Sunday School, June 19, 2016 5 Pentecost C proper7

Sunday School, June 19, 2016                   5 Pentecost C proper7

Jesus as a People Whisperer

Some people have special abilities to interact and tame animals.  A person who is very good with horses is often called a "horse whisperer."  A person who can make a dog feel very calm is a "dog whisperer."

Sometimes people are just very good at getting along with animals.

There are time when we need someone to "whisper" us as people or calm us down.  When are those times?  a baby crying.  falling down getting your knee skinned.  waking up in the night because of a bad dream.  whenever we are afraid.   Can you think of some other times when you need someone to comfort you and let you know that everything is going to be fine.  What about when we lose at a game and we are disappointed or sad?  What about when we don't get something which we really wanted?

Jesus was a people whisperer.  He knew how to calm people when they were upset or when they would feel very confused inside.  Jesus would tell people to calm down and be peaceful and they would come to be peaceful.

Jesus was like a doctor of our souls, our emotions, our thoughts and the place inside of us where we decide.

We also need to learn to whisper other people.  The best way to whisper people is by gentleness and kindness and always making other people feel safe and comfortable.  If we can learn to make other people be safe and comfortable, then we can learn to be people whisperers like Jesus.

  Have you ever been to a circus?  Have ever seen someone who works with animals?  With wild animals?  Have you seen a lion tamer?  Or have you seen someone who teach a dog to do amazing tricks?

  Have you ever taught your dog some tricks? Can you get the dog to fetch a ball?  Or roll over?  Or sit?  Or does your dog train you to feed it whenever it wants?

  Some people have a special gift with animals.  A person who can tame a wild horse is sometimes called a horse whisperer.  A horse whisper has such a calming effect upon the horse so that the horse will become very friendly and peaceful.  Sometimes a horse is wild and seems to be angry because the horse has been taught to be fearful and not trust anyone.

  Did you know that as people we can have things that make us wild?  Do you know what can make us wild?  Pain, loss and fear can make us wild.

  Do you ever remember falling and hurting yourself and all you can do is scream in pain; you cannot do anything else.  Pain makes us seems as though we are wild.  Fear also makes us seem like we are wild.  Losing important things and people in our lives makes us have a sadness and this sadness controls our lives.

  Just as a wild horse needs a horse whisperer; we as people need people whisperers.

  When we hurt ourselves, we need our parent or someone with us to hold us and help us, to give us a band aid.  We need someone to calm us down from the wildness caused by pain.

  When we are afraid, we need a people whisperer; we need someone with us to show us that we are safe and that everything is okay.

  Jesus was a wonderful person because he was a people whisperer.  Jesus knew how to calm and tame people from the wildness of pain and fear.  We have many stories of Jesus helping people when they suffered from pain and fear; he gave them hope and encouragement and he made them peaceful and calm just to be with them.

  And Jesus wants us to be people whisperers too.  He wants us to learn how to be with each other when we are hurt by pain and fear.  Everyone has pain and fear at some time in their lives and so it is very important that we learn how to be people whisperers with each other.

  We need to know how to be with each other in pain and fear.  When your friend gets hurt on the playground what do you do?  You try to help them; you run and get help, you call 911 if they are really hurt badly.  When people are in the hospital what do you do?  You visit them, you send them cards or flowers, you pray for them, you let them know that you care.

  Why?  Because Jesus wants us to be people whisperers.  Jesus wants to know how to help each other when we have pain and fear.

  Can you say today, “I will be a people whisperer when people are in pain or fear?”  Because I want to be cared for too when I have pain or fear.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

June 19, 2016: The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Here I Am Lord; As the Deer; Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart; Oh When the Saints

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

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

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Here I Am, Lord, (Renew!, # 149)

I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry.  All who dwell in dark and sin my hand will save.  I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright.  Who will bear my light to them?  Whom shall I send?  Refrain: Here I am, Lord.  Is it I, Lord?  I have heard you calling in the night.  I will go, Lord, if you lead me.  I will hold your people in my heart.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; 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: 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 Prophet Isaiah

I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me.  I said, "Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 22

My praise is of him in the great assembly; * I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the LORD shall praise him: *
"May your heart live for ever!"

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, * and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

For kingship belongs to the LORD; * he rules over the nations.

Litany Phrase: 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!

