains a delight in reading in a immediate "primary naïveté."  As we move to reading it as Mary being the paradigm of every Christian who has Christ born in one as the "hope" of glory, one understands the spirituality of the early church which in turns uses the Gospel narratives to encode spiritual events of the soul.  The salvific event of the soul draw the response of knowing God's greatness and one's own smallness and there is also a comfort which creates the condition of joy because one has that sense of being rescued or saved even in the experience of being so small in experience of the plenitude of God.  The mystical experience makes one feel favored even while one feels very "lowly" at the same time.   A love experience of being seduced and befriended by God is a powerful event of personal esteem.  It should not be made into megalomania; it should become a prayer for everyone to know the event of personal esteem of being "favored" by God.  From the event of God's favor, one becomes less reliant upon strokes from people and one is spared from being personally disillusioned with others.  After God provides the event of favor, one only asks perfection of God's greatness and not of one's fellow earth companions.


Aphorism of the Day, December 13, 2015

One of reasons that John the Baptist and Jesus were presented in polemical discourse with the scribes and Pharisees was to teach to the early churches the origins of the disagreements which led to the separation of the church from the synagogue.  One of the chief disagreements was about what might be called legacy salvation or "entitled" salvation due to being born into a family that gave one "automatic" salvation from birth without the requirement of the performance of salvific acts of love, justice and kindness which were an indication that one lived the merit of salvation.  In every religious group, the notion of "entitled" salvation raises itself.  Salvation by group identity is the smug self righteousness that can occur within any group that begins to take its structure more serious than the actual practice of love and kindness.

Aphorism of the Day, December 12, 2015

Gaudete is the name for the third Sunday of Advent.  It is the Latin for "Rejoice."  The command to rejoice always is sometimes clouded by the actual harsh situations in life.  Rejoicing in the "right now" involves not letting the current experience of evil, badness or misfortune dominate the vision of everything in life.  There is always enough goodness presence to rejoice and there is always a future which can be given a vision informed by utopian hope to inspire the act of rejoicing to be an act of faith in claiming better things.

Aphorism of Day, December 11, 2015

It is ironic that lots of discourse in the Gospel about "loving one's enemies" is deconstructed by equal amounts of vitriolic polemic discourse decrying one's doctrinal enemies as "brood of vipers" and "white washed tombs."  It used to be part of liturgical tradition for prayers to include both blessings and curses.  Polemics are discourses characteristic of reformation movements.  How much of Reformation and counter-Reformation writings are full of mutual venom of Christians divided by having a "common Messiah?"  Polemics are the words of leaving.  One often does not leave a paradigm of thought or the people who expound such thinking without dissent and dissatisfaction often expressed in anger and sharp discourse of critique.  John the Baptist could be likened to the Reformation Anabaptists who did not regard the validity of infant baptism and so a person had to be "re-baptized" to be regarded as a member of the Christian faith.  Proselyte baptism in Judaism was for non-Jews who wanted to convert to Judaism.  In the baptism required by John the Baptist, the Jews were treated as those who needed to be proselytized.  This act of baptism in the living waters of the Jordan River was a polemical act against the validity of certain practices of Judaism.  He was insisting that Jews re-enter the Promised Land of being God's people all over again because what they had in the performance of their heritage was lacking.  Christians often practice re-baptism when one group does not regard the validity of a previous baptism.  All of this is the indication of persons in faith journeys through various paradigms of faith; some transitions are smooth but others happen with polemics.  The Gospel polemic discourses of John the Baptist and Jesus are oracles of the early church accounting for the separation of synagogue and the church.  We today do not have to re-live the ancient feuds which occurred in specific situations.  Many of our modern "Christian" preachers seem to equate the Gospel with polemics against those who disagree with them, as if they are saying, "I love you even though you are going to hell in a handbasket because you don't agree with me in how I specifically understand Christian teaching." 

Aphorism of the Day, December 10, 2015

John the Baptist as a prophet was not known for his practice of "appreciative inquiry."  He is quoted as calling the religious leaders of his day a "brood of vipers," which essentially is calling them offspring of the serpent.  The problem of having a prophet's tongue includes a implied insider's view to be sufficiently infallible as to what is most correct in the interpretation of reality.  I suspect that the recommendable infallible position has to do with justice and advocacy on behalf of the poor and weak.  To speak strongly against those who maintain the structural poverty of so many in a society is to invite a prophet's fate, persecution or death.

Aphorism of the Day, December 9, 2015

The New Testament writing are in part generated to explain why the church became separated from the synagogue.  The origin of separation is often found in the rhetoric of disagreement among parties within a community, organization or religion.  The rhetoric of John the Baptist is presented within the Gospel as a critique of the "official" religious parties within Judaism.  The rhetoric of John the Baptist provides the seeds of early dissent which influenced Jesus and the direction of the Jesus Movement.  By the time John the Baptist is reported in the Gospel communities, his words against certain parties within Judaism are used as justification for the ascendency of Gentile Christianity.  The tree of salvation history as it was known in Judaism was cut down and the Gentiles were grafted in.  The result was a new hybrid of religious messianic thinking.  But remember this critique is only an "outsider's critique" of Judaism by those who left it.  Christians should have the humility to acknowledge that Jews had their own continuity within their synagogues while being quite unaffected by what those in the Jesus movement said or did.  That we have an apologetic discourse in the New Testament for why we think we became a separate from Judaism should not hinder us from accepting that continuing Judaism did not agree with such apologetic discourse.  The history of ideas reveals that people form their identity by what they have left, even while not everyone leaves what one has left.

