Sunday School, December 17, 2017 3 Advent B

Sunday School, December 17, 2017   3 Advent B

Theme:

Gospel

What does Gospel mean?

Good News.

Gospel is also what we call the first four books of the New Testament:  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are called Gospels because they tell the story of the good news of Jesus

Where did the word Gospel come from?

It came from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

The Hebrew word is “basar” and the prophet wrote about one who had a special mission from God to bring good news to people who were suffering, people who were sick and people who were in prison.

When Jesus read this from the prophet Isaiah, he told everyone that his life was about bringing good news, just like what the prophet Isaiah wrote about.

The life of Jesus is Good News

John the Baptist wanted everyone to know that Jesus was the Good News for the world.  He recommended everyone with his voice to follow Jesus.

Think about what is good news for you today.

Think about how you can share and bring good news to other people today

Sermon:

  Do you know what “Good News” is?  Christmas is coming…Is that good news?  Why is it good news?  You are going to have special fun with your family and friends.  You are going to have parties and good food.  And Santa Claus will come and leave some presents.   Is that good news?  Of course it is.

  If you know what good news is…then what is bad news?  If you fall and hurt your knee, that’s bad news.  If you are sick…that’s bad news.  And if we have more bad news than good news, then our lives can be very difficult, very hard to live.

  And we know that in our world today there is some very bad news.  Lots of people do not have jobs.  Lots of people do not have enough to eat.  Lots of people are sick.  Lots of people live in fear because of war and fighting.

  So we need to be thankful because in our lives we have more good news than bad news.

  Do you know what the word Gospel means?  It means “Good News.”  We call the books about Jesus Christ, “Good News,” because Jesus brought Good News.

  In the reading from the Prophet Isaiah, Isaiah wrote that the one who God anoints will bring good news.

  God’s anointed is the Messiah or the Christ.  And Christ is the one who brings good news.

  And what news did Jesus bring us?

  God loves, God cares for us, and God forgives us and God gives us everlasting life.  That is good news isn’t it?  It is great news.

  But Jesus wants us not just to receive good news, he wants us to do something more.  He wants us to take good news to people who need hear good news.

  And how do we do this?  By helping others.  At Christmas we are helping to buy some gift cards for some families who need special good news at Christmas.  So we are helping some families who have had some bad news, and we are trying to bring them some good news.

  Today let us be thankful for the Gospel, for the good news in our lives.  Let us ask God for more good news.  But as we ask God for good news, let us become people who bring good news to other people by helping people who have to overcome some bad news in their lives.

  How many of you like good news?  How many of you are willing to help bring good news to other people today?  Good, then we can help Christ make this a merry Christmas for more people.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 17, 2017: The Third Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs: Light a Candle, The Lord is Present,   Eat This Bread, I Want to Walk

Song: Light A Candle   (tune: Jimmy Crack Corn)

1-Light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today.  Advent time is here.  

2-Light a candle for peace today…

3-Light a candle for joy today….

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.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for 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

Liturgist:   A reading from the Prophet Isaiah

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 126

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, * then were we like those who dream.

Then was our mouth filled with laughter, * and our tongue with shouts of joy.

Then they said among the nations, * "The LORD has done great things for them."

Birthdays:   Terry Rounds,   Bob Dwyer

Anniversaries: 

  

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

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.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, `Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

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:The Lord Is Present  (Renew! # 55)

1.         The Lord is present in his sanctuary, let us praise the Lord.  The Lord is present in his people gathered here, let us praise the Lord.  Praise him, praise him, let us praise the Lord.  Praise him, praise him, let us praise Jesus.

2.         The Lord is present in his sanctuary, let us sing to the Lord.  The Lord is present in his people gathered here, let us sing to the Lord.  Sing to him, sing to him, let us sing to Lord.  Sing to him, sing to him, let us sing to Jesus.

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 up 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.

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

 the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: 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: I Want to Walk As a Child of the Light (Renew!  # 152)

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.

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:    Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Water-Man and Spirit-Man

2 Advent b      December 10, 2017
Is. 40:1-11     Psalm 85:1-2,8-13
2 Peter 3:8-15a,18    Mark 1:1-8
Lectionary Link

In the many calendars which govern the times of our lives, a large number of Christians subscribe to the Christian church calendar to organize the annual cycle in the presentation of Christian events of  our identity.

The church calendar is a curriculum catechetical device to do an annual review in various Christian themes.  Christian truths are divided up into topic matters instantiated in the events in the life of Jesus Christ and the church.  We divide Christian themes up and give different emphasis to the various themes during the church seasons.

In the season of Advent, an oft forgotten penitential season, the figure of John the Baptist appears in our lectionary.  More than any biblical figure, John the Baptist lived what seems to have been a perpetually life of penance.  If we give up things for the season of Advent, consider John the Baptist; he gave up everything for his entire life.

He travelled very light; just the camel hair on his back and he lived off the land.  He ate locusts, surely the kosher variety and one could not blame him for chasing the bug diet with wild honey.

With his life style, John was saying, "I am self-reliant; I don't need anyone.  I can't be bought.  You cannot pay me to say good things about you.  I do not have to do any fundraisers for my community.  And if you don't like it, don't come out to see me."

What did John the Baptist need?  He could have stayed in the wilderness as a hermit.  He could have avoided all human contact.  John the Baptist must have studied in the Judaic tradition.  He must have observed the religious leaders of his time.  We are told that his father was a priest of the Temple, so he had probably begun in the Sadduceean  tradition of Judaism.  Being the son of a priest, he would have in line to be a priest as well, but he went to the wilderness instead.  If Jesus went to the wilderness for forty days of temptation, John was a perpetual wilderness dweller.

John was a wilderness preacher and he must have had quite an effect because his preaching and his baptism became a draw for the people of the cities and the towns.
Why would anyone go out to the wilderness to see John?  Why would the Jews of his time and location submit to his baptism?

In the time of John, there were purification rituals but immersion in "living water" was a ritual requirement for non-Jews who were converted to Judaism and received into the community.

The baptism of John the Baptist could have been seen as a delegitimizing the practice of Judaism of his time.  A person who was born into a Jewish family had no need to undergo a conversion baptism to Judaism, but John the Baptist was requiring it.  It was as though, he was making them return to the Jordan River, the last river crossed when the people of Israel entered the Promised Land.  It is as though John was saying, the practice of the Jews of the past was no substitute for a renewed practice of commitment to God.

"Come to the Jordan and be baptized.  Receive your chosen status again in the renewal ritual of baptism.  Your automatic group identity can not be a substitute for the current practice of moral and ethical living."

The message of John the Baptist was not just a reformation of Judaism; it was start of a renewed community.

Why does John the Baptist figure so importantly in all of the four Gospels?  It could be that he was an early mentor of Jesus.  It could be that Jesus joined the "church" of John the Baptist as an expression of solidarity with John the Baptist and his followers.  The presence of John the Baptist in the Gospels, probably means that there were a significant number of members of his community.  History indicates that his community persisted long after churches became established.  The Gospel indicates that some of the early disciples of Jesus were former disciples of John the Baptist.  This means that their lives modelled moving from John as their leader to Jesus as their leader.  Moving on from John to Jesus is perhaps one of the most obvious persuasive purposes of the Gospel.  John is shown in favorable light and he is shown as one honored by Jesus.  He