Sunday School, April 23, 2017 2 Easter A

Sunday School, April 23, 2017               2 Easter A

Theme

How can we believe without seeing?

Can we see Jesus?  Can we hear him talk to us?  Can we touch him?

Can we see God?  Can we hear God?  Can we touch God?

Do we believe in God and Jesus without being able to see, hear or touch them?

How do we believe in God and Jesus without seeing, hearing or touching?

If we believe in God and Jesus without seeing, hearing or touching them is our belief not as good as the early disciples who walked with Jesus, talked with him, saw him and touched him?

All of these questions are answered by the story about the Doubting Thomas.  After Jesus appeared again after his death to his disciple, Thomas was not with the other disciples.  The other disciples told Thomas that Jesus appeared to them.  Thomas did not believe that Jesus was alive.  The next time Jesus appeared Thomas was with them.  When he saw and touched and heard Jesus, he believed.

Jesus said that Thomas was blessed and fortunate to see him.  Jesus said that other people did not see him and they too were blessed because they believed, just from hearing about Jesus.

The writer of the Gospel of John said that he wrote his Gospel so people might believe in Jesus Christ.

Face to face visit with Jesus, hearing about Jesus, and reading about Jesus.  These are all ways that we can come to believe and Jesus said all of these ways are blessed.

You and I do not live at the same time that Jesus lived but the disciples who lived with Jesus told others about him and many believed.  The disciples who walked with Jesus told about him and these stories were written down and we have the Gospels in the Bible to read and come to believe about Jesus.

All of these ways of believing are equally blessed by God.  Why?  Many people saw Jesus and did not believe.  Many people have heard about Jesus and not believed?  Many people have read about Jesus and not believed in him.

What makes seeing, hearing and reading about Jesus blessed and all equal?  The Holy Spirit is God’s unseen presence inside of us, in our hearts, and when are hearts are in love with God, then we can believe in Jesus through seeing, hearing and reading about him.  It is the presence of God’s Spirit within us that helps us come to believe in Jesus in a way that changes our life to follow the example of Jesus.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, even though I do not see you, I believe in you because I have heard about you and I have read about you and I have seen how you have changed the lives of people in my life.  Thank you for giving me the Holy Spirit inside of me to help me understand how the Risen Christ is still close within me.  Amen.

Today we read a story about a man named Thomas.  And Thomas has a nickname.  Do you know what his nickname is?  He’s called “doubting Thomas.”  What does that mean?  Well, it means that he would only believe that Jesus was alive, if he could see him, hear him, and touch him.

  Do any of us see, hear and touch Jesus today?  Do we believe that Jesus is alive?

  Do we only believe things that we can see, touch and hear?  No.  In fact some of the greatest things that we believe, cannot be seen, touched or heard.

  When you are not in the same room as your mom and dad, do they still love you?  Do your parents still love you when you can’t see them, touch them or hear them?  Of course they still love you.  And you can believe in that love.  So when you are at school, do your parents still love you?  Of course they do.

  I had a very special grandmother when I was young.  I just loved to be with her.  She was so much fun and she gave a nice birthday partyand she always fixed special favorite food for us.  And she told wonderful stories and she sang songs with us.  And I knew that she loved me.  And my grandmother got old and she died, and it is very sad that I could not hear her, see her or talk to her anymore in the way I used to.  But you know what?  I still feel her love for me.  I still believe in her love, even though I don’t see her, hear her or talk to her.  I still believe in her love.

  After the resurrection of Christ, the disciples could not see, hear or touch Jesus in the same way.  But they continued to know that Jesus loved them.  They still continued to believe that Jesus was still with them in very special ways.  And how could they tell that Jesus was still with them?

   They were used to arguing with each other; but when they live in peace with each other they knew that this peace was because Christ was still with them.  They used to hold grudges against each; but when they forgave each other, they knew that Christ was still with them.

  When I look at you, I can see you, I can hear you and I can touch you.  And you are wonderful to look at.  But you know what?  I can’t really see the very best part of you?  I can’t see what is inside of you.

