Daily Quiz, January 2016

Daily Quiz, January 31, 2016

In his prayer, Abraham bargained with God from 50 down to 10 of what?

a. camels for Isaac's dowry
b. day of rain
c. righteous people in Sodom
d. years of waiting for his promised son

Daily Quiz, January 30, 2016

Sarah, who laughed when she heard that she would have a baby in her old age, did what when she was confronted with her laugher?

a. said why don't we name our child "laughter=Isaac"
b. denied that she laughed
c. said her laughter was one of joy
d. said her laughter was one of disbelief


Daily Quiz, January 29, 2016

According to the book of Genesis, at what age did Abraham get circumcised?

a. the eighth day as is the Jewish custom
b. age 13 at his bar-mitzvah
c. age 99
d. the day that Isaac was born

Daily Quiz, January 28, 2016

Which of the following is most associated with scholastic theology, Thomism, and the "schoolmen?"

a. Benedict
b. Aquinas
c. Francis
d. Albert Magnus

Daily Quiz, January 27, 2016

In biblical genealogy how are the Jews and Arabs related?

a. they are both Semitic from Noah's son Shem
b. they both have Abraham as a Patriarch heir
c. Isaac's half brother Ishmael in the Father of the Arab nation
d. all of the above

 Daily Quiz, January 26, 2016

Which companion of St. Paul had a Greek father and Jewish mother and became circumcised as an adult to gain acceptance in his ministry among the Jews?

a. Silas
b. Titus
c. Philemon
d. Timothy

Daily Quiz, January 25, 2016

Where was St. Paul when he had his conversion experience?

a. on the road to Jericho
b. on the road to Pella
c. on the road to Damascus
d. on the road to Galilee


Daily Quiz, January 24, 2016

What two books in the Hebrew Scriptures were originally one book but were divided into two books by Christians in the third century C.E.?

a.Jeremiah-Lamentation
b.Ezra-Malachi
c. Ezra-Nehemiah
d. I & II Maccabees

Daily Quiz, January 23, 2016

Before his son was born Abraham had the diminutive name Abram, and when he traveled into Egypt he feared that the Pharaoh would be attracted to his wife Sarai.  How did Sarai present herself to the Pharaoh?

a. Abram's servant
b. Abram's sister
c  Abram's niece
d. Abram's cousin

Daily Quiz, January 22, 2016

About whom does the writer of the letter to the Hebrews writes, he resembles the Son of God, without mother or father, beginning or end?

a. Jesus
b. Abraham
c. Gabriel the Archangel
d. Melchizedek

Daily Quiz, January 21, 2016

What would be the literary purpose of the story about the Tower of Babel?

a. origin of urban societies
b. origin of the world having many languages
c. origin of skyscrapers
d. origin of the sin of human pride

Daily Quiz, January 20, 2016

After the great Flood subsided, Noah became drunk and his nakedness was seen by one of his sons who received a curse of servitude for seeing his naked father.  Which son was it who was cursed to servitude?

a. Shem
b. Ham and his offspring Canaan
c. Japheth
d. Job



Daily Quiz, January 19, 2016

In which book of the Bible can be found the following:  "My heart dances with joy...?"

a. Genesis
b. Matthew
c. Revelation
d. Psalms


Daily Quiz, January 18, 2016

What did Jesus say to Peter after Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the Messiah?

a. "flesh and blood has not revealed this to you."
b. "get behind me Satan"
c. "on this rock I will build my church."
d. all of the above


Daily Quiz, January 17, 2016

In the account of Noah's ark, how many pairs of animals was Noah supposed to take on the ark?

a. 1 pair of unclean animals
b. 2
c. 3
d. 7 pairs of clean animals and birds
e. a and e
f. 1 pair of all animals

Daily Quiz, January 16, 2016

Noah's ark was constructed with what kind of wood?

a. gopher
b. cypress
c. oak
d. pine
e. don't know, depends how one translate the Hebrew consonants G-F-R

Daily Quiz, January 15, 2016

Who are the Nephilim mentioned in the Bible?

