Sunday School, September 25, 2016 19 Pentecost, C proper 21
Themes
Godliness and contentment
Contentment is about learning how to adjust and feel good in
every situation of our lives
Sometimes, we might think contentment is about how many
things that we have or how much money we have.
Can we only be happy if we own things or have lots of money.
Does a baby smile because the baby knows how many things he
or she has? No, a baby is content
because God made us to be content. We
have to learn how to be unhappy.
One of the ways in which we become unhappy is to learn that
owning things will make us happy. We can
compete to own the most things in life.
And when people own much more than they need and they live with people
who do not have enough there is a big difference between rich people and poor
people. Why don’t rich people see and
help poor people.
Jesus told a parable about a rich man and poor who lived
close to each other and yet the rich man neglected to see the poor man in his
lifetime. After they both were dead,
they were separated by a great canyon.
The poor man was in a good place and the rich man in a bad place. And he wanted to be with the poor man in the
good place but could not get there.
This story is about what we call character. Character is what we become and develop by
all of the deeds of our lives. If a person
steals all of the time, he becomes a thief.
Being a thief is his character.
A person who does loving and kind deeds has the character of
love and kindness.
What do we want the character of our lives to be? What kind of character do we want to take
into our afterlives?
Jesus reminds us that how we are living now forms the
character of our lives.
Youth Dialogue Sermon
Connor: I was rather interested to find out in reading
today’s Gospel that one of the images of the afterlife fits the biggest
attraction in the State of Arizona.
Kalum: Are you speaking about 120 degrees in the shade in
the summertime? And are you implying
that parts of Arizona resemble Hades in summertime?
Connor: That is not what I had in mind. But the New Testament was written in
Greek….and so it is all Greek to me but there are two Greek words in our Gospel
lesson which refer to the main attraction of Arizona. Can you say, Mega Chasma.
Kalum: Mega Chasma.
They both are retained in the English…Mega means very big. Chasma means Chasm. But how does that refer to Arizona?
Connor: Mega Chasma can mean Grand Canyon. The image that Jesus uses for the afterlife
is a Grand Canyon.
Kalum: Well, the Grand Canyon is a magnificent work of water
and wind erosion that has been created over many, many years. But do you think that this Grand Canyon of
the afterlife is an attractive tourist site to visit?
Connor: Well, I think the point of the parable of Jesus is
this: The attraction of the Grand Canyon of the afterlife depends upon which
side of the Canyon you are stuck on.
Kalum: The good side to be on is with Abraham and Lazarus
the leper.
Connor: The bad side to be on is the side of the rich man.
Kalum: This parable uses the story theme of “trading places”
as a way for people to learn about empathy; learning how to walk in other
people’s shoes.
Connor: Do you think
that this means if we have it good in our current life, then as way of cosmic
balance, we will have to have it bad in the afterlife? Does justice mean that the afterlife is a way
of balancing out the experience of good things and bad things among all people?
Kalum: I guess it could mean that. But the parable is a story about giving
insights on how to live now. It really
is not about the afterlife.
Connor: What do you mean?
Kalum: It could be that each of us find ourselves in this
life on one side and there are people whom we neglect, don’t see, don’t care
about who live on the other side of the canyons of our lives.
Connor: So, like water and wind erode over time, we can with
small habits of prejudicial thinking slowly separate people from our lives
until we complete ignore them and don’t see them, or worse, mistreat them.
Kalum : Yes, Lazarus was very close to the rich man when
they were alive; Lazarus sat out his gate and for the rich man, he was one of
those irritating members of the “welfare” class. The rich man saw Lazarus every day, but he
really did not see him in a way that acknowledged his human dignity, his worth
and his needs.
Connor: So even though the rich man was close to Lazarus he
slowly built a Grand Canyon with his habits of neglect and by the end of his
life, the Grand Canyon was what he took with him to the grave. It became the character of his life.
Kalum: In the parable, the rich man found out too late about
this Grand Canyon of separation and he wanted to warn his family not to make
the same mistake.
Connor: In the
parable of Jesus, Jesus was not very hopeful about messages from the
afterlife. It is not like Ghosts of
Christmas Past can visit Scrooges and frighten them into charity and
kindness. Father Abraham said that if
they did not listen to Moses and the prophets, they would not even believe a
person who came back from the dead.
Kalum: Does this contradict the main teaching of
Christianity?
Connor: What do you mean?
Kalum: Well, Christianity is based upon people believing
that Jesus came back to life in some significant way to comfort his disciple
and give birth to the church.
Connor: Perhaps, the church was dealing with the fact that
many people were not convinced about the resurrection.
Kalum: The writer of
the Gospel of John obviously knew about the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.
Connor: Why do you say that?
Kalum: In the Gospel of John, the story about a man who is
brought back to life is about a man named Lazarus. And we are told that after Lazarus came back
to life, many people still did not believe in Christ. So this story in the Gospel of John
complemented the parable told by Jesus that is recorded in the Gospel of Luke.
Connor: I believe the main point of the parable is to warn
us about the slow formation of separation between people that can come because
of wealth and poverty, race and gender, national origin or any other form of
prejudice.
Kalum: Well, the more things change, the more they stay the
same.
Connor: What do you mean?
Kalum: Seems like the division between the wealthy and the
poor is a very ancient problem.
Connor: It still is a problem today; one wonders if the
message of Jesus has been successful at all in this world.
Kalum: Well, one could also say, what would the world be
like if we did not have these warnings and the efforts to correct patterns of
prejudice? The world could be a much
worse place if we did not have people who reminded us about our responsibility
for the care of all people.