And what is inside of you is your spirit.  It is your spirit that makes you a wonderful mystery to enjoy.  And that spirit of yours is always going to be young and new and fresh.  Even though I can’t see your spirit, I know it is most important part of you that makes you special.

  The friends of Jesus did not see the Spirit of Jesus; but it was his best part too.  And when they could no longer see his body; they could still feel his Spirit with them.  And we can feel the Spirit of Jesus with us today.  We can feel it when we have peace and when we forgive each other.

  So remember today; we can believe in things that we don’t see.  The spirit of Christ is with us today.  And that is meaning of the resurrection of Christ.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

April 24, 2017: The Second Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: Glory Be to God On High;  Now the Green Blade Rises, He is Lord, He Lives!

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.

People: The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia.

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: Glory Be to God on High (Christian Children Songbook, # 70)

Glory be to God on high, alleluia.  Glory be to God on high, alleluia.

Praise the Father, Spirit, Son, alleluia.  Praise the Godhead, Three in one, alleluia.

Sing we praises unto Thee, alleluia, for the truth that sets us free. Alleluia.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; 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 First Letter of Peter

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 16

I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel; * my heart teaches me, night after night.

I have set the LORD always before me; * because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.

My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; * my body also shall rest in hope.

For you will not abandon me to the grave, * nor let your holy one see the Pit.

You will show me the path of life; *in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

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 John

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."  A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

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

Song:  Now the Green Blade Riseth,  (# 204 in the blue hymnal)

1-Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain, wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain; love lives again, that with the dead has been; Refrain: Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.

2-In the grave they laid him, Love whom hate had slain, thinking that never he would wake again, laid in the earth like grain sleeps unseen. Refrain

3-Forth he came at Easter, like the risen grain, he that for three days in the grave had lain, quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen: Refrain.

4-When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain, thy touch can call us back to life again, fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:  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 our 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.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, 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 Anthem: He Is Lord (Renew!,  # 29)

1-He is Lord.  He is Lord.  He is risen from the dead and He is Lord.  Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

2-He is King.  He is King.  He will draw all nations to him, He is king.  And the time shall be when the world shall sing that Jesus Christ is King.

3-He is Love.  He is Love.  He has shown us by his life that He is Love.  All his people sing with one voice of joy that Jesus Christ is Love.

4-He is Life.  He is Life.  He has died to set us free and he is Life.  And he calls us now to live evermore, for Jesus Christ is Life.

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: He Lives (Lift Every Voice and Sing # 42).

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world to today; I know that He is living, whatever others say;  I see his hand of mercy, I hear his voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him He’s always near.

Refrain: He lives.  He lives.  Christ Jesus lives today.  He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.  He lives, He lives salvation to impart!  You ask me how I know He lives.  He lives within my heart.

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christians, lift up your voice and sing.  Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King!  The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find, None other is so loving, so good and kind.  Refrain

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Resurrection Anonymous?

Easter Sunday     A   April 16, 2017    
Acts 10:34-43  Psalm118:1-2,14-24
Colossians 3:1-4 Matthew 28:1-10

Lectionary Link
Alleluia Christ is Risen!  The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia!

We have fasted from Alleluia for the entire season of Lent so let us get some Alleluia practice.  It is good finally to come off our Alleluia fast.  And Easter gives us the occasion.  The empty tomb gives us the occasion.  The post-resurrection appearances of Christ give us a profound narrative for the hope that lives in our hearts but often that hope gets beat down by the harsh realities of loss, death and limitations of life.

We live in an age of scorn for our resurrection beliefs.  We live in an age of skepticism about religious beliefs and practices.  We live in the age of modern science and some have used science as reason to discount religious belief.  Some think that the weak minded use religion as a crutch.  Have you been made to feel a little embarrassed about your resurrection beliefs?

Some people may believe that we gather here as a sort of resurrection 12 step program.  RA, Resurrection Anonymous.  Hi, my name is Phil and I believe in the resurrection and  it's been two seconds since I last expressed my belief in the resurrection.