a.Pre-Flood offspring of "sons of God" and "daughters of man (humanity)
b.Mentioned as a set up for the story of Noah
c.Speculated about as a race of "giants"
d.Speculated as being fallen angels bearing children with human women
e.all of the above

Daily Quiz, January 14, 2016

According to the genealogy in the book of Genesis, Jubal was the ancestor of whom?

a. all who played the lyre and the pipe
b. all who made bronze tools
c. all who became kings
d. all who raised livestock

Daily Quiz, January 13, 2015

In the biblical account, who was the first to ask God, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

a. Abel about Cain
b. Cain about Abel
c. Reuben about Joseph
d. Esau about Jacob

Daily Quiz, January 12, 2016

Which of the following saints might be called the saint of holy friendships?

a. John the Apostle
b. Aelred of Rivaulx
c. Valentine
d. Bernard Clairvaux


Daily Quiz, January 11, 2016

According to the Genesis story of creation, Eve was made out of what body part of Adam?

a. head
b. heart
c. liver
d. rib

Daily Quiz, January 10, 2016

Place into order the six days of creation as reported in the book of Genesis.

a. Human beings
b. Light and Dark/Day and Night
c. Earth, Water and Firmament
d. Sea creatures and creatures which fly
e. Wild animals of the earth
f.  Sun and Moon

Daily Quiz, January 9, 2016

What is Julia Chester Emery best known for?

a. Episcopal hymnody
b. first ordain deaconess
c. Founder of the United Thank Offering
d. missionary work in China

Daily Quiz, January 8, 2016

What happened at the Rock at Horeb?

a. Miriam danced and sang
b. Aaron rebelled against Moses
c. Moses struck the rock and water flowed forth
d. Snakes plagued the people of Israel

Daily Quiz, January 7, 2016

In which Gospel does Jesus say that he is bread come down from heaven, the bread of life, the living bread and that his flesh is the bread given for the life of the world?

a. Matthew
b. Mark
c. Luke
d. John

Daily Quiz, January 6, 2016  The Epiphany

“Kings shall see and stand up,
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the LORD, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”   This portion of the Hebrew Scriptures shows how the magi became interpreted as Kings.  This is taken from which book of the Hebrew Scriptures?

a. Daniel
b. Psalms
c. Isaiah
d. Jeremiah

Daily Quiz, January 5, 2016

In the Gospel of John, who was the first person told that Jesus was the Resurrection?

a. Mary Magdalene
b. Peter
c. Martha of Bethany
d. The Beloved Disciple

Daily Quiz, January 4, 2016

What was the symbolic gateway to the Promised Land for the people of Israel, the last barrier to traverse?

a. Sinai desert
b. walls of Jericho
c. Plains of Megiddo
d. The Jordan River



Daily Quiz, January 3, 2016

Why is it is assumed that there were three kings or magi who visited the Christ child?

a. if there were three gifts then there must have been three magi
b. Hebrew Scripture predictions
c. magi always traveled in threes
d. three kings would have traveled alone on a long desert trek

Daily Quiz, January 2, 2016

How did the magi of the Gospel story become the kings visiting Jesus?

a. information from a non-canonical Gospel
b. changed for Christmas pageant purposes
c. magi and king are both translations of the Greek word in the Gospel
d. added information from the Psalms and the prophet Isaiah

Daily Quiz, January 1, 2016

"He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored."  These words of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" are inspire by words from which book of the Bible?

a. John
b. Revelation
c. Daniel
d.Ezekiek

What the World Needs Is Love Sweet Love

4 Epiphany  C   January 31, 2016

Jer. 1:4-10     Ps.71:1-6

1 Cor. 13:1-13   Luke 4:21-32

 Lectionary Link

  The famous philosopher Socrates is presented in the Platonic Dialogues as being against "writing."  Why?  Writing was like what a picture or drawing is to the real live action.  Writings may imply the presence of a writer but a writer is dead or absent from the writing product and so the words of the writer are left vulnerable to the many meanings which the reader may want to impart to the writings.

  So the writings of the Bible are vulnerable to the endless and even contradictory readings given them by readership.  When it comes to the Bible one subscribes to the fact that there are universally accessible ideas within words themselves which can have new hearings in new situations.

