Sunday School, September 3, 2017 A Proper 17

Sunday School, September 3, 2017     13 Pentecost, A Proper 17

Theme:

Take up your cross and follow me.

This was a saying in the early church.

Jesus died on the cross so that no one else had to.

The Cross of Jesus was made into a symbol for Christians.

We know that the Swoosh is the symbol for the Nike brand

The Cross is the symbol for the Christian brand.  We make the sign of the cross as a marking to indicate that we belong to Christ.

What does belonging to Christ mean?

It means that we live our lives as a sacrifice.

It means we have the power to say no to our selfish self in order to help and serve other people.

When we take up the cross of Jesus, we are asking for the power of God to control and tame our desire to live and do things just for ourselves. 

Think of examples of sacrifice:

Play video games or feed your pets.

Watch television or help mom with home chores.

Swing all the time or share the swing with a friend who also wants to swing.

Eat all your lunch or share some of it with someone who doesn’t have any lunch.

Sacrifice is the power to say no to yourself so that you can help other people.

This is what “taking up your cross and following Christ” means in our lives.

Sermon:

  In baseball, what does sacrifice mean?  What is a sacrifice fly?  What is a sacrifice bunt?  It is when you purposely make an out, so that another player can advance or score.

  Sacrifice is a word that comes from religion.  It means to offer something to God as an act of respect or worship of God.

  In the ancient time, people thought that God wanted them to sacrifice the life of an animal to help pay for their sins.

  Jesus came to show us the real meaning of sacrifice.

  He lived his life for others.  He gave up a comfortable life so that he could help the poor, the sick, the lonely people, the strangers, the children and the sad.

  So Jesus was a sacrifice for the life of others.  We know that he sacrificed his life for us when he died on the cross.

  And when Jesus said that we are to take up our cross and follow him, he means we are to learn how to live in a sacrificial way.  When we help others we are living in sacrificial way.  That is how we take up the cross of Christ.

  When you pick up your toys, you are helping your mom and dad, because then they don’t have to do it.

  When you help with house work, you are making a sacrifice.

  When you make peace with your brother or sister after you’ve had an argument, you are making a sacrifice.

  When you help others, you are taking up your cross and following Christ.

  Why?  Because God calls us to help each other, and we don’t need to have the attention all of the time, so when we share with others, we are sacrificing.

  A baseball player does not like to make an out.  But sometimes the manager asks a player to make a sacrifice to help the team win.

  Remember that many people make sacrifices for each of us every day:  Soldiers, police, doctors, teachers, moms, dads, grandmothers and grandfathers.  Many people have shared with us to make our lives better.  So too, we need to learn how to share.

  This is a lesson that we can learn from today’s Gospel.  Take up your cross and follow Christ.  And  we can do this by sharing our lives to make the lives of other people better.  Amen.

Family Eucharistic Liturgy

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

September 3, 2014: The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Lift High the Cross, He’s Got the Whole World,  Eat This Bread, Soon and Very Soon

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

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

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Lift High the Cross (Blue Hymnal # 473)

Refrain: Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim till all the world adore his sacred name.

1-Led on their way by this triumphant sign, the hosts of God in conquering ranks combine.  Refrain

2-Each newborn servant of the Crucified bears on the brow the seal of him who died.  Refrain

3-O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree, as thou hast promised, draw the world to thee.  Refrain

4-So shall our song of triumph ever be: praise to the Crucified for victory.  Refrain

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; 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: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 105

Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name; * make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him, sing praises to him, * and speak of all his marvelous works.

Glory in his holy Name; * let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

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 Matthew

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?  "For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

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. (chanted)

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.

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:  He’s Got the Whole World (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 90)

He’s got the whole world; in his hands he’s got the whole wide world in his hands.  He’s got the whole world in his hands; he’s got the whole world in his hands.

Little tiny babies.  3. Brothers and Sister  4. Mommies and Daddies

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 Hymn: Eat This Bread, (Renew! # 228)

Eat this bread, drink this cup, come to me and never be hungry. 

Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in me and you will not thirst.

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: Soon and Very Soon, (Renew!  #149)

Soon and very soon, we are going to see the king.  Soon and very soon, we are going to see the king.  Soon and very soon we are going to see the king.  Alleluia, alleluia, we’re going to see the king.

No more dying there, we are going to see the king.  No more dying there, we are going to see the king.  No more dying there we are going to see the king.  Alleluia, alleluia, we’re going to see the king.