Dear ones, is the resurrection only an irrational expression and acting out an irrational addictive religious behavior?   Are we to be pitied?  Is this an organic problem?  Are we genetically inclined to hold such beliefs?

We can be so intimidated by people who have let science limit their understanding of true meanings.  We can begin to treat the religious and hopeful aspect of our personality as a weakness.  Persons like Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins and other atheists can note how badly some religious people act and think and then consign us all to the loony bin.  And we might be so intimidated that we might want to hide our belief so as not to be ostracized.

I'm here to tell you that in the age of science we have no reason to be intimidated by people about the resurrection.  People in the age of science have only decided to deny the resurrection and replace it with many resurrection surrogates.  These surrogates started to appear long ago.  Bram Stoker's Dracula.  Vampires that drink blood and live forever.  Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.  Reanimated life from body parts with a directed strike of lightning.  Houdini and séances with the dead.  Edgar Cayce and Astral projection.  Ghostbusters, Ghost whisperers, Zombies, Walking Dead and then we also have the ultimate belief in afterlife and futurism, the entire genre of science fiction which posits going back to the future, time travel, teleporting of bodies and time warps.  All people have to deal with the mystery of the afterlife; many choose to whistle as they pass the graveyard with zombie and vampire stories.  I believe the entertainment expression of the afterlife arose as a revolt against people being limited to the scientific method being the only valid and supreme truth.

Those who tell people of the resurrection that they are crazy, literally fill their lives with endless surrogates for the resurrection.  Why the obsession with all of these surrogates of the resurrection while at the same time scorning people who still find the resurrection to be a functional narrative for the hope in their lives.  Why can't they just say? "Well I don't choose the resurrection as my afterlife narrative.  I choose vampires and werewolves. And I choose to go to the church of the Trekkie Conventioneers."  Our world is full of so many space cadets who are obsessed with narratives much more fanciful than our resurrection narratives.  And some of us here may be such space cadets for entertainment purposes;  it's just that we can embrace being both resurrection space cadets and have other entertainment imaginations for the great mysteries of life too.

People who have addiction discover that they are genetically inclined to be addicts.  My friends, you and I are genetically and spiritually addicted to have this incredible force of hope implanted within us.  Hope can be diminished by being expressed as unmanaged desires which lead us into harmful addiction; or hope can be the realization that God's eternal Spirit is hidden within us.  We are not fully pleased until we discover God's eternal life in us which gives us this eternal hope and eternal confidence that something in us is so profound that it can be a self-guarantee that we will be preserved in a glorious reconstituted way long after our bodies die.

Easter Day is really about hope attaining a believable narrative about our afterlife.  Can a person know herself to be the same person after she has died?  And can a person know the other people who have been in her life after she has died?  The post-resurrection appearances of Jesus give us an affirmative answer to both of these questions.

We can know our continuing selves after we have died.  We can and will know other continuing selves after they have died.  And this is the perfect narrative for the hope which is the spiritual DNA of our lives.

Today, we are not members of a 12 Step Program of Resurrection Anonymous.  We have nothing to be ashamed of with our preferred narrative of hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  This narrative of hope actually functions quite well for the hope that we feel within ourselves.

Our hope has implanted within us dreams, wishes and ideals that we will never be able to actually complete given the limitations of what we can do in our bodies over our life time.  Are we to be embarrassed by this hope?  Am I to be shamed because I have not been able to attain the fullness of friendship relationships with people who have died and gone?  Is the hope planted within my heart to be or become more than what I will ever be able to become, given to me to just torture me with what I can never be?

I believe that you and I have been given hope within the center of our being because it means we will always have a future and we will continue to have a future in personal ways even after we die.  I think that the gift of the Resurrection of Christ is the gift that God has given to humanity to accept the fact that we are created by hope and that we are made in the image of an eternal hope.

Science fiction and other genres of the afterlife can be entertainment, but I want a narrative which is truly honest to the hope that I feel my life is made of.  And it is very easy for me to choose the resurrection as the most believable and adequate expression of hope.