  The famous love chapter of first Corinthian 13 is a passage most often read at wedding ceremonies even though St. Paul was not married and he did not compose this specifically for the wedding ceremony.  But St. Paul is not alive to tell the church now, "Don't use this at a marriage ceremony because I did not specifically write it for that liturgy."

  Then why did you write the famous love chapter Paul? "I wrote it because the members of the Corinthian church were getting very competitive with each other about the value of their ministry in the church."   Apparently some of the members were acting towards other members with the attitude, "I have no need of you.   You can't preach as well as I can...I have no need of you.  You don't speak in tongues?  I have no need of you.  You don't have much faith.  I have no need of you.  You can't heal or work miracles like I can.   I have no need of you." 

  When people were saying, "I have no need of you, then they were needing a lesson on love.

  The love chapter of Paul was written to the members of the Corinthian church because they were having a very difficult time appreciating each other.  And love is the main issue in life when people cannot find a unity within the diversity of differences.

  St. Paul wrote about love using one of the four Greek words for love, the Greek word agape.  And this kind of love is different from the other human experiences of love.  Why would we call the other kinds of love easier?  The other kinds of love are named because they come more naturally and without effort.

  Eros for the Greeks was a god; eros is the profound desire of magnetic love which make people want each other even against social restrictions and logical factors.  Eros is the magnetic attraction within that draws them toward each other for varying interactions.  The magnets of desire are so great that they are easier to give into.  The magnets of eros love make that kind of love rather easy because it is involuntary, like the involuntary needs of thirst and hunger.

  The next kind of easier love is call phile, love.  It is brotherly love or friendship love.   Human beings have affinities for some people and not for others.  The people for whom we have affinities become our friends and it is easier to express favorable behaviors toward people when they are our favorites.

  But what happens in relationships where there is no magnetic attraction?  What happens in relationship when one does not have affinities?  What happens when love is no longer easy?  How does one cope and how does a community survive?

  In the body of Christ called the church, whose head was Christ, one assumed that each member was responsible for checking the ego at the door because of the Christly Ego, the Christly "I" which lived within each member.  But apparently this was good theological theory for the Corinthian church rather than actual practice.

  How does one find power to check the ego at the door, enough to acknowledge and regard the gifts and talents of other ways in such a way that these gifts and talents can be woven into effective ministry for the church?

  St. Paul wrote that there was a higher kind of love which could be accessed to be able to regard people beyond one's own limited attractions and preferences.  This is the unconditional love of God.  St. Paul personifies love by writing:  Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.  What is not love?  The impatience of anger.  Unkindness.  Envy. Pride. Arrogance. Rudeness.  Selfishness. Irritability. Gloating.  Lying behaviors. Short term love.  Love is the summation of all that is good.  And St. Paul wrote that everyone has access to this reservoir of Love.  Why?  Because God is Love and the Love of God has been shed abroad within our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

  What is the major difference between the various loves?  I think the major difference between the three loves, eros, phile, and agape is the notion of freedom.  With agape, a person has to access with freedom the higher power of God's love to perform deeds of love, kindness and justice which might go against limited self interests. 

  There was a popular song which once stated:  What the world needs now is love sweet love.  But much of the love of TV, cinema and song is the syrupy kind of romantic love.  This world really needs the love of God which gives us the freedom to exercise choices for the common good beyond our limited self interest.

  This world is full of gifted and talented people.  But most of the gifts and talents of the world are sold for a price.  Much of the world's creative talent is sold for the benefit of but a very small group of people.  In our world many say the free market determines the value of everything and everyone.  If you can sell your talent you have value and worth.  If you can invent a product then you have worth.  If you know hedge fund secrets then you have worth.  This world is full of human talent but the talent does not get used to the maximum benefit of the majority of people in our world.  And so we have on a grand scale, the same failure present in the Corinthian church; we have a grand failure of the kind of love which would guide human creative to the most perfect expressions of human justice and regard for every person in our world.

  The amazing thing about God's love is that God's love believes all things.  It admits a high degree of freedom in this world.  And the highest expression of human freedom is to freely access the love of God and bring it to practice with patience, kindness, gentleness, contentment, humility, belief, hope, honesty, forgiveness, fortitude and consistency.