Dismissal:   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

  

Aphorism of the Day, August 2017

Aphorism of the Day, August 31, 2017

The profile of Jesus as a suffering servant Messiah rather than a triumphant conquering kingly Messiah is the anchor for the theology of the cross.  This is important because human suffering comprises a significant portion of actual human experience.  The theology of the cross is the divine identity with suffering as a realistic acceptance of the freedom in the world and the resurrection triumph is the anchor for the reality of freedom which also promotes redemption, health, salvation and abundant life as an equally valid human experience.  At the end of the Flood, there is a rainbow of promise of rebuilding and in faith we believe that Hope will eventually have the last word.

Aphorism of the Day, August 30, 2017

What happens to people like Peter when there is a paucity of actual information about him.  If what we know about Peter come from 20 or so accounts about him, he has become in Gospels and other writings, a figurehead for teaching purposes.  The main witness of Peter is about what he became after the resurrection.  All of his faults and foibles become contrasts with the transformation of his life to attain an identity with the suffering servant Christ.  Peter is presented as an example of "spiritual" progress and transformation and is given as an example of how past unfaithfulness and ignorance can be redeemed by future faith and wisdom.

Aphorism of the Day, August 29, 2017

In but a paragraph, Peter goes from one who makes a privileged confession of Jesus and is conferred as the rock on which Jesus will build the church to one who rebukes Jesus for Jesus not understanding the role of the Messiah to being rebuked by Jesus for "channeling Satan."  This is a highly specific teaching vignette of the Matthean community regarding the profile of the Messiah.  If Peter could confess the Messiah and misunderstand the Messiah and come to know Jesus as the suffering servant Messiah, then so can the readers and listeners.

Aphorism of the Day, August 28, 2017

St. Peter confessed Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God.  And when Jesus said what being the Messiah meant, it contradicted the existing notions of a triumphant powerful and intervening authority that prevailed in Peter's thinking.  Peter's notion of the Messiah did not allow for Jesus to suffer.  Jesus rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind me Satan!"  This is an obvious teaching moment in the Matthean church.  The church was built upon the notion of a "suffering Messiah" whose triumph was evident in the post-resurrection appearance and the promise of a still future Messianic return.  The split of churches from the synagogues happened because Jewish ritual rules were lifted for Gentile followers of Jesus and because there was a major disagreement about how the Messiah would be manifested.  Members of the synagogue could not see Jesus as instantiating their notion of the Messiah.  The dialogue between Jesus and Peter highlighted this disagreement.

Aphorism of the Day, August 27, 2017

The "Messianic Secret" was the injunction of Jesus not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah or that he was doing "messianic" works.  Why?  The open knowledge of Jesus being a "rival" king would hasten his capture by the Romans before his appointed time.  In the Gospel drama, it is Judas Iscariot who tells the secret of the identity of Jesus to the opponents of Jesus, as it was understood by the inner circle of Jesus.  Once the secret was known, Jesus could be openly charged as a kingly pretender, one who was a threat to the hegemony of the Emperor.  The "secret" was exposed and used as an accusation in the trial against Jesus.

Aphorism of the Day, August 26, 2017

In biblical geological metaphors "rock" is used to refer to Jesus and Peter.  Peter's name literally means "rock."  St. Paul wrote that Christ was the rock from which the Israelite drank the gifted waters from God in their wilderness journey.  Jesus is also called the "cornerstone" on which the church is built.  So, is Jesus the Rock or is Peter?  Or both?  Biblical writers are like us in that we can deploy metaphors in ways that may seem contradictory even while we know that contextual use is what creates the seeming contradictions.  Different use in different context creates the appearance of contradiction.  We need to "allow" (as if it is our call) biblical writers to speak with the same "forked tongues" that all of us use when we deploy metaphors.

Aphorism of the Day, August 25, 2017

Why in one Gospel saying does Peter get rebuked by Jesus for confessing him to be the Messiah and in another Gospel saying he is told that he is the Rock on which the church shall be built?  Quite a difference to say, "get thee behind me Satan" or "On this rock I will build my church."  It begs for us to look at the writing goals of the various Gospel narrators/editors.  The Matthean Gospel editor is perhaps trying to "rehabilitate" the image of Peter and promote a legitimization of the "Petrine line of teaching authority" in the Christian Movement that had already become rife with competitive teachings.  If one looks at the actual writings of the New Testament, one would have to conclude that the church as we have come to know it has been built more on the life and teachings of St. Paul, rather than St. Peter.

