Sunday School, May 21, 2017 6 Easter A

Sunday School, May 21, 2017              6 Easter A

Themes:

How do we share good news with other people?

Do we just tell them about ourselves?

Do we try to find out about other people and find agreement with people?

St. Paul went to the place that was thought to be the “smartest” city on earth, the city of Athens, Greece.  Athens was made famous by the famous philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

St. Paul’s good news was telling people that they could know themselves as sons and daughters of God.

In Athens, he reminded them that one of their poets had written that men and women are divine children.

Then St. Paul shared with them how Jesus came as God special son to help us know that we too were sons and daughters of God and that we are a part of God’s loving family.

Jesus told his disciples that he would not leave them to be like orphans. 

What is an orphan?  An orphan is someone who has lost his or her parent.

Jesus promised his disciples that they would not be orphans even after  he left this world.

How would the disciples know that they were God’s children?

Jesus promised that they would have within them, the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit would be an advocate.  An advocate is like a coach, teacher and cheer leader and Jesus said that we can know that inside of us we have someone who is giving us encouragement all of time.

We practice worship and prayer so that we practice and learn to hear the encouragement of God’s Holy Spirit inside of us to give us assurance that we are children of God, our heavenly parent.  We are not orphans because God is our heavenly Father.

Sermon

Did you know that you live in many places at one time?

  But if I am right here, how can I live in many places at one time?

  Where do you live?  What is your address?  So you live in the home with an address?

  But you also live in a town or city.  What is your city?

  You also live in a county.  What is your county?

  You also live in a state.  What is your state?

  You also live in a country.  What is your country?

  You also live in a hemisphere?  What is your hemisphere?

  You also live in a world?  What is our world called?

  You also live in a solar system.  What is the big star that is in the center of our solar system called.

  You also live in a galaxy.  What is our galaxy called?

  You also live in a universe.

  But you also live somewhere else even bigger.

  St. Paul, “Wrote that we live and move and we have our being in God.”  So God is our biggest address, because God made the world.

  We just don’t live in places; we also live with people.

  Who do we live with?  Our families.  What is your family name?

  We live with residents of our city.  We live with residents of our state.  We live with residents of our country, our hemisphere and our world.  Some people think that there are other planets in the universe that have intelligent life too.  And we live with being that we cannot always see; the Bible calls those being angels.

  And finally, we live with God.  God is a Father of the greatest and biggest family of all because God made us all.

  Jesus told his friends that even though he was going away, he would not leave them without a family.  He said he would leave them in the family of God.  And how would they know they were in the family of God?  He would be with them and inside them.

  Jesus said that he would send the Holy Spirit to let them know that they were in God’s family and to let them know that God was with them always.

  So today can you remember your biggest address?  Where do we live?  In God.

  And what is the biggest family that we belong to?  The family of God.

  Let us thank God today for being members of such a great family.  And how did Jesus tell us we should live in God’s family?  We should live with love for one another.  Can you remember that?  Good.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

May 21, 2017: The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: Seek Ye First, Jesus Stand among Us,  Let Us Break Bread Together, I Want to Walk

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: Seek Ye First (Blue Hymnal  # 711)

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

2-Ask, and it shall be given unto you, seek, and ye shall find, knock, and the door shall be open unto you; Allelu, alleluia.  Refrain

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; 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 Acts of the Apostles

The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him-- though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For `In him we live and move and have our being';

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 66

Come and listen, all you who fear God, *and I will tell you what he has done for me.

I called out to him with my mouth, * and his praise was on my tongue.

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.

Jesus said to his disciples, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.  "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."

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:  Jesus Stand Among Us, (Renew! #17)

1          Jesus stand among us, at the meeting of our lives, be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

2          So to You we’re gathering out of each and every land.  Christ the love between us at the joining of our hand; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

3          Jesus stand among us, the breaking of the bread, join us as one body as we worship Your, our Head.  O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

                                            

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:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion 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 knees, with my fact to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me. 

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: I Want to Walk As a Child of the Light,  (Blue hymnal, # 490).

1.         I want to walk as a child of the light, I want to follow Jesus.  God set the stars to give light to the world.  The star of my life is Jesus. 