  Human gifts and talent are nothing if we do not have love because without love human gifts and talents will end up using creativity for harmful and destructive purposes.

  Is it nice that the love chapter is read at marriage ceremony.  Yes, indeed, but the love chapter is really about being called to access God's love to regulate all of the creative gifts and talents within the human community for the benefit of the common good.

  May God keep the lofty words of the love chapter ever before us  as expressing the perfection of our calling.  May we looked to Jesus who most perfectly embody the meaning of love.  And may we access God's love often for the benefit of our families, parish church and for our calling to be good citizens in this world.  Amen.

Sunday School, January 31, 2016 4 Epiphany C

Sunday School, January 31, 2016  4 Epiphany C

Themes

A wrong excuse:  I’m too young to do something important for God

Being envious

Love

Sometimes we think that we live in a world controlled by adults and so only adults can do important things.  Only adults need to do important things for God.  A child might think, “I’m too young to do something important for God.”

The prophet Jeremiah tried to use this excuse when God called him.  “He told God, “I am only a boy; I can’t do something for God that is as important as what an adult could do.”

Assignment:  What can children do for God in their home and family, at school and in their parish church.  Acolytes, liturgists, watching younger children and special community projects.  Make a list of what children do in your parish church and inform the adults about the importance of the children in the church.

Jesus went back to his hometown and his hometown were envious of his fame and so they did not accept him.

Sometimes if our brother or sister or close friend receives awards, attention or honor, it is hard for us to accept, because we know the person really well and we don’t think that he or she is “that much better” than we are and so it is a temptation for us to be jealous and envious of the gifts and talents of those who are close to us.  We also need to remember that the reason we have gifts and talents is to share them with our community to make our community better and not to make us feel more important than others.  Jesus came to his hometown to share his gifts but his old friends did not accept what he wanted to give them because they were jealous.

St. Paul wrote about Love:  He said that “Love is not envious.”    This is also what he wrote about love: “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”  St. Paul wrote to a church in Corinth where people where arguing about who had the best gifts and talents.  He wrote that gifts and talents were not worth anything if they were not accompanied by love.  He wrote that Love is the greatest thing. We should all try to grow in love.

There are three kinds of love that are found in the New Testament:

Love as the magnetic attraction between people.

Friendship love, like when we have favorites or best friends.

But the third kind of love is the kind of love that God has for this world and the kind of love that Christ has shown us.  It is a special love which means we have to treat everyone fairly and with justice even if they are not are favorites or if they are not attractive to us.

We have to love people whom we don’t like or attracted to us.  This is that third kind of special love.

Why do we have to love people whom we don’t like or are not attracted to?  Because we want them to do the same for us.  Not everyone is attracted to us and not everyone likes us as their best or good friend, but we still want them to treat us with kindness and respect and fairness.

Sometimes it is hard to respect people who are not our favorites but this special kind of love is the love from God.  God is love because God’s heart is big enough to make everyone God’s favorite.

We need to continually learn how to make our heart grow larger to be able to love more and more people.

A Sermon:

 

  How would you define a good student?  Someone who studies hard, does their homework and is always ready to learn new things.

  How would you define a good baseball player?  Someone who can throw a baseball far, hard and accurate.  Someone who can hit homeruns.  Some who can run fast.  Someone who can win the world series.  They are the best baseball players.

  How would you define or talk about a good dancer?  Some one who practices a lot of ballet steps and movements.  Some one who becomes so good that they can dance on the stage with a famous ballet company.

  How would you define a good inventor?  Some one who can design and make new things?

  How would you define a good artist?  Someone who learns how to paint or draw and learns how to create beautiful paintings and sculptures.

  But how would you define a good Christian?  How would you define someone who is following the teaching of Jesus Christ?

  St. Paul wrote about it.  He wrote about the greatest ability in the world.  And do you know what St. Paul said was the greatest thing in the world?

  He said that love was the greatest thing in the world.  St. Paul wrote that we can have many talents and skills, but if we don’t have love, then our talents are not worth anything.   What makes our lives perfect is when we add love to all of our gifts and talents and abilities.