Aphorism of the Day, August 24, 2017

Jesus said that the gates of "Hades" would not prevail against the church, begging the inquiry about the names for the place of death.  Hades is the Greek place of the afterlife as well as Tartarus, both used in the New Testament.  The Hebrew word for the afterlife is "Sheol."  The other word of the afterlife is "hell" or the Hebrew derived word "Gehenna," which refers to a geographical location near Jerusalem, the Valley of Hinnom.  It was a place for rendering the bodies of dead animals and so was a place of ritual defilement.  Hades was the Greek word to translate the Hebrew word "Sheol," in the Septuagint (the well known and used Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures).  Biblical interpreters often designated as "fundamentalists" tends to import the empirical verification practice of scientific method to imply that specific afterlife situation will be exactly how it is characterized in the imaginations of biblical writers.  This limitation denies the power of poetry to be rather ambiguous in presenting readers with the mood of how the afterlife images function for readers, especially suffering readers, who are denied justice in this world and need to cling to the hope of ultimate justice and the hope of eternal reparations.

 Aphorism of the Day, August 23, 2017

The Greek word for church, "ekklesia," occurs only twice in the Gospel of Matthew.  It does not occur in Mark, Luke or John and yet we know that the churches were responsible for the writing of the Gospels.  It occurs in the writings of St. Paul, who wrote before the Gospels came to their textual form.  So the Matthean oracle of Christ within the church that composed the Gospel of Matthew believed that the origin of the Christian "gathered" movement could be found in the words of Jesus.  What would be more logical in an actual "Jesus setting" would be for him to say, "I will build my synagogue...."  or "I will build my rabbinical school of thought.."  It does not help to look for the Aramaic equivalent word for "ekklesia" since Aramaic translations derive from translating the Greek word "ekklesia" and this Greek word was a later word which derived from St. Paul and other early Christian leaders.

Aphorism of the Day, August 22, 207

Petrine Primacy is the belief that Peter held preeminence among the 12 disciples deriving from the Gospel story of Jesus telling him, "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church."  Rock is a "pun" on Peter's name which means "rock."  Those who discount Petrine Primacy for establishing Papal Primacy interpret "rock" to refer to the confession that Peter had just made about Jesus being the Messiah but that diminishes the connotation of the "pun" on Peter's name.  Is the church built upon Peter or the confession of Jesus being the Messiah? Or both? The fact that the church did not exist in the actual time of Jesus makes the interchange historically problematic.  Injecting the existence of "my church" into a purported account of the "historical Jesus" was perhaps a device of the early church trying to establish lines of authority in a movement that grown diverse enough to have lots of in fighting and so the Gospel of Matthew was an effort in writing to establish a privileged line of authority for what would later become known as "orthodox" or right thinking/belief.  The later words of the Risen Christ speaking as an oracle through later church leaders are inserted into a Gospel story of Jesus to give Petrine tradition validation and authority.  Institutionalization happens in successful movement and so the "truths" become administrative truths for the organization of a community.

Aphorism of the Day, August 21, 2017

How does one solves issues of anachronism in the Gospel?  Like when Jesus said to Peter, "I will build my church..." when there was no church in his time since it was a word that came from Greek referring also to a local political ward?  Does one look for a potential translation of the word church in Aramaic, the language which Jesus spoke?  Or does one understand that the rather late date of the Gospel writings represent  a mixing of the stories of Jesus with the realities of the nascent Christ communities coming to formation?  Speaking in Jesus' Name and "having the mind of Christ" meant that early Christian leaders really believed that Christ was a live and speaking oracle through the "Christ-possessed" within the churches even after his Ascension, meaning that the oracle words of the Risen Christ got mingled with the narrative of Jesus.  The Gospels are teachings to people who lived contemporary with the growing church, not really about those who were contemporary with the actual life of Jesus.

Aphorism of the Day, August 20, 2017

A good parent tries to make each child feels as though they are favored and special.  Children may act as though they are competing for the "most favored status" with their parents.  Members of religious and faith community may proclaim themselves through their words and actions to be rather chauvinistically, God's favorite.  The confession of Jesus as God's Beloved Son means that all "in Christ" have attained a favored status with God.  Let us not be disappointed that God makes everyone a favorite in the experience of knowing special personal esteem which comes from the Holy Spirit being known as the image of God experienced in any willing heart.