Refrain:  In him there is no darkness at all.  The night and the day are both alike.  The Lamb is the light of the city of God.  Shine in my heart Lord Jesus.

2.         I want to see the brightness of God.  I want to look at Jesus.  Clear sun of righteousness, shine on my path, and show me the way to the Father. Refrain

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Greater Works Than the Works of Jesus?

5 Easter a         May 14, 2017
Acts 17:1-15       Ps. 66: 1-8  
1 Peter 2:1-10     John 14:1-14               
Lectionary Link

Imagine the textual history of the New Testament like a stack of transparencies.  The first represents the actual life and time of Jesus.  But, Jesus did not write a book; he was a itinerate wisdom teacher who told stories but he was so full of charisma that  his life was a healing presence to many.  His words and his charismatic ways became legendary; he was bound to be remember and the traces of who he was remained in the memories of his followers.  They handed on his words and his parables and stories and so we have a transparency of what might be called floating oral traditions.  Stories of Jesus, his words, his actions were passed on after he left this earth around the mid-30's.  Stories and oral tradition were rather inexact; they were not like live recordings of events or words or stories.  They were passed around from person to person.  They were used by preachers as they went from house church to house church.  The Jesus Movement with a leader who was visually present became something else after he was gone. The message of Christ became a successful underground phenomenon.  The oral tradition of Jesus was a lively tradition; people were excited.  They used the stories of Jesus and blended them in their own sermons which like a legal tradition used the oral tradition of Jesus as new precedence to explain what was happening in the church long after Jesus was gone.  Some scholars believe that during this period there was writing but those writings were lost, but they must have been read by Luke and Matthew to account for the shared material that they quoted verbatim, or in a slightly different way to fit their church preaching situations.

The next layer in our pile of transparencies is the writings of St. Paul, the first actual writings that we have in the New Testament.  St. Paul's known writings first appeared in the mid-50's and they are not like the Gospel writings at all.  His writing assumed that he knew word of mouth oral traditions from some of the disciples and associates of Jesus, but he did not endeavor to write a linear biography of the life of Jesus.  He wrote more about the charismatic and mystical effects on the lives of people who were experiencing transformational incidences which accounted for the change of direction in their lives and a devotion to Jesus Christ, the Risen Christ.

Another layer of transparencies are the three synoptic Gospels, probably in the order of Mark, Matthew and Luke and then we have the next transparency of the Gospel of John.

Mark, Matthew and Luke compose quasi-biographies of Jesus but it really isn't what we think of as biographies today, because  they are actually narratives of the life of Jesus used to present what was happening within the churches about 35, 40 and 45 years after Jesus left this earth.

And then we have the Gospel of John put together during the years from 90 to perhaps even  120.  The Gospel of John took the charismatic experiences of the early Christians and the mysticism and interwove them with a presentation of Jesus as teacher who was a continuing oracle within the early church.

What is happening in the portion of the Gospel of John that we have read today?  What are the issues?

The members of the community of the Gospel of John  believed that they had received the authority to know themselves as children of God.

The members of the community of the Gospel of John believed that Jesus bore the image of God the Father on his life as the Special Son of God, as proof that all of the other children of Adam and Eve were made in the image of God as God's children too.

The members of the community of the Gospel of John, believed that God had not limited the divine familial likeness to Jesus only; God had shared within each person the inclination to know oneself as a son or daughter of God.

I see you, therefore, I see God, because you and God are one because God's image resides in you.  This is the mysticism of the Gospel of John.

The members of the community of the Gospel of God did not believe that they were God's orphans because Jesus could no longer be seen.

An orphan is without parent; an orphan often is without home.

But God the Father has a big home and in this big home everyone has his or her own room, even more than a room, dwelling places.

The members of the community of the Gospel of John believed that in this life God had come to dwell in their hearts and that they lived and had their being in God's house and they would not cease to live in God's house after they had died.  Once you have a dwelling place in God's house, you have it forever.

How is this so?  Where is the first place that you and I dwell in this world?  We dwelled in mom's house literally.  We came to be within our mothers in a most physically close way.  We and our mothers for a time were one and the same person/persons.  But we did not just physically dwell in our mothers because as soon she found out about us we came to dwell in her heart, never to leave.  When we left our mother's body in birth, we never left her heart, for within her heart we had a dwelling place forever.