  What is love?  Love is how we should live with God and how we should live with each other.  What is love?  Love is how we act when we are patience, kind, forgiving, cheerful and respectful.

  Jesus said that there are only two rules in life:  Love God with all of your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.  And so if we want to be good Christians, then we will spend our lives learning how to love God and one another.

  Are we to ever stop loving?  No, because love never ends.

  Remember to be a good Christian, we have to always be learning how to love.  God gives us many gifts and talents, and with all of our gifts and talents, we also need to learn how to love.  Love is what is perfect in life.  Whatever we do in our lives, we need to have love accompany it.

  So what is the greatest thing in the world?  Love.  And God is love and God ask us to learn how to love in our lives.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

January 31, 2016 The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs: Jesu, Jesu; I’ve Got Peace Like a River; The Gift of Love; If You’re Happy

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: Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love, (Renew! # 289)

Refrain: Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.

Kneels at the feet of his friends, silently washes their feet, Master who acts as a slave to them.

Neighbors are rich and poor, neighbors are black and white, neighbors are near and far away.

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.

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 First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 71

For you are my hope, O Lord GOD, * my confidence since I was young.

I have been sustained by you ever since I was born; from my mother's womb you have been my strength; *my praise shall be always of you.

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.

In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus read from the book of the prophet Isaiah, and began to say, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'" And he said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.

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: I’ve Got Peace Like a River (All the Best Songs, # 195)

1-I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.  I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.

2-I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul.  I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul.

3-I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul.  I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul.

Children’s Choir:  Amazing Grace

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.

Children may gather around the altar

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

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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 may 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: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

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

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Hymn: The Gift of Love   (Renew! # 155)

1-Though I may speak with bravest fire, and have the gift to all inspire and have not love: my words are vain; as sounding brass, and hopeless gain.

2-Though I may give all I possess, and striving so my love profess, but not be given by love within, the profit soon turns strangely thin.

3-Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control, our spirits long to be made whole.  Let inward love guide every deed; by this we worship, and are freed.

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: If You’re Happy and You Know It  (Christian Children’s Songbook  # 124)

1-If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.  If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.  If you’re happy and you know, then your face should surely show it, if you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

2-If you’re happy and you know it make a high five.  If you’re happy and you know it, make a high five.  If you’re happy and you know, then your face should surely show it.  If you’re happy and you know it, make a high five.

3-Make a low five….

4-If you’re happy and you know it, shout, Amen!  If you’re happy and you know it shout, Amen!

If you’re happy and you know it, then your face should surely show it, if you’re happy and you know it shout, Amen!

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

   

Gospel Meanings

3 Epiphany C          January 24, 2016   
Neh. 8:2-10           Ps. 19      
1 Cor. 12:12-27       Luke 4:14-21    

Lectionary Link


Just so you don't think this sermon is pointless, here are four points.  1-Moments in the history of preaching.  2-What Jesus meant by the word Gospel.  3-Releasing our good news.  4-The church has an environment.

First, moments in the history of preaching.  I have been a liturgical preacher now for 35 years.  What does this mean?  It means that I use the appointed readings from the Bible for a given Sunday and I attempt to interpret what those Bible readings could have meant when they were written.  And then I attempt to find a corresponding way to give the sense of what the spiritual and moral principles are for us to apply to our lives today.  I inherited this long tradition of reading from the Bible and then giving interpretations and applications.

In our first reading from Nehemiah we find that the scribe and priest, Ezra also practiced this method of reading scripture and preaching.  Ezra had returned from the exile in the Persian lands.  The Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed.  The people of Israel were carried away into captivity to live in the lands of the Babylonian and Persian Empires.  Without having the Temple as a focal point, the gathering of the people of Israel in their new location became crucial for them to retain their identity as a people.  In fact, the entire history of Israel was presented in an idealized form to inspire the people of Israel to keep their identity and not get assimilated into the societies of their captors.  It happened that the people of Israel gained enough favor with their captors and so the Emperors allowed a group of the people to return to Israel to help them reconstitute their identity in their homeland and ultimately to rebuild their Temple.  Ezra came back as a scribe, priest and teacher and he brought with him the practice of the public reading of the Torah.  And after the Torah was read, Ezra the preacher interpreted the Torah and gave the sense of the meaning of the Torah for the people of his time.  We know now that the in the time of Ezra the Torah and the Hebrews Scriptures were not yet complete.  They were still being written and edited.  What we see in this preaching event of Ezra, this established practice of reading the Scriptures and providing an interpretation and application of the meaning of the Scriptures for a new audience.