For our fathers on this father’s day.  Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

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

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

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

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of 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 rejoin their parents and take up their instruments) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

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

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

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

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

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

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: When the Saints Go Marching In (Christian’s Children’s Songbook # 248)

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

Oh when the girls go marching in. Oh when the girls go marching in.  Lord I want to be in that number when the girls go marching in.

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

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

#allofmyfriendsrsinners

4 Pentecost, C p6, June 16, 2013   

2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15  Psalm 32

Gal. 2:11-21   Luke 7:36-50  

Lectionary Link

  If I were to live tweet today's sermon topic it might be Jesus hashtagsomeofmybestfriendsrsinners.  No delete.  Hashtagallofmybestfriendsrsinners.  Today's Scripture readings highlight some of the stories of sinners recorded in the Bible. 
  King David was the quintessential model for the notion of the Messiah, but he was one who had a rather serious sin.  The male gaze of David was directed out of his window one day and he saw a bathing Bathsheba and he wanted her.  So he inquired about her because he was the king and he could arrange things.   He found out that Bathsheba was married to one of his incredibly devoted soldiers, Uriah the Hittite.  How does a king get rid of someone in a way in which is seen to be a public accident?  David had Uriah assigned to the front line of a battle in the heaviest fighting and in a skirmish, Uriah died in battle.   So, King David brought the widow Bathsheba to his court and married her and a child was conceived.  Nathan the prophet had to use a parable to get David to condemn his own action.  In the strange injustice of life the sin of David was "punished" in the death of the first baby born to Bathsheba and him.  However, the heir to David's throne, Solomon was a son of David and Bathsheba.  Solomon was known to be wisest person in the world, even though one might question whether his impulse control was any better than his dad's: it was written that he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.
  The Psalmist also wrote about the very best thing about sin.  What is the best thing about sin?  The best thing about sin is when a person comes to know that one is forgiven.  This also assumes that one has come to an awareness about one's imperfections, particularly the deliberate pre-meditated acts of our imperfections.  And when one is caught either by hurting others, or by the authorities who enforce public rules, or by a deep sense of personal self-disappointment and self-disillusion, the real task is how does one continue to live with oneself.  Directing anger towards oneself in contempt and depression may feel like a self-imposed sentence for one's misdeeds, but self-contempt and depression does not involve accepting that one can get better and do better and affirm that perfectibility is always the future goal.  And this is why the best thing about sin is forgiveness, because forgiveness is an honesty about our condition but at the same time it is an acceptance that nothing can separate anyone from God's love and God's hope for us in our future continuous recovery from our living in the imperfections of our sins.
  The Gospel lesson is also a scenario about Jesus and a "sinner."  The "sinner" was a woman who crashed a dinner at the home of a religious leader, a Pharisee, one of the respected religious parties of Judaism.  The woman was known to be a "sinner" by the host and he expressed his shock about how Jesus allowed this sinner to anoint and wash his feet.  This event included the violation of many public protocols, like the segregation of men and women and the public touching of men and women and accepting the devotion of a person who had been designated as a "sinner."  Purity rules in Judaism required that an observant Jew should not allow oneself to be in contact with an known "unclean" person.
  The underlying assumption about this sinful woman was that she most likely was a woman known to be a prostitute.  The ritual purity codes created a system which sometimes forced women into the state of being sinners to support themselves.  Men often could easily divorce their wives; divorced wives and widowed women often were forced into the state of being paid companions for men who did not practice impulse control within their societies.  So such women had the choice of having no livelihood or becoming "known" sinners in a patriarchal society where the sin of lack of male impulse control was not regarded as being the instigating sin.