Aphorism of the Day, August 19, 2017

The famous cartoon puppet of Charles Schultz, Charlie Brown declared, "I love mankind; it's people I can't stand."  This expresses the dilemma of applying a universal truth in the "devil" of the details.  We can embrace the universal love of God for everyone while secretly holding that I and those of "my ilk" are God's favorite children.  But if everyone is thinking that one is God's favorite child, rather than acknowledge the potential for divinely inspired personal esteem to be everyone's experience, we labor to reconcile one's own sense of being highly favored with everyone else's sense of being highly favored.  In this dynamic one encounters the dilemma of Charlie Brown to instantiate the general favor of love that God has for all, with one who expresses their divine favor in ways irks us, even into some bad behaviors.

Aphorism of the Day, August 18, 2017

Jesus said to the Canaanite woman, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”   These words of Jesus present an ironic twist upon the situation of antipathy of the strained relationship between the Jews and the Gentiles.  They seem rather harsh even as in the dialogue they are presented as the goad for the Canaanite woman to assert her desire for God's blessing.  The punchline of the Gospel teaching is that Canaanites could have the kind of faith which indicated their favor with God.  This story is an "origin story in the life of Jesus" for the Gentile Christianity which is written about in St. Paul's letter to the Roman church.  The Gospels instantiate in stories of Jesus the Gospel results in the Gentile populace and the Gospel writers try to avoid "blatant" anachronism even while the readers already know the reality of what had happened in Gentile Christianity.

Aphorism of the Day, August 17, 2017

Can following a prescribed religious diet and religious rules of hygiene make one clean and holy inside?  Not according to Jesus.  Sometimes we misunderstand religious piety and rules of life; we practice piety and rules of life not to make us holy but rather because we have discovered the grace which enables us to live holy lives.  The discovery of grace is to find the replacement possibility of our rather perverse "insides" with God's Holy Spirit as the origin of our piety and our living.

Aphorism of the Day, August 16, 2017

The New Testament books are essentially writings about how Gentile Christianity was born and transitioned out of Judaism.  The origin of the Gentile mission is presented within stories of Jesus interacting with non-Jews who showed themselves to have faith and therefore worthy of the blessing of Christ.  St. Paul wrote the "theological apology" for the legitimacy of Gentile Christianity.  The Gospels take this theology and instantiate it through presentations of Jesus interacting with people other than ritually observant Jews.

Aphorism of the Day, August 15, 2017

The words of Jesus criticized those who had made "ritual compulsive handwashing" into something like a "cleanliness is next to godliness" absolute.  Jesus, long before Freud said the unconscious is polymorphorously perverse" like the prophets and the psalmist of old knew that outward cleanliness was no guarantee of having a clean heart and right spirit.  The reason that Jesus is associated with Baptism of the Holy Spirit because he knew that inward cleanliness had to do with an inside job.  The water of Baptism is the outward sign of the grace of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as the only way to attain a clean heart, i.e., by letting the Holy Spirit be the Clean Heart within us.  Wash your hands and practice good hygiene, by all means, when possible but don't make a religion or a fetish about how one does it.

Aphorism of the Day, August 14, 2017

The Canaanite woman to Jesus:  “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”   The Prayer of Humble Access in the Rite One Eucharist: "We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table."  The agenda of the New Testament writers was to show that all people are "unworthy" for fellowship with God.  But realizing universal "unworthiness" really is the set up for "universal" mercy for all people and for the New Testament writers, this meant the inclusion of the Gentiles at the Lord's table in a communion which welcomes all.  It is interesting to note that once we form Communions and denominations, we can openly or subtly treat people outside our group as "unworthy" thus compromising the largesse of an all merciful God.

Aphorism of the Day, August 13, 2017

"Act of God" has come to designate events of Nature which result in harm to people or property.  Why should God get credit for the harmful events and not the good events?  Or should not God be regarded as Creative Freedom for everything that happens?  The main Act of God is Creative Freedom and this creative freedom is shared proportionately with the level of sentient existence of any entity.  Humans as high on the sentient chain have greater volitional capacity and greater culpability than is known in the creatures and the material creation.  God as Creative Freedom means that the buck does stop at God without minimizing the full proportional moral culpability of human freedom.

Aphorism of the Day, August 12, 2017

A way of characterizing Nature is to say that Nature is the freedom of anything to happen within the limits of freedom of any particular entity in interaction with everything else within the total environment.  So Nature includes the possibility for boatmen at night on a lake to encounter a storm.  The Gospels present Jesus as the spiritual possibility of being one who is present with us within all of the possible things that can occur in Nature.  Faith is the ability to find the parallel spiritual presence of Christ within all of the conditions of freedom in Nature.