We in our lives take each other into ourselves?  We make dwelling places for each other within ourselves.  We may not always like the dwelling place that we attain in each other but once we get within each other we can never leave.  We can upgrade that dwelling place for each other.  I hope that you would up grade me from being just a utility room to being the dining room or the kitchen.  When we experience each other we have created within us dwelling places for each other.  And if we do this, unavoidably for each other, just imagine the dwelling place that we have in God who is greater than we are and much more enduring than we are.

And the oracle of Jesus was proclaiming in the Gospel of John, "I may not have been able to gain a place in the inn at my birth, but I assure you that you have a dwelling place in God my Father, now in this life and forever.  You are not an orphan without parents or without a home; you are a crown prince and crown princess with a palace."

The mysticism of the community of the Gospel of John was the mystical knowledge of belonging to God as sons and daughters.

"But Jesus, it would be better if you lived forever in the flesh on this earth.  You did such great work.  You healed, you changed water to wine, you brought people back from dead....just imagined if you had stayed around."

What did the community of the Gospel of John believe?  They believed it necessary for Jesus to leave this earth to dispel the notion that God could be limited to one physical body on earth.  They believed in the greater work of the Risen Christ.  The Risen Christ was not limited to a physical body;  The Risen Christ could possess anyone who wanted to do this greater work beyond the limitation of God on earth to the physical body of Jesus of Nazareth.

No we may not walk on water often or change water to wine or bring people back from the dead, but just imagine what the Risen Christ has been able to do through the 2000 years of being present in the lives of billions of Christians?  This is indeed the greater work because of the physical absence of Jesus of Nazareth.  Jesus of Nazareth had two hands to heal, work and feed; the Risen Christ has had billions of hand to heal, work and feed, including yours and mine.  And indeed is this not the greater work?

What does this all mean for you and me today here and now?  Well, we like genealogy.  We like to trace our lineage, excluding horse thieves and including royalty to show our preferred roots.  What about this?  You and I are sons and daughters of God and we are to live our lives in such a way that image of God becomes seen by others to discover themselves to be the same.

Finally, our life vocation and our baptismal ministries are the greater work sthat Jesus said would happen.  You and I may not walk on water, but we can feed the hungry, we can comfort, we can encourage, we can mentor and we can love.  We are not here to be greater than Jesus Christ; we are here to show the greatness of Jesus through the greater works that the Holy Spirit of God is able to accomplish through us in God's great love for the world.  So let us get to work in doing the greater works that Jesus promised that could be done through us as sons and daughters of God.  Amen.

Sunday School, May 14, 2017 5 Easter A

Sunday School, May 14, 2017      5 Easter A

This year it is on Mother’s Day

For Discussion

Jesus came to teach us about being members of the great family of God.

It is easy to know that are members of the family of our mom and dad and brothers and sisters and cousins, uncles and aunts and grandparents.

Families live in houses.

Did you ever think of your body as a house?

The body of each mother is a special house because each baby first lived inside of mother.

But even when we are born, we still live inside of the heart of our mothers, because our mom’s keep memories of who we are as her special treasure, so we always have a place inside of our mothers.

Jesus reminded his friends that they always had a “dwelling place” inside of God his Father.

Jesus came as God’s Son to show us that he was made in special image of God.

Jesus came to remind us that we are made in God’s image and so we too are children of God.

God gave this world as the house that we live in now when we are alive.

But Jesus promised his friends that even after they died, they would still live in rooms and dwelling places in the Father’s house.  So after we died, we can know that we will still have a place to live and it has been prepared for us.

But while we are still alive, Jesus said that we had great work to do.  The great work that we have to do is to tell everyone that we belong to the family of God, that God is our heavenly parent and that Jesus is our brother in this great family of God.

Question did you ever think of your body as a house?

Think about the rooms in this house as the memories you have inside of you about each of the people in your life.

The people whom you love have a special room inside of you.

Can you accept yourself as person who is loved by God and who has been given a dwelling place in God’s house forever?

Sermon

What do we call this building where we are now?  A church.

