Sunday School, May 28, 2017 7 Easter A

Sunday School, May 28, 2017     7 Easter A

Theme:

Jesus Prayed

Have a discussion about what prayer means.  Discuss communication and relationship.

The longest prayer of Jesus in the Gospel is found in the 17 chapter of John.

Who did Jesus pray to?

His Father

Why did Jesus pray?

Prayer is talking and we talk to the people that we want to know.  Talking is how we express our relationship.

What did Jesus pray about?

He prayed for his disciple.  He prayed that his disciples might have the same close relationship with God as Father as he did.

What is prayer?

Prayer is an important indication of our belief in God.  We talk to those whom we believe to exist.  And we have special conversation with our friends.

Jesus prayed and so should we.

What does the Ascension mean?

The Ascension means that we believe that after Jesus Rose again, he went to the parallel place of heaven.  This this place we believe that Christ still prays for us and with us.  When we pray we want to join our prayers with the prayers that Jesus offers for us.

Sermon

  What are some of most important things that happen in a baby’s that let us know that the baby is growing up?  What about when the baby starts eating cereal and vegetables?  What about when the baby starts to shows some teeth?  What about when a baby starts to crawl? What about when a baby starts to walk?  And one of the most special things is when a baby starts to talk.  And what is the first word that a baby says?  Well all fathers know…a baby’s first word is Da Da.  Or at least that is what we hear.  Moms and brothers and sisters and grandparents may hear something else.

  And why is it important that a baby talks?  Because we can know our baby and our children better when they talk.  When a baby cannot talk and is just crying; we don’t always know why a baby is crying?  Is a baby tired, or hungry, or sick or does he need his diaper changed or is the baby just sad?

  But when a baby and child can talk, we can ask the baby what she wants.  We can ask her if she has a tummy ache.  And when a child can talk we can know more about a child.  So when a child talks to us

it is a great thing for us.

  Did you know that God likes us to talk too?  And when we talk to God, we call that prayer.

  Jesus was God’s Son.  And Jesus talked to God, his Father.  And we have read a part of the prayer of Jesus to his Father today.

  Jesus talked with his Father about things that made him happy.  He thanked his Father.  And he asked for some special favors from God for his friends.

  Your mom and dad and family are very happy when you talk to them.  When you tell them how you feel.  When you tell them that you love them.  When you ask for help.  When you thank them.  When you tell them about the fun you are having.  When you tell them why you are sad.

  God is our Father too.  And God likes for us to talk to him.  When we talk to God with our prayers, we a growing up in the big family of God.  When we talk to God with our prayers, we are showing that we are a part of this large family of God.  And if we act like we are member of this big family of God, then we will treat everyone as a special brother and sister.

  Just as our parents are happy when we first started talking to them.  So God is happy when we talk to him.  That is what Jesus showed when he prayed to God his Father.

  We come to church on Sunday to prayer together and talk to God.  And we do this to remember that we can talk to God anywhere.  We don’t have to be in church to prayer.  We come to church to remember to pray.

  Can you remember to prayer?  Talk to God.  If you do that you can be sure that God is very happy to hear and listen to you.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

May 28, 2017: The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah!;  Majesty!, Father, I Adore You; Awesome God   

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: Hallelu, Halleluah  (Christian Children’s Songbook,   # 84)

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.

Praise ye the Lord!  Hallelujah!  Praise ye the Lord!  Hallelujah! 

Praise ye the Lord!  Hallelujah!  Praise ye the Lord!

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting.  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

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 68

But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; * let them also be merry and joyful.

 

Sing to God, sing praises to his Name; exalt him who rides upon the heavens; * YAHWEH is his Name, rejoice before him!

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 looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.  "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. "

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: Majesty, (Renew # 63)

Majesty, worship His majesty.  Unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise. 

Majesty, kingdom authority flow from His throne unto His own;

His anthem raise. 

So, exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus. 

Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King. 

Majesty, worship His Majesty; Jesus who died,

now glorified, King of all kings.

                           

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.  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: Father I Adore You (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 56)

Father, I adore you, lay my life before you.  How I love you.

Jesus, I adore you, lay my life before you.  How I love you.

Spirit, I adore you, lay my life before you. How I love you.

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: Awesome God (Renew! # 245).

Our God is an awesome God, he reigns from heaven above. 

With wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God.

(Sing three times)

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

An Unknown God or an Ignored God?

6 Easter a         May 21, 2017 

Acts 17:22-31       Ps. Ps. 66  

1 Peter 3:13-22     John 14:15-21               

Lectionary Link

At the Arlington National Cemetery there is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  The unidentified remains of fallen soldiers are buried there.  So we know that the soldiers actually lived and fought in battles but in the days before DNA identification their remains could not be identified.

When St. Paul went to Athens he found himself in conversation with philosophers who were Epicureans and Stoics.  And as a good tourist in Athens, St. Paul visited the Areopagus on Mars Hill to visit the famed sites.  If you go to Athens you have to visit the Parthenon, right?

Among the statues on Mars Hill, St. Paul focused upon an particular altar with an inscription: To an unknown god.  What is this?  Is this a philosophical joke?  Was there a god who was lost in action and became unidentified?  Didn't this unknown god have a story?  The other gods and goddesses of the Greek had the myths that were well known in the writings of the poets.  How could there be an unknown god?

Since the Greeks were always seeking something new, maybe this was an altar to the god who still might be revealed and known.

Whatever the origin of this altar, St. Paul took the opportunity to share something new about God as God became known in Jesus Christ.

St. Paul told them that their poets had an important insight when they wrote that human beings were divine offspring.

This is in agreement with the Genesis story: Adam and Eve were offspring of God, made in the divine image.

If men and women are offspring of God, then something of God must be hidden within humanity.  What is it within humanity that can allow us to discover God?  What is it within us that allows us to be able to say that we know God?

Since humanity has scripture, has writing and since we have use language, this trait is the strongest point of likeness with God.  In the Gospel of John, it is written that Word was in the beginning of human experience as we know it and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  But Word also came to define the entire material world.  The Word was made flesh and dwelled with us.  This is the confession about Jesus Christ.  He was God's Word being made human experience in such a way that image of God could become known to us in a very special and particular way.

How is it that something remains unknown to us?  Something remains foreign to us unless it is translated into our experience.  God can be present and remain unknown unless someone can translate the meaning of God to us.  St. Paul wanted the people of Athens to know that Jesus Christ was the person who was cosmically bi-lingual.  He spoke the life of God and he knew and spoke the words of human experience.  So in Jesus Christ, the life and identity of God became known in a new and special way.  Jesus Christ translated the life of God into human experience, and what did Jesus translate to us about God?

Jesus Christ affirmed that men and women are indeed God's offspring.  We are God's children and because we are God's children, we can discover our divine likeness.  And when we do, we will never feel like abandoned orphans.

Jesus told his friends, You are not orphans.  You are still children of God who is present and known even when you can't see God.  Why?  The likeness of God has arisen in you as an inner Advocate.  This inner advocate is a coach, a distiller of peace and one who affirms and comforts us.  When mom and dad leave their the baby in the next room, it does not mean mom and dad are absent from the baby.  The love and caring presence of parents follows a child everywhere.  So too, Jesus encouraged his friends to discover and enter into a relationship with this inner Advocate, the Holy Spirit who is the continuing presence of God in each person.

And what do we say to children who are struggling with relationship?  Use your words.  Your words create meaning, understanding and relationship.  Our words are our spirits and they are our life and so we need to use our prayer words to discover and understand our relationship with God who can be known within us as an inner Advocate.  Love is to be our practice with God and each other.  And how is love best known?  By keeping the commandments.  Commandments are not just arbitrary rules written in words; the commandments are the body language of love and justice.  What does love look like in practice?  It looks like the behaviors of love and justice.  Keeping commandments is making the Word of God flesh in the actual behaviors of our lives.

Is God unknown to us today?  If God is an unknown God for us, it probably means that God is the God who is ignored by us, because we don't want to bother to know.

Do we have God locked into the unknown status in our lives?  Is God unknown and ignored by us.  If we do, then we have not activated the likeness of God that can be found, known and practiced in our lives.

You've heard the expression, "It takes two to tango."  In our relationship with God, it takes two willing parties.  St. Paul and Gospel writers tell us that God is a very willing party to know us and God sent the "bi-lingual" Jesus to introduce us to a meaningful knowledge of God.

Let us read the Gospel as an invitation to develop a meaningful knowledge of God as it has been lived and shown to us in the life of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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.