Aphorism of the Day, August 11, 2017

Acts of Nature in actuarial insurance parlance are sometimes referred to as "acts of God."  So the "act of God" in the storm on the Galilean Sea resulted in the Son of God, counter acting such an Act with his whispering of Nature.  Or the essence of Nature might be expressed as the freedom for what might happen.  Faith is learning how to maintain hopeful future thinking in learning how to deal with everything that might happen (in Nature).  The Gospels present Jesus as a storm Whisperer which means discovering the Nature of Christ within us in Nature within all natural happenings.


Aphorism of the Day, August 10, 2017

Consistency regarding miracles means that we do not usually think about the "prior" miracle which did not happen.  What is the prior miracle?  The miracle of not getting deathly sick before it happens.  The miracle of not being on the lake when the tornado hit.  The use of miracle in our vocabulary assumes that we are subject to the conditions of freedom and we don't focus upon all of the "prior miracles" of all of the good things that are happening to us because "normal" goodness does not stand out.  Normal goodness does not stand out until it is challenged by an event of threat, evil, badness, natural disaster et al.  If every situation of threat or evil got resolved through some miracle, miracle would disappear since miracle would be so normal as to be unnoticed.  A miracle assumes that most situations of threat and evil do not get resolved to the benefit of the people involved and when the exception occurs it is proclaimed a miracle or an uncanny event where the logic of consequences gets thwarted.  When one reads the Gospels, because of the time-lapsing of story and the actual paucity of events that are recounted, one can get the impression that it is to be normal for people of faith to expect the exceptional miracle to happen.  Or, the miracle can be a story trope to proclaim that the miracle is knowing the presence of Christ in the midst of the free conditions of what might happen to anyone.

Aphorism of the Day, August 9, 2017

From the prophet Elijah, we could derive a "Pouting Prophet Syndrome."  Elijah fled his dire situation and complained about being the only one left to stand for the true devotion to God.  The all-seeing God informed him that his experience could not be generalized to all Israel because there were many others who remained devoted.  We sometimes hold "triumphalist" desire to be those whose views have hegemonic status in our times and places.  We can become "pouty prophets" when the effects of our ministry does not seem to be shared with enough people to be called "successful."  The answer to the "Pouting Prophet Syndrome" is simply to continue to be faithful where we are.

Aphorism of the Day, August 8, 2017

The irony of the presentation of miracles is dealing with the obvious question of why the miracle was needed in the first place.  Why did not God miraculously intervened without us knowing by not allowing the condition which needed the miracle in the first place?  The miracle stories are about how Christ is present within the freedom of bad things happening, inconvenient things happening to confound our proposed "schedules" in life.  Can we find Christ walking on the waves of the storms of life?  Wouldn't we rather that Christ to have been known in shielding us from ever having to face the threat of a storm?  We should not treat biblical writers as "literary" idiots, "one-trick" metaphor makers,  who did not understand or appreciate a whole range of rhetorical devices used to persuade and teach what faith in God means.  Interpreters who limit the Bible to a "plain reading or fundamental literalism" deny the inspired finesse of the biblical writers in their persuasive techniques.  When Jesus ask for his listeners to have "ears" to hear, he was speaking about their lives being in the place to have interpretive acuity to pierce beyond the "plain" meaning.

Aphorism of the Day, August 7, 2017

From the Psalms: "He reached down from on high, he took me;    he drew me out of mighty waters."  This Psalm is reiterated in the walking on water story of the Gospels.  Peter tried to walk on the water, doubted and sunk and Jesus lifted him up.  The Gospel writers presented Jesus as instantiating the poetic heroic qualities of the Lord found in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Aphorism of the Day, August 6, 2017

In the Transfiguration Collect we ask that we might be changed into the likeness of the Transfigured Christ.  In so doing we embrace Metamorphosis as the interpretation of the spiritual learning cycles of life.  No phase is final; it too will pass but also return in a future and different setting.  By faith, we accept metamorphosis as more profound than the specifics of the afflictions of in the "Dark Night of the Soul."  Let us have the faith to know that there are always future phases of "butterfly" hatching to occur.

Aphorism of the Day, August 5, 2017

The Transfiguration of Jesus for the disciples was like the proverbial caterpillar who saw a butterfly and thought, "Some day I will be like you!"  On the Mount of the Transfiguration, Jesus gave the disciples a pre-death and burial vision of resurrection life.  Resurrection life is the Metamorphosis Process which is greater than any manifestation of life in any specific phase.