Connor: The Gospel is supposed to be good news. And the poor need good news. And God has left it up to all of us to learn
how to practice good news with each other.
Kalum: Well, we could really be depressed about the poor
conditions for many people in this world.
Connor: Or we can know that we still have work to do in
learning how to live together. Good news
would cease to be good news if the conditions were perfect, and we are not
there yet, so we have lots to do to bring good news to people.
Kalum: We begin by not letting Grand Canyon of separation
build between us and other people.
Connor: The Gospel of Jesus encourages us to accept love and
empathy as the greatest calling in our lives, no matter how we earn our living.
Kalum: And if we recognize that Grand Canyons exist between
people in this life; if we have inherited Grand Canyons of separation then we
have another calling to do some major engineering.
Connor: What kind of engineering?
Kalum: Bridge building.
We need to join people who are separated by building bridges of contact
and recognition and empathy.
Connor: So we have lots of work to do.
Kalum: We have preventive work to do. We need to respect the dignity of each person
so that we don’t get separated from each other.
Connor: But we also have to be bridge builders. We need to be honest about the Grand Canyons
that exist between people. And from
honesty we need to build bridges of connection.
Kalum: There’s lots of work to do and I’m tired already.
Connor: But there is good news?
Kalum: What’s the good news?
Connor: The good news is that the Gospel is never going to
leave us unemployed. So let’s get to
work. Let’s work to prevent separation
among people. And where separation
exists between people, let us build bridges of connection.
Kalum: Let’s make sure that the Grand Canyon is but a beautiful place to visit in Arizona and not a Grand Canyon of separation that we take
to our afterlife. Let us learn from
Christ to build bridges with each other in this life. Amen.
When we come to a
river, how do we get across a river if the water is too deep?
When we come to a
deep and narrow valley how do we get from one side to the other?
We build a bridge,
don’t we?
Has anyone heard
about a place called the Grand Canyon?
What is a canyon?
It is a big and
long hole in the earth that is caused by flooding water and by strong winds
that dig and carry away the soil.
Just imagine if you
were standing on one side of the Grand Canyon and you saw someone on the other
side of the Grand Canyon, and you wanted to be with them, but you couldn’t jump
across. That would be sad wouldn’t it?
Jesus told a story
about a Grand Canyon. On one side of the
Canyon, there was a poor man name Lazarus who was living with the great man
Abraham. On the other side of the
Canyon, there was a very rich man who wanted to get to the other side and be
with Abraham and the poor man Lazarus.
Jesus told this
story to remind us that it is better to build bridges in our life than to make
big canyons of separation.
By building bridges,
I mean that we should learn how to love everyone. We should treat everyone with kindness. And we should not shun or separate ourselves
from people who are different that we are.
There are many
differences in life: Rich and poor.
Hungry and fed. Short and
Tall. Big and small. Old and young. Black and white. Sick and healthy. And when we separate ourselves from people we
begin to build a grand canyon….we begin to push people far away from us. So at the end of our lives, we might find our
selves on the wrong side of the grand canyon of separation that we built in our
lives.
That is why Jesus
wants us to build bridges of friendship, not canyons of separation. God made the people of this world a little
bit different so that we could be together and be beautiful like the different
colors of the rainbow.
So let us be bridge
builders today. And we do this by
learning how to make friends with as many people as we can.
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist
September 25, 2016: The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Gathering Songs: On Eagle’s Wings; Rock-A-My Soul; Jesus
Remember Me; Shalom, My Friends
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: On Eagle’s Wings
(Renew! # 112)
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord, who abide in his
shadow for life, say to the Lord, My refuge, my rock in whom I trust.
Refrain: And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings, bear you
on the breath on dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm
of his hand.
The snare of the fowler will never capture you, and famine
will bring you no fear: under his wings your refuge, his faithfulness your
shield. Refrain
Liturgist: The
Lord be with you.
People: And
also with you.
Liturgist: Let us
pray
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing
mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain
your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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 First Letter to Timothy
But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good
fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and
for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In
the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in
his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to
keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time-- he who is the
blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone
who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever
seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion.
Liturgist: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God
Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 91
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, * abides
under the shadow of the Almighty.
He shall say to the LORD, "You are my refuge and my
stronghold, * my God in whom I put my trust."
He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter * and from
the deadly pestilence.
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!
Liturgist: The
Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
People: Glory
to you, Lord Christ.
Jesus said, "There was a rich man who was dressed in
purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate
lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his
hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and
lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with
Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being
tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He
called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip
of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.'
But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your
good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted
here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm
has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do
so, and no one can cross from there to us.' He said, `Then, father, I beg you
to send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers-- that he may warn
them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Abraham
replied, `They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He
said, `No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will
repent.' He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"
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: Rock-A- My Soul (Christian Children’s
Songbook, # 200)
Refrain: Oh Rock-a-my soul in the bosom of Abraham, rock-a-my
soul in the bosom of Abraham, rock-a-my soul in the bosom of Abraham, oh,
rock-a-my soul.
So high you can’t get over it, so low, you can’t get under
it. So wide you can’t get around it, Oh,
rock-a-my soul. 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 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: Jesus Remember Me (Renew! # 227)
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom
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: Shalom, My Friends, Shalom (Renew! # 294)
Shalom, my friends, shalom, my friends, shalom, shalom. Shalom, my friends, shalom, my friends,
shalom, shalom.
Share peace, dear friends, share peace dear friends, God’s
peace, God’s peace. Share peace, dear
friends, share peace, dear friends, God’s peace, God’s peace.
Dismissal:
Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God!