  Jesus was never impressed with double standards.  Jesus was a hero for this woman.  She was profusely thankful that a popular rabbi had restored her in his eyes to the state of the graceful forgiven.
  I am quite certain that the Jesus Movement became a restorative community, a community which gave new status and second chances for persons, especially women who had lost the acceptance  their communities of being under the protection and financial security of sponsoring men, fathers, brothers and husbands.
  Women who had lost the possibility of male sponsorship in so called "respected" society needed a community of love and support.  It is not surprising that in this Gospel the 12 disciples are listed as a kind of anonymous group whereas specific women disciples of Jesus are mentioned by name, and there is also the phrase, "many others."  I take that in the context it meant that Jesus had "many other" women disciples.  This bespeaks the nature of the Jesus Movement as an alternate community for women of his time who could not find legitimate status in "so-called" respectable society.
  Mary Magdalene was one who was more than a sinner; she was possessed by unclean spirits.  Mary Magdalene was most probably shunned as one with unclean demonic personalities.  In our modern understanding of psychology we might understand this to be diagnosed as a form of dissociative disorder formerly known as multiple personality disorder.  Often the origin of multiple personalities come as the result of early traumatic experience and different personalities arise as a method of coping with the trauma.  Jesus, "people whispered" Mary Magdalene back to be her true self and she became a follower; she probably had been cast out of her former society because of her condition and so she was ready for an alternate community of support and affirmation.  She and many other women found Jesus and his community an alternate community of support and affirmation.  Jesus was certainly what we would call a "feminist" today in his own time.
  So where does that leave us today in our reflection upon the topics of our Scripture readings?  One can be a very important and great person and yet still break the rules and get caught.  One can be the model king of Israel for all times and be a sinner who not only sins, but also tries to cover it up.  Next, we know that cultural practices can create conditions where people because of ignorance are forced into the practice of sin.  Many women during the time of Jesus were forced into the life of sin.  We can think about slavery and all of the other forms of prejudice and bigotry in the history of humanity that have designated people as unclean or unacceptable to society.  So sin is not just individual acts of failure; sin is also social practices which are so commonly accepted as to be unnoticed as sin.
  Next, we should note that the Jesus Movement is a community of sinners.  It is a community of people who know themselves to be caught in the act not being as good as they want to be.  It is a community of people who have found a refuge of support because they have been forced into a sinful state because of oppressive cultural practices.  So, we the church are community of sinners, not because we are proud of our imperfection but because we have been given new options with our lives once we have come to know our imperfection.
  Last week we read the confession of St. Paul in his life as one who was zealously trying to persecute and even bring to death the followers of Jesus.  Complicit in the death of others, while proclaiming to be justified by keeping the Jewish law brought Paul to a confession of knowing himself as the chief of sinner.  He needed something more than a religious program of keeping the law; he needed an inside job of transformation.  How did Paul come to deal with his sin?  He found power in the death and resurrection of Christ.  He used the death and resurrection of Christ as a metaphor of transformation.  "I have been crucified with Christ, I still, live but now Christ lives within me."  I no longer have to think that I am perfect because I have followed the religious laws; Christ is perfect in me and for me while I am still imperfect in my sins.  Paul, a respected religious person, found the grace of forgiveness and transformation for his sin.
  Finally, the happiest thing about our lesson today about sinners and sin is the confession and promise of the Psalmist: Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, *  and whose sin is put away!   Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, *  and in whose spirit there is no guile!
  The forgiveness of God in Christ is very profound.  This forgiveness is based upon how God knows how we are made.  We are made in hope for perfectibility.  We are made so that we can get better today that we were yesterday.   But we also know that sometimes we take steps in the wrong direction; sometimes we don't walk towards perfectability, we walk in habits of harmful behaviors to ourselves and others.  Sometimes our tendencies toward harmful behaviors seem so ingrained that we despair of significant change and this is when God hopeful belief in us toward a better future is important for being the significant intervention in our lives.
  So how how do I complete my live tweet?  Jesus hashtagallofmyfriendsrsinners.  hashtagallofmyfriendsrforgivenhallelujahamen.
 