Let us not be forced by all the modern people who gorge themselves upon resurrection surrogates to feel inferior and addicted to the resurrection of Christ.  We are not a gathering of a group of Resurrection Anonymous.  We gather to be in the loving tradition that derives from Jesus Christ, an actual unique person in history.  Those who scorn us can have their zombies and walking dead; we are happy to be in this resurrection tradition which derived from the one and only unique life of Jesus Christ. 

We are a gathering today of the openly hopeful and alleluia is our shout, because the resurrection is our story, and we're sticking to it.

Alleluia.  Christ is Risen.  The Lord is risen indeed.  Alleluia.  Amen.

Why Can't Easter Be Like Christmas?

Easter Sunday        April 16, 2017    
Acts 10:34-43  Psalm118:1-2,14-24
Colossians 3:1-4 Matthew 28:1-10

Lectionary Link

The Smith family had three children, Harry, Jeremy and Chloe.   And they had some wonderful grandparents.  The three kids loved to do things with their grandparents.  Papa and Nana would do wonderful things for them and with them at special times of the year, like for their birthdays, for Christmas, Easter, summer vacations and for Valentine Day.

One year the three children decided to ask their Nana and Papa for something special.  They just loved Christmas; it was so fun to wake up on Christmas morning and see lots of gifts under the Christmas tree.  They loved to sing Christmas songs and so they decided to ask their Nana and Papa for something special.

Chloe, Harry and Jeremy were with their Nana and Papa one day and Chloe said, "Nana and Papa, we have something special to ask you."  Papa said,"Well, what do you want to ask?"  Jeremy jumped in and said, "I will asked.  We have been talking about this for a long time and so now it is time to ask you."  Nana said, "Okay, Jeremy, what is it that you want?"  But then, Harry interrupted and said, "Nana, I should ask you since I am the oldest.  I'm 9, and Jeremy is 7 and Chloe is 5, so I should ask."  Papa said, "Okay, what is it that you want?"  Harry said, "What we want is this.  We want you to make Easter for us just like Christmas."   Papa thought he knew what they meant.  Perhaps they were thinking about all of the presents under the Christmas tree and they were comparing this with just getting about a dozen chocolate Easter eggs in the Easter egg hunt.  Nana looked at Papa and winked and said, "Papa, we'll have to think really hard and see if we can make Easter a special time for the kids."

The children were very excited now and they could barely wait for Easter.  Every day they would ask their mom and dad, "When is Easter coming?  Will it be coming soon?"  Harry asked, "Can I use your cell phone to call Nana and Papa to make sure that they don't forget Easter and their Easter promise."

Mom and Dad made a count down calendar for them on the refrigerator and each day they would mark big red X on a day.  They were so excited.  And mom and dad were worried that it might be a big let down for the children and they did not know what Nana and Papa had planned.

Well, finally Easter came and the children got up really early.  They went down stairs to see if there was anything in the living room. Nope.  Nothing there.  They went into the backyard to see if there were any surprises there.  They couldn't find anything.  Chloe wondered," I wonder if Nana and Papa forgot."  So the children went to the kitchen and mom and dad had breakfast ready.  And then they had to get ready for church.  So they went to church and had a very good Easter celebration and they had an Easter Egg hunt, but no Nana and Papa.  Jeremy asked their mom and dad, "Where is Nana and Papa?  Why weren't they at church?"   Dad said, "Well, they went to their own church today.  But we are going to drive to their house today and see them."

Chloe said, "Great, so we will get our Easter surprise."

After they got home from church, they changed clothes and ate a quick lunch.  Harry said, "Let's go.  We have to go to Nana's and Papa's to see if they can make Easter better than Christmas."

So they got into the car and in about twenty minutes they came to Nana and Papa's house.  Jeremy was excited and he said, "I can hardly wait for our surprise."

They got out of the car and Nana and Papa greeted them and hugged them and wished them a happy Easter and they all went into the house.  And the children were surprised by what they saw in the family room.  You know what they found?