Aphorism of the Day, December 8, 2015

Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots and the Herodians were various religious parties within Judaism.  Perhaps the major religious party of the Gospel was the great following of John the Baptist.  The invisibility of the community of John the Baptist as a separate community within the Gospels is perhaps due to the attempt to show a seamless transition from the community of John to the community of Christ.

Aphorism of the Day, December 7, 2015

The witness of John the Baptist is used by the Gospel writers to present a proto-Christian movement based upon the questioning of one have automatic faith because of one's religious and ethnic heritage.  The performance of the act of repentance is made the criteria for "standing" with God.  John promised that his movement of repentance would be completed by Jesus who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and this over-shadowing "baptism" would result in having the life of Christ born within one.  And one's soul would be like Mary's and be an "earthly sanctuary" for the presence of Christ.  The Gospel narratives are essentially the story form of the spiritual methodology of the early Christian communities.

Aphorism of the Day, December 6, 2015

The proto-church could rightly be called the Community of John the Baptist.  The writing purpose of the Gospel was an appeal to the followers of John the Baptist to embrace Jesus as the protégé and the designated successor of John the Baptist.  The favorable presentation of John the Baptist in the Gospel reveals the dynamic transition of many members of the  community of John the Baptist making the transition to the Jesus Movement.

Aphorism of the Day, December 5, 2015

Study of the Bible can be variously done.  It can be done by those who is a members of a confessional community who regards the Bible to authoritative be in one's faith practices.  If one has converted and made doctrinal commitments one reads the Bible as an eisegete, as one who reads with preconceived meanings.  Exegesis is the study of Scripture and involves an attempt to leave aside one's doctrinal commitments and try to understand the particulars of the thought paradigms within which a biblical text was originally written.  Hermeneutics is the general "science" of interpretation and can be done with or without prior commitments to doctrinal positions.  Homiletics is art of preaching and involves an "applied" hermeneutic for the morals, ethics and spirituality of a community.  In some post-modern approaches there is the attempt to let the ancient paradigms function within their own setting since everyone in their own setting has or takes the right to "define" one's own reality.  In our own time we acknowledge the hermeneutic distance from the ancient settings where biblical texts were generated.  We exist as temporal prisoners of our own time, yet the "prison" walls of our own time share some universally corresponding functional patterns with the "thought prisons" of people of the ancient past.  Such correspondences are the fruitful topics of translation between modernity and the ancient world.

Aphorism of the Day, December 4, 2015

To read and interpret the meanings of what is happening in our current life we use the entire accessible vocabulary of the traces of the past.  We say this person is similar to the person who is in the memorial traces of our past.  The New Testament writers had the Hebrew Scriptures of the past and if John the Baptist looked like someone Isaiah wrote about in his own time long ago, then that trace from Isaiah became "prophetic" in proving the "eternal return of the same."  Features of human words and action recur in new settings in different way.  It is rather silly to view prophecy as specifically predictive when the prophecy of the eternal return of the same is always generally true.  Interpretation of a ancient text is to uncover the universal archetypes present within the details of ancient settings and then find the corresponding manifestations of the same universal archetype in our present setting.

Aphorism of the Day, December 3, 2015

In the aftermath of another mass shooting in America, we ponder the freedom to bear every kind of weapon even while we dismiss the freedom of those who have the right to have protection from the regular misuse of such an expansive freedom to bear weapons.  Our politicians will allow regulations based upon actuarial projections in so many areas of American life even while many and various deaths due to the misuse of omni-available firearms eludes the kind of rational actuarial scrutiny leading to wise regulation in the sale of firearms.  The wisdom of God would require actuarial honesty resulting in the appropriate regulation, if we confess that we value the freedom of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  There are people who have untimely been denied these freedoms when our actuarial knowledge has resulted in no rational actions of regulation.

Aphorism of the Day, December 2, 2015

Pope Francis, who has the right to speak within the Roman Catholic Church as one who can make infallible pronouncements on matters of doctrine, is one who has said that he will not speak from the platform of infallibility.  Today, he condemned fundamentalism in all religions including his own as being idolatrous, not religious, (where) God is lacking.  God is always lacking and too small when anyone presumes to know some final interpretation of the meaning of God or the ways in which God is articulated or made known to people.  The future means that the word God as designating the surpassing Sublime still has a future in humanity and the future of God does not allow the door of the many meanings of God to be closed.

Aphorism of the Day, December 1, 2015

The infancy narratives of the Gospel are given for John the Baptist and Jesus.  The Infancy Narratives are a literature of "must have had a miraculous" beginning discourse.  In the days when Caesars were deified by senates and discourse was generated to proclaim the divinization at birth stories regarding the emperor gods, the infancy narratives fit the genre of the time which would have been read by a Gentile audience.  The infancy narrative of John the Baptist fits in with the marvelous birth genres in Hebrew Scriptures found in the stories of Isaac and Samuel.  The infancy narrative of John the Baptist contrasts with the "miraculous" birth story of Jesus.  The writers are appealing to the followers of John the Baptist in the interpretation of the support role which John had in the Gospel presentation of salvation history.  John the Baptist was a very important "set up" man for the transition to a more Gentile friendly Christo-Judaism which the very early churches became.