Aphorism of the Day, August 4, 2017

Cosmetic enhancement?  As Jesus prayed, his face changed.....  Can prayer alter our appearance?  Indeed prayer can effect an entire cosmetic makeover and prove that the activation of one's inner charisma is what creates the actual beauty of our lives.

Aphorism of the Day, August 3, 2017

Moses and Elijah, representing the formative period of Israel under the law and the prophetic era, were in the vision of the Transfiguration.   Their appearance functioned to show readers the continuity of Christ with their mission.  Who was absent?  Why wasn't King David on the Mount of Transfiguration?  Wasn't he the proto-type for the messiah?  It could be that the heavenly voice declaring, "You are my Son the Beloved," is an echo of the messianic Psalm, "You are my son, today I have begotten you."

Aphorism of the Day, August 2, 2017

In the event of the Transfiguration, elevation, clouds and light are the metaphorical settings for the visionary Epiphany of Jesus Christ.  The spiritual journey is a journey upward to superlative values, through the clouds of unknowing as the spiritual eyes adjust to mystery in preparation for new events of light or seeing.

Aphorism of the Day, August 1, 2017

The Transfiguration event could be called an Epiphany and a Theophany.  A "revealing" event and a "showing of God" event.  What is revealed and shown in the event of the Transfiguration?  Jesus Christ as the superlatively valued Person to be the prime exemplar to inform humanity about the direction of moral and spiritual advance. 

Quiz of the Day, August 2017

Quiz of the Day, August 31, 2017

A dispute between mothers regarding claims on a baby brought the suggestion that the baby be cut in two and shared from what wise man?

a. Samuel
b. David
c. Solomon
d. Nathan

Quiz of the Day, August 30, 2017

Of the following, who did not have a memorable "boat" voyage?

a. Noah
b. Paul
c. Jonah
d. Peter
e. Moses
f. Jacob

Quiz of the Day, August 29, 2017

Where did John Bunyan begin to write his famous allegory, "The Pilgrim's Progress?"

a. Oxford
b. Cambridge
c. Tower of London
d. Bedford prison

Quiz of the Day, August 28, 2017

Who was the "praying mother" of St. Augustine of Hippo?

a. Helena
b. Monica
c. Eunice
d. Priscilla

Quiz of the Day, August 27, 2017

The biblical support for Petrine Primacy is found in which of the following biblical quotes?

a. Feed my sheep
b. I will never deny you
c. On this rock, I will build my church
d. We must obey God rather than men

Quiz of the Day, August 26, 2017

Who was the biblical Bernice?

a. a companion of St. Paul
b. the head of a Johannine church
c. the wife of Agrippa
d. the mother of Timothy

Quiz of the Day, August 25, 2017

Which King Louis of France was a canonized saint?

a. X
b. IX
c. XII
d. XIV

Quiz of the Day, August 24, 2017

Who do many scholars think that Bartholomew was presented as in the Gospel of John?

a. Nicodemus
b. Nathaniel
c. Lazarus
d. Thaddaeus


Quiz of the Day, August 23, 2017

Who was  St. Rosa de Lima?

a. the girl who received the vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe
b. a Franciscan sister in Peru famous for helping the poor
c. the first saint born in the "new" world
d. the first Inca convert

Quiz of the Day, August 22, 2017

Which of the following interactions with Nature is not attributed to Jesus?

a. condemning a fig tree that did not provide figs out of bearing season
b. calming a storm on a lake
c. sending demons into swine that compelled them to drown
d. floated an axe head on a river


Quiz of the Day, August 21, 2017

On the day of the eclipse, who was the leader of Israel when "the sun stood still" to provide light for an extended battle?

a. Moses
b. Joshua
c. Gideon
d. David

Quiz of the Day, August 20, 2017

"We are not worthy so much as to gather the crumbs from under Thy table..."  What is the name of the prayer which includes this phrase?

a. Collect for Purity
b. Prayer of Humble Access
c. A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
d. A Collect for Renewal of Life

Quiz of the Day, August 19, 2017

When Absalom was attempting a coup against his father, King David, what odious act did he do to disrespect his father?

a. he grew very long hair
b. he stole his best donkeys
c. he went into King David's harem
d. he set crops on fire

Quiz of the Day, August 18, 2017

In the dramatic conversion event of St. Paul, he lost his eyesight.  Who is the person who helped him regain his sight?