They found a large cross there.  And around the cross they found lots of gifts wrapped.  Chloe said, "Nana, is this a Easter Christmas Tree?" 

Nana said, "No, this is a cross."  Harry said, "I see that you have our names on the gifts.  Can we start opening them?"  Papa said,"Okay, do you want to start?  So each child got one of the gifts with their name on it."  Jeremy said, "Let's open them together.  On, your mark get set, go!"  The three children ripped off the wrapping as fast as they could.  They got down to the box.  And together they ripped open the boxes.  And Harry said, "There's nothing in my box.  Where's my gift?"  And Jeremy said, "There's nothing in my box either."  And Chloe said, "There's nothing in mine either.  My box is empty."  Chloe started to laugh in nervous way, "Ha, ha, Papa, that's a very good joke.  Can we open the rest of the gifts now?"  Papa and Nana said, "Sure go ahead.  Open all of the gifts."

So the children began to open all of the gifts.  They opened their second presents and again, all of the boxes were empty.  Jeremy said, "Let keep going and open more presents; this is a scavenger gift hunt."  So they open three gifts and then four gifts and five gifts and all of the boxes were empty."  And they came to their last gift.  Harry said, "I hope you saved the best for last."  And they all opened their sixth gift and their sixth gift was also an empty box.  The family room was a mess; it was full of the all of the wrapping and boxes of 18 different wrapped boxes and all of the boxes were empty.

Chloe was sad and she started to cry.  She said, "Why didn't we get any gifts?  I thought you were going to make Easter as good as Christmas."  Harry was older and he said, "Papa, you got us!  That was a good Easter joke."  Though he still was sad about the empty boxes.  Jeremy said, "Nana and Papa, why did you do this?  We got so excited and now we're so sad and disappointed.  Why did you do this?"

Papa said, "Well, your parents told us that we should not make Easter like Christmas.  They said we should do something to teach you about Easter.  Christmas is about giving the gift of our lives to the baby Jesus, just like the wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus.  That is why we share gifts at Christmas.  But Easter is different from Christmas.  How did you feel when you opened your presents?"

Chloe said, "We felt sad and disappointed because we were expecting to find some gifts."  Harry said, "I thought it was a joke that you playing on us."

Nana asked, "What did the women discover on Easter morning when they went to the tomb of Jesus?"  Jeremy said, "They saw that the tomb was empty.  They were very sad.  They thought someone had stolen the body of Jesus."

Papa said, "But was it good that they found the tomb empty?"  Chloe said, "Yes, because it meant that Jesus was alive and risen.  The angel told them that Jesus had risen.  And then they were really happy when they saw Jesus alive and well."

Nana said, "So what did you learn from the empty presents?"   Harry said, "I learned that sometimes empty can mean the very best gift of all because the empty tomb of Jesus meant that he was alive."

Jeremy said, "So we learned something very important today.  Easter is not supposed to be like Christmas because the empty tomb of Jesus is the very best gift of all."

Papa said, "I so happy that you have learned about how special Easter is.  But I do have something fore you.  Here's an envelope."

Harry opened the envelope and he found airplane tickets for all of them to go to Hawaii for a vacation together.  The children all hugged their Nana and Papa and thanked them for teaching them about Easter.

Hope Is the DNA of God's Image on Us

Easter Vigil         April 15, 2017
Ex.14:10 Canticle 8, Ez  36:24-28 Psalm 42:1-7
Rom.6:3-11         Luke 24:1-12
Lectionary Link

Tonight I welcome you to a celebration of hope.  Hope is a wonderful feeling.  Hope is the wonderful feeling that we will always have a future.

The Bible tells us that we have been made in God's image.  And one of the ways in which we are made like God, is that we have hope within us.

But sometimes life can be very difficult and hard.  We can become sad because we can know the loss of people in our lives.  And when life become difficult, we need to remember that first of all we are made with Hope.  And so we have to keep stirring up hope within us.

How do we keep hope alive?