Now if we sold this building to someone who opened a restaurant here, what would we call the building then?  A restaurant…we might say, “It’s a building that used to be a church.”

  So what makes this building a church?  The way it is built, or does the people who use this building make it a church?

  Jesus promised his disciples that he would provide for them a place to live, but he didn’t mean houses and buildings.  He meant that he would provide for them a group of people with whom they could live and call friends.

  And just as a church really isn’t a building but the people who worship there.  A home is not just a building.  A home is where one lives with one’s family.

  Jesus promised to make his followers sons and daughters of God, so that they would have another family, a Christian family.

  So that is why we have a church.  A church is a Christian family where we can live.  It is group of friends with whom we pray.  It is a group of friends that we join so that we can worship God, learn about God, pray together and help people who are in need.

  Jesus promised that his friends could find a group of friends to be with even after he was gone.  And he promised that whenever they got together, they could feel as though Jesus was still with them, because they were doing the work that he gave them to do in this world.

  Remember that our church is a group of friends where we belong.  And so we gather to offer prayers, to help one another, to share in eating the bread and drinking the wine, and know that the presence of Christ is with us.

  Jesus said that in his Father’s house there were many dwelling places.  God’s big house is this world we live in; and God dwellings inside of the people who live in this big house world of God.

  You and I can know that God dwells with us.  We can invite God to be in us and let him always be a special guest inside of us.

  Let us be thankful that Christ taught us that God dwells within each of us and so we can celebrate God’s closeness to us.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

May 14, 2017: The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: Glory Be to God on High; We Will Glorify; If You’re Happy

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’s Songbook  # 70)

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

2-Praise the Father, Spirit, Son, alleluia.  Praise the Godhead, three in one, alleluia.

3-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 God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of 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

Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation-- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.  Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture:

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 31

In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; * deliver me in your righteousness.

Incline your ear to me; * make haste to deliver me.

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.

Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."  Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it."

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

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

2          Love, 3 Light, 4 Christ

Doxology

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

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

Prologue to the Eucharist

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

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of 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:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song:  We Will Glorify  (Renew! # 33).

1. We will glorify the King of kings, we will glorify the Lamb; we will glorify the Lord of lords, who is the great I Am.

2. Lord Jehovah reigns in majesty, we will bow before his throne, we will worship him in righteousness, we will worship him alone.

3. He is Lord of heaven, Lord of earth, he is Lord of all who live; he is Lord above the universe, all praise to him we give.

4. Hallelujah to the King of kings, hallelujah to the Lamb; hallelujah to the Lord of lords, who is the great I Am.

Post-Communion Prayer

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

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

And His Presence has been known to us.

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

    and sisters in Christ.

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

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

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

Closing Song: : If You’re Happy  (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 124)

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

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

3-Make a low five

4-Make a fist bump 

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

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Being a Good Shepherd Society

4 Easter A        May 7, 2017
Acts 6:1-9, 7:2a 51-60   Ps. 23 
1 Peter 2:19-25    John 10:1-10               

Lectionary Link
The Bible is a book of diverse forms of language use.  Things like stories of what happened when people did not have modern science to explain things.  It is includes what might be called history, the kind of history of writing down ancient oral stories of what happened from prehistoric times when there was no actual contemporary written sources.  The Bible includes poetry, proverbs,  erotic literature,  letters, narratives, allegories, prayers, songs, wisdom literature, essays,  even philosophical writings like the deeply skeptical writings in Ecclesiastes, and really humorous passages such as the dialogue of Jonah regarding a bush and a worm, or the passage of Jeremiah hiding his underwear as proof of a sign from God.  There are even books in the Bible which don't mention God.  Even the Gospel of John includes humorous passages using double entendre.  When Jesus said Lazarus was sleeping, the literal disciples said, "but isn't sleep good."  And Jesus said rolling his eyes, "Guys, Lazarus is dead....sleep can mean sleep or death. You guys are so literal."

The first writings of the New Testament are the writings of Paul and his letters include practical advice to the members of the various churches where he had ministered as a missionary apostle.   Some of his writing includes dealing with disciplinary issues within the various churches.  He wrote about the competition which existed among different leaders and parties within the early church.