Sunday School, June 12, 2016 C proper 6

Sunday School  June12, 2016        4 Pentecost C proper 6

Themes

Sin and Forgiveness

God never gives up on us.  In fact some of the people who may have behaved the worst can actually turn around and become people who do  great good.

How do we turn around our lives?

Jesus taught that we can become better if we can experience forgiveness.  When we make mistakes wouldn’t it be terrible if our parents or our teachers did not give us new chances to be better?

Forgiveness is accepting the love of another person who still believes in us and roots for us even when we do some things which are not good.

God sent Jesus to this world to shows us that we are forgiven by God and that God keeps giving us many chances to get better.  And we should learn to accept God’s love and forgiveness.  And then we should practice forgiveness with each other, because when we practice forgiveness, we help each other get better.

When we don’t have forgiveness, sometimes we just want to give up trying to be good, because we begin to believe that we are bad. 

The forgiveness of God is a reminder to us that God made us to do good things.

Forgiveness means that God never gives up on us.

A sermon on forgiveness

  If your mom or dad wanted you to put something away and they tell you to put it on the very top shelf close to the ceiling, what would you say to them?  I’m too short.  You can’t ask me to do something that I am not able to do.  But what if your brother is very tall?  Could they ask him to do it?

  Will parents ask a baby to clean the bed room?  Why not?  A baby cannot do it.  Should you be angry if your baby brother or sister cannot clean the bedroom or help you pick up toys?  No, because when we are at different ages, we have different responsibilities.

  Jesus tried to teach a lesson to a very good religious man.  This man wanted everyone to be good like he was.  And if they were not good in the same way that he was good, then he could not forgive them.  And he did not think God would forgive them either.

  So Jesus said if two men owed someone some money, one owed just a little money and another man owed him lots of money.  And the lender told both men, “You don’t have to pay me back.”  Which man would be happier?  The one who owe lots of money.

  So Jesus reminded us that we should not be angry at people who are not just like us or who are not good in the same way that we are.

  Why?  Because not one of us is perfect.  We all need to be forgiven.

And we should not compare ourselves with other people; we should really be concerned about how much better we need to become.

  And that is a lesson we need to learn about mercy and forgiveness.  No matter how good we are, we still need mercy and forgiveness.  So we should not think that some people need forgiveness more than we do.  We should remember that we always have room for improvement.  And since we are not yet perfect, we still need forgiveness.  So the lesson today is this:  Every one needs forgiveness.  And when each person understands and accepts forgiveness, we should be very happy for them.  And we should be happy to be forgiven ourselves.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

June 12, 2016: The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

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: Thy Word, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 237)

Refrain: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. 

             Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. 

When I feel afraid, and I think I’ve lost my way, still you’re there beside me. 

Nothing will I fear as long you are near.  Please be near me to the end.  Refrain

Liturgist:  The Lord be with you.

People:     And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Galatians

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 32

Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble;when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.

You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

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!

For a successful year of school and for all of our graduates.  Thanks be to God!

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

People:     Glory to you, Lord Christ.

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him-- that she is a sinner." Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he replied, "Speak." "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?" Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly." Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

Liturgist:  The Gospel of the Lord.

People:     Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:           And also with you.

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

Offertory Song: Let Us Break Bread Together, (Blue Hymnal #  325)

1-Let us break bread together on our knees.  Let us break bread together on our knees.  When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.

2-Let us drink wine together on our knees; let us drink wine together on our knees; When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.

3-Let us praise God together on our knees;  Let us praise God together on our knees; when I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.

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 neighbors.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant: Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:     Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Alleluia, (Renew!, # 136)

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

2-He’s my savior, Alleluia….

3-He is worthy, Alleluia…   4-I will praise him, Alleluia..

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: Praise Him, All Ye Little Children (Christian’s Children’s Songbook  # 184)

1-Praise him, praise him, all ye little children.  God is love, God is love.  Praise him, praise him all ye little children.  God is love, God is love.

2-Love him, love him, all ye little children.  God is love, God is love.  Love him,  love him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love.

3-Thank him, thank him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love.  Thank him, thank him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love.

4-Serve him, serve him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love.  Serve him, serve him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Restored to Life; Metaphor of Transformation