We remember light.  Tonight we lit the new candle, the Paschal candle and we shouted that Christ is the light of the world.  As long as we have light we know that we keep hope alive.  Even though at night it can be darkness, we can still light candles and turn on the light to know that hope is light and is our life.

We keep hope alive by hearing the stories of how people who came before us received God help and hope.  We remember Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha and many more.  By hearing the stories of hope in the past we can be encouraged that hope will still be with us in our lives.  Grandfathers and grandmothers and moms and dad can tell you their stories of hope too.

We keep hope alive tonight, by passing the life of hope on to new people.  When we baptize people we are giving them our very best message of hope.  We are telling them that God loves them, God forgives them, God gives them gifts to share with this world to make it a better place, and God will preserve their lives forever, even after they leave this world.

We keep hope alive by having our first Easter Feast to remember how God showed us that we can be hopeful.  The Easter feast is our family meal.  In this Easter feast we celebrate our hope because Christ promised to be with us even after he left this earth.  Christ promised to be with us when we gathered to celebrate his resurrection.

Finally, we have hope because Jesus came back to life after he died.  And he showed us that God will preserve our lives in a special way after we die too.  And what that mean?  It means we don't have to live with fear.  It means we can live with hope because we know that we will always have a future.

And don't you agree with me that this is wonderful?

So we make our happy shout tonight:  Alleluia Christ is Risen.  The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia!
Amen.

Called to be Prevenient Grace

Easter Vigil         April 15, 2017
Ex.14:10 Canticle 8, Ez  36:24-28 Psalm 42:1-7
Rom.6:3-11         Luke 24:1-12

Lectionary Link
Why do we baptize infants and children who don't have the ability to choose to be baptized?  We do so because we are confident that God always chooses us and is more graceful to us before we know and appreciate the wonderful gift.

The fancy name for the grace that God gives us before we choose it is "prevenient grace."  It is the grace that we have before we understand or choose it.

But how does this unchosen grace work?  First God's grace is given to us by the very fact of our existence.  Our existence itself is evidence of God's grace.  But how can we know it?

Knowing God's grace is what tonight is about.  The Gospel of John tells us that in the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the word was God.  All things were created by the Word and the word became flesh and dwelled with us.

Our entire existence is known because we are people with words.  When we see, we see things that have the names we have been taught.  When we act, we act with body language which speaks as loud as words.  And when we speak and write we use words.  We live lives filled with words. 

And since there are so many words in our lives, we need to know how use words with great quality, the quality of the very best human values.

Tonight in this Vigil we are celebrating the very best words of our lives.  And we want those who are baptized to have our very best values.  And what are those values?  The first value is the hope of knowing that God will preserve our lives forever and we know that because of the resurrection Christ.

What are other best values?  We have the best values of a very good heritage.  The Bible story tells us about our wonderful heritage.  There have been heroes and saints who lived their lives to preserve and hand on the wonderful knowledge of God.  And we have read tonight some of the stories of our salvation history.

What are other values?  We teach the value that God loves us.  God forgives us.  God cares for us.  God is near to us within our heart as God's Holy Spirit.  God also gives each of us special gifts.  God asks us to find our special gifts and to share them with each other.

We gather as a church and we baptize because we want to keep the very best values alive and accessible.  We as members of the church are to be examples of God's prevenient grace to each other and to those whom we baptize.  We are giving and living the very best values of our lives to those who are baptized and to each other.

If you and I live graceful lives sharing the very best values of life, when our younger members get older it will be easy and natural for them to join to share these wonderful values with the person in their lives.

Remember you and I are called to be prevenient grace in each other's life.  We need to be expressions of God's grace to each other so that we make it easy for everyone to choose and accept that God is our creator, God loves us, God forgives us, God gives us gifts, and God gives us the hope to know that what we can't finish in this life, we will finish in our afterlives?

Why, because God is the only one who is great enough to preserve us forever.  On this night, we celebrate the preserving power of God.

So with great hope we celebrate tonight:  Alleluia Christ is Risen.  The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Amen.