St. Paul is generally assumed to be the primary theological architect of the church.   And some of Paul's writing can be what we would call "didactic."  Didactic meaning teaching.  The didactic writings of Paul are just his way of giving explanation about the meaning of Jesus Christ and the church.  Paul's didactic writing does not include lots of literary devices.  Paul in fact, noted that many people were intimidated by his "weighty" writings and were a bit more surprised by his more personable appearances.  This might be his way of saying that his writing was rather dense theology while when he was in person, he would use more personable devices of communication.

St. Paul was involved with the church in Ephesus early on in its establishment.  Much later, many scholars believe Ephesus was the final home of the beloved disciple and the community responsible for the writings associated with the Gospel and Epistles of John.

If St. Paul was the early theological architect of the Christian Church, then one could say that the Gospels were the literary devices used by early church leaders to communicate the theology of church in ways in which were accessible to a mostly illiterate audience. 

The Gospel of John includes writing with rhetorical devices to disseminate the more "heady" theology of St. Paul to make it accessible to more people.

The Gospel of John uses long discourses of Jesus to illustrate theological teaching and church practice.  Two of the famous discourses of Jesus uses allegories from animal husbandry and from horticulture.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  This is a teaching allegory for the mystical theology of St. Paul.

Today, we have read from the Good Shepherd discourse.   Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Jesus is also the Gate or door of the Sheepfold.  The ancient shepherd used to be a personal gate.  He would sleep across the opening of the sheepfold so that the sleep could not get out without going through him and the wild animals could not get in without going through him.  The shepherd was the ultimate regulator of the lives of the sheep.

Let us look at the teaching devices of the Good Shepherd discourse.  Good Shepherd, Sheep, wolves, gate and thieves and hired hands.  Hidden in these allegories are the main issues of human community and the church communities.  The wolves signify the wildness of the free conditions which enable powerful beings to have their way over weaker beings in life.  We might observe, like Darwin, that survival of the fittest is the principle of Nature.  Those who are the strongest can and will make the weak their prey.

There are people who in human community want to mirror survival of the fittest as the main principle of economic and community life.  Yes, there might be a more or less general agreement that infants and children are not subject to the survival of the fittest rule, but some people believe that when one is an adult, then it is dog eat dog world and survival of the fittest is the rule.  If you can't find a way to survive as an adult, then you don't deserve to.

The message of the good shepherd discourse is this; the Christian message is different.  It is true to the real roles that occur in our lives.  The roles are good shepherd, sheep or bandits and hired hand.  Whether we are adult or children, all of us at times are in the role of sheep.  Why?  Not one of us is Omni-competent.  We cannot exist alone.  Everyone is at sometime in the condition of need.  What do we want when we need something?  We know what we don't want.  We don't want to be exploited in our time of need.  The situation of need makes people vulnerable.   The bandits and hired hand are  those who exploit needy.  Thieves steals and hired hands are better than thieves but they will not sacrifice their lives for the sheep because they have no connection with the well-being of the ones they are paid to take care of.  For the hired hand, it is "just" a job and he is one who will bail if it costs him to protect the vulnerable.

The good shepherd is one who cares for the vulnerable and does not even regard it to be a sacrifice to care in even heroic ways.  Why?  Because there is a love which is much higher than the natural principle of the "survival of the fittest."

A society which is a good shepherd society is a society where the most powerful, the wealthiest, the healthiest, the people with the most knowledge take responsibility for the most vulnerable and needy in society.  Why?  A good shepherd society is motivated completely by love and justice.

There is not and has never been a completely successful good shepherd society.  Why?  We still have society where there is wild power, thieves and hired hand exploiters.  There has not been enough good shepherds to fully tend to all of the human need in our world.

So why was the good shepherd discourse written?  Because, the church is supposed to be a good shepherd society and then spread this good shepherd practice way beyond the walls of the church.

The good shepherd discourse is really about our relationship to power.  We as sheep are often without power.  And when we are vulnerable we want people with ability to come to our aid.  The good shepherd discourse is also about ministry.  When God gifts us with knowledge, wealth, ability and strength, then we are to be good shepherds who follow our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who lived his live sacrificially for others.

May God help each of us today hear the voice of the Good Shepherd call us to be good shepherds to those whom we need to care for today.  Amen.