3 Pentecost C 5  June 5, 2016

1 Kings 17:8-16 (17-24) Psalm 146

Galatians 1:11-24 Luke 7:11-17

 Lectionary Link 

  One of my mission as a preacher of the Gospel has been to deliver us from the fallacy of the chronological.  What is the fallacy of the chronological?  I call the fallacy of the chronological as regard the Gospel this:  The Gospels present the narratives of the life of Jesus who came first, but the Gospel present Jesus through the spirituality of the early church.  One of my preaching goals has been to show how the spiritual poetry, theology and practice of St. Paul is shown in story form in the Gospels since the Gospels came to written form some time after the writings of St. Paul.
  St. Paul wrote about sin being the state of living in the condition of death.  When people live in the deathly state of sin, they need life.   They need a liberating life experience which could transform one's life before one died a bodily death.  St. Paul believed that people needed to experience a kind of abundant life within our lives.
  In the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul wrote, "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life."  In the Pauline writing to the Ephesian church, it is written: "You were dead through the trespasses and sins ²in which you once lived.......but God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us ⁵even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ."
  How could this theology of Paul, his poetry of spiritual metaphors and method be placed into the context of the life of Jesus?  How could this spiritual method become spiritual manuals of the early churches?  If we understand the presentation of the spiritual method of Paul into written forms using events in a narrative of Jesus to illustrate these spiritual metaphors, then we can appreciate the incredible significance of the Gospels to the people for whom they were first intended.
  You and I regard the Gospels to be universal literature, freely available to be read by anyone.  In the times when they were being written, they were spiritual manuals not for the general populace but for the more private communities, communities that often had to gather in secrecy.  The Gospels were written and they hid the spiritual practices of the early church within presentations of events in the life of Jesus.  The Gospels hid spiritual practice in plain literal words, because the writers of the Gospel believed that to be initiated into a life practice of spiritual transformation, one needed to have another set of interior eyes to discern the spiritual practice hidden within the plain words of the texts.
  The early church believe that after the resurrection of Christ that he reappeared to some of his followers and he initiated them into an experience of the Spirit, and they in turn could initiate others to know the Spirit.  And when the Spirit was known in peoples lives they were so transformed that it was like contrasting death and life.  The experience of knowing God's eternal Spirit was to awaken to a new life, being born again or being born from above.
  Today, we have read a restoration to life story of Jesus.  A young man is brought back to life.  One of the clues that this Gospel is a teaching story is because there are no names given for the young and the widow.  Names would have been included if specific historical events were being written.  The story revisit the life model of the Prophet Elijah and his interaction with a widow and her young son.  The early church practiced a communal life where people took care of each other, proving that God loves the widow and the orphan.
  But what is also found in this Gospel story is the spirituality written about by St. Paul.  Each and every person comes to live under the conditions of sin.  Sin is shooting our arrows of effort at the targets of life and those arrows are always falling short.  Having rules and laws does not deliver us from sin and from its deathly effects: we still shoot arrows and still fall short of what we want and need to be.  St. Paul wrote that he had been very religious person following the law but he was still involved in trying to kill his religious opponents, the followers of Jesus.  An encounter with the Risen Christ converted him to begin another kind of life.  He found a transforming life experience in the midst of his deathly condition of sin of ironically wanting to kill others for religious reasons.
  The state of sin in St. Paul was metaphorically,  a state of living death; it was a state of slavery and darkness.
  In the Gospel spiritual manuals, each reader of the Gospel in those early church knew what the stories of "people coming back to life meant."  They knew that an encounter with the Risen Christ brought to them a new life and a deliverance from the deathly state of sin.
  Did the experience of grace and transformation mean that sin ended in one's life?  Just as the healing stories and the restoration to life stories of the Gospel did not mean that people healed and restored did not die, the experience of the grace of God's life giving Spirit does not end sin in this world.  Sin continues, because there is still a future.  Hope means that we still continue to aim the actions of our life toward the targets of excellence in life.  And we still fall short because there is still a future and as long as there is a future we will never be given the pride of finishing anything in a final and perfect way.  Sin is not finished, but with the graceful experience of the High Power of God's presence, we have a different relationship with sin.  We no longer need to be defeated by the false sense of perfection.  We are not going to be perfect, because we never will be finished.   Everlasting life means we will never be finished and once we accept our everlasting life we will no longer be defeated or live in disappointed despair about our failures.
  Today, let us try to read the Gospels in the way in which the first readers read them.  They were enrolled into a program of the spiritual transformation of their lives.  Leaders like Paul and Peter were guiding these initiates into the transformation of their lives.  The Gospels were written to hide the spiritual metaphors of the early church within the narratives of the life stories of Jesus.  The restoration to life of the young man was a witness to the restoration of being freed from the effects of the death of sin.  Each Gospel reader knew that he or she had been restored to new life from the deathly life of sin.
  You and I are invited to the intentional path of spiritual transformation.  You and I are invited to look for and find this new kind of life within the life of time that bears the tinges of death.  You and I are invited to be surprised by the grace of finding new life within the conditions that could be characterized by the metaphors of death, darkness and slavery.  Let us not carry the past as a burdensome corpse of our sin and failure; let us look forward to the new and fresh life of a future ruled by hope.  And let us read this Gospel like the first Gospel readers who heard Christ say to them: "Young man, young woman, I say arise."  And let us confess about Christ in our experience of new life:  A great prophet, a great Savior has lived among us.  Amen.