a. Barnabas
b. Silas
c. Ananias
d. Priscilla
e. Peter

Quiz of the Day, August 17, 2017

A "camel going through the eye of a needle," is the metaphor Jesus used for what?

a. the possibility of entering the kingdom of God for wealthy folks
b. the possibility of religious people going to hell
c. the possibility of people of faith uprooting trees
d. the possibility of trees bearing fruit out of season

 Quiz of the Day, August 16, 2017

Which of the following is not true about Absalom?

a. he was famously handsome with an impressive head of hair
b. he revenged the violation of his sister by their half brother
c. he was David's son
d. he attempted a coup against David
e. Abigail was his mother
f. he died when he hung himself when his hair was caught in a tree

Quiz of the Day, August 15, 2017

Which of the following is not true regarding the Feast of the Virgin Mary?

a. In the Roman Catholic Church it is the Feast of the Assumption
b. All Anglicans and the Orthodox celebrate the Dormitian of Mary
c. the status of the feast attained its "infallible" status on November 1, 1950
d. the Assumption of Mary is not recorded in Holy Scriptures

Quiz of the Day, August 14, 2017

Jonathan Daniels was

a. a Civil Rights martyr
b. an Episcopal seminarian
c. a voters' right worker
d. all of the above

Quiz of the Day, August 13, 2017

Why is the main body of a church called a "nave?"

a. churches were built by ship builders
b. vaulted church ceiling resembled a ship's keel
c. ships often were hung in Baltic and Scandinavian churches
d. b and c
e. all of the above

Quiz of the Day, August 12, 2017

Who was the mother of King Solomon?

a. Abigail
b. Michal
c. Bathsheba
d. Haggith

Quiz of the Day, August 11, 2017

Who was the prophet who confronted King David about his "wife-stealing" scheme by telling a parable?

a. Samuel
b. Asaph
c. Nathan
d. Abithar

Quiz of the Day, August 10, 2017

Who was Uriah the Hittite?

a. a Hittite soldier in Saul's army
b. Bathsheba's first husband
c. a traitor in David's court
d. a foreigner who saved the Ark of the Covenant

Quiz of the Day, August 9, 2017

St. Herman was a Russian Orthodox monk missionary associated with what location?

a. Siberia
b. Moscow
c. Alaska
d. California

Quiz of the Day, August 8, 2017

St. Dominic preached to oppose what dissident group?

a. Cathars
b. Albigensians
c. Bogomils
d. all of the above

Quiz of the Day, August 7, 2017

Titius Justus and Crispus were converts and leaders in the church in what city?

a. Antioch
b. Jerusalem
c. Philippi
d. Corinth

Quiz of the Day, August 6, 2017

August 6th is the Feast of the Transfiguration.  On what other Sunday of the church calendar are the Transfiguration Gospel account read annually?

a. 2 Easter
b. Epiphany
c. Last Sunday after the Epiphany
d. All Saints' Eve





Quiz of the Day, August 5, 2017

Who is the artist for perhaps the most famous artistic rendering of "Praying Hands?"

a. Raphael

b. Michelangelo

c. Cranach the Elder

d. Albrecht Dürer

Quiz of the Day, August 4, 2017

When David became King, from where did he rule?

a. Jerusalem
b. Hebron
c. Shiloh
d. Bethlehem

Quiz of the Day, August 3, 2017

Whom of the following is on the calendar of saints and was a co-founder of the NAACP and first African American graduate of Harvard?

a. Martin Luther King Jr.
b. Absalom Jones
c. Richard Allen
d. W.E.B. Du Bois

Quiz of the Day, August 2, 2017

According to the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer, what is the liturgical requirement when the Feast of the Transfiguration occurs on Sunday?

a. the Propers for the Sunday in Pentecost takes precedence
b. the Propers for Transfiguration take precedence
c. the Propers for Transfiguration are moved to Monday
d. the Propers for Transfiguration are used at a Sunday Vigil

Quiz of the Day, August 1, 2017

Who is the patron saint of funeral directors?

a. Elijah
b. Nicodemus
c. Christopher
d. Joseph of Arimathea

The True Builder of the Church

12 Pentecost,  A p16, August 27, 2017
Isaiah 51:1-6  Psalm 138
Romans 12:1-8  Matthew 16:13-20

Lectionary Link

Mr. Francis Stanley built an early version of the automobile or car but he did not call it an automobile or car.  He called his vehicle the Stanley Steamer.  Early engine propelled vehicles were also called horseless carriages.  What if I were to rewrite a story of Mr. Stanley for children today and I had Mr. Stanley say, "Hmm.  I am going to build a car.  I am going to build an automobile."  Would that be accurate, yes or no?  Yes and no.  Yes, it was an early example of what would later become called a car or automobile.  It would be true for the purposes of translating concepts from an earlier period in order to be understood in the language usage of a later period.  For the sake of historical accuracy, it would be wrong though, because Mr. Stanley would not have used the words "car" or "automobile."