Now fast forward to the Gospel lesson.  We find that Jesus is exercising this ancient custom of preaching.  First, he read from the scrolls of the Hebrew Scriptures.  And for Jesus the Hebrew Scriptures were more than the Torah; the Scriptures of Jesus  included the Psalms and the writings of the Prophets.  Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah and after the reading he began to preach on the reading from Isaiah.  And when Jesus preached, he revealed what he meant by the Gospel.

So, point 2, what did Jesus mean by Gospel and why does it have other meanings today?  What Jesus read from Isaiah is this this: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  To bring good news to the poor.  Good news in Hebrew is "basar."  When "basar" was translate into Greek, the Greek word was "euangellio."  When Jesus read what the Prophet Isaiah said about the Good News, essentially, Jesus said, "I resemble these words, because this is what my life is all about.  I am here to bring good news to the poor."  What would good news to the poor be?  It would mean that they would have ample supply of resources for living.  Good news for a prisoner would be freedom.  Good news for the blind would be sight.  Good news for the oppressed would be justice.  Good news for all would be to know God's favor, the sense of being recognized by God.  So for Jesus, the word Gospel could not be separated from the effects of the Gospel, namely resources for the poor, justice for the oppressed, healing and health for those who are sick, and letting everyone know that God is for everyone.  But what has Gospel come to mean in the history of the church?  It is the name of the kind of literature about the life of Jesus.  Gospels are the written books with the attributed titles of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  One who preaches the Gospel has come to be called an evangelist, an English word derived from the Greek word euangellion.  Often in practice preaching the Gospel has been reduced to simply converting people to our particular view of Jesus Christ.  It is unavoidable that Gospel has come to have additional meanings, but as we have read the Gospel today, we cannot forget the meaning of the Gospel which Jesus borrowed from the prophet Isaiah because it was the Gospel meaning of Isaiah that Jesus adopted as the meaning of his life and ministry.

Now in the absence of Jesus of Nazareth in the world today, St. Paul said that the church is the body of Christ in the world now.  And so we as the church need to be committed to embodying the good news as it was understood by Jesus of Nazareth.  How do we embody and release the good news of the life of Jesus?  We do it together collaborating as the body of Christ.  Just as every part is equally a part of the body, each part has a different function in the total function of the body.  In the body of Christ we celebrate the fact that we are equal but different.  Each of us has a different way to express our contribution to the good news of Jesus Christ in the world.  We should not presume to over-estimate our own ministry nor should be underestimate the ministries of others in the body of Christ.   And none of us should presume to be the brain or the head of the body of Christ.  St. Paul clarified this for us when he declared that Christ is the head of the body of Christ.  And so we all look to take direction for our ministry from Christ while we remember what Jesus meant by the Gospel.  The Gospel is not just words; it has to be followed up with deeds of love or justice or we are left but being sad and deluded hypocrites.

And finally the 4th point; the body of Christ has an environment.  The body of Christ is not to be a group of narcissistic inward looking Christians fighting with each other and excommunicating and excluding and sanctioning each other.  We live in a very needy world and so we need to be outward looking:  We need to bring good news to the poor.  We need to release people from the prisons of addiction.  We need to bring justice to the oppressed.  We need to bring enlightened insights to the blindly ignorant.  We need to bring health to all.  We need to let people know that God's favor is toward them.

So we will continue our tradition of reading Scripture and interpreting the meaning of it for our own time.  We will remind ourselves about what Jesus believed the Gospel to mean.  We will practice the equal but differing ministry of the body of Christ, always honoring Jesus as our head.  And finally, we are called outside of ourselves to the people in our world who really need to know good news for their lives.  Amen.