In our Gospel lesson for today, we have similar example of translating a social phenomenon of an earlier period into the jargon of a later period.  In the words of Jesus to Peter, he said, "I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not stand against it."  First, during the time of Jesus, the church did not exist.  Jesus was not a member of the church, because it didn't exist.  Of the four Gospels, only the Gospel of Matthew uses the word church.  It is a Greek word, "ekklesia" which literally meaning "called out" or those who are called out.  But in certain secular use, "ekklesia" was used to designate a local political ward.

So we have an irony.  Why did the writer of Matthew's Gospel use both the Aramaic and Greek name of Peter?  Cephas and Petros?  Why didn't the writer use both the Aramaic and Greek words for "church?"  The ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures used the Greek word for church to translate two Hebrew words, qahal and edah, referring to assembly, gathering or congregation.  There is a similar word to qahal in Aramaic, the language which Jesus spoke. 

In the writings of St. Paul, the notion of church becomes more fully developed as the gatherings of people who came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.  And by about the year 80, people who believed that Jesus was the Messiah were being excommunicated from the synagogues.  So, after the church was becoming known as a gathering of the followers of Christ, this Greek term, church was the logical term to translate as having come from the mouth of Jesus, when he said to Peter, "I will build my church."

In language, it is natural for us to translate and present the past in more current language.  We might call the Stanley Steamer, an early automobile even though that is not what Mr. Stanley called his invention.  St. Paul and the writer of the Gospel of Matthew came to use the Greek word for church and so they translated the early words of Jesus into their current understanding of the church.

A second point is similar is this: We interpret the Bible from our reading context.  This Gospel has been used by the ancient Western Catholic tradition to establish what is called the Petrine Primacy.  This is the belief that St. Peter was chief among the Apostles because Jesus said that "he was figuratively and by name," the rock on which the church would be built.  However, many of Protestant persuasion have challenged this.  They assert that the Rock is Christ and Christ is the Rock and the Chief Cornerstone on which the church is built.  So, for some interpreters, the rock on which Jesus builds the church refers not to Peter but to the confession of Peter, namely when he said, "You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God."  But the word "pun" on Peter and Rock in the Greek means that "rock" might refer to Peter.  Since "On this rock" only occurs in the Gospel of Matthew, it could mean that the churches of the Matthew writers were interested in establishing lines of authority because in the early decades there were competing religious leaders and groups.  Some saw the necessity to establish Peter as one who represented a direct connection to Jesus.  In the written record of the New Testament, it is more obvious that St. Paul was the theological "rock" and architect of the church, but unlike Peter, St. Paul did not walk with Jesus as an original disciple.

The third and last point, I would like to make is this: The confession of Christ as the Messiah is important.  The leadership of Peter was important.  But I believe that the most important phrase in today's Gospel is Jesus saying, "I will build my church....."  Peter and the twelve indeed were co-builders and Paul was a co-builder of the church but we can never forget that the true builder is the Risen Christ within us making the church happen.

Today, this reality is the same.  I cannot say, "I, Phil will build the parish church of St. John the Divine...."  Each of us at St. John the Divine need to experience the Risen Christ within us saying, "I will build the parish church of St. John the Divine in Morgan Hill."  Sometimes it seems as though the church is being built; sometimes it seems as though it is in decline and we can feel personally responsible when the church does not seem to be making building progress.

Let us remember that Christ is the one who said, "I will build my church."  It is our duty to be faithful in the ministry when the church seems to be building and when it seems to be in decline.

Today, we build the church in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism as we celebrate the entry of our friend into the communion of our church and parish.  We give Christ the full credit for the building of His church.  It is our duty to be faithful in apparent success and apparent decline, even as part of being faithful means we are ever looking for ways for the Gospel to be successful in the lives of all who come to this parish.

Christ is the builder of the church.  He said, "I will build my church..."  May God help each of us to be faithful to Christ who is the true founder and builder of the church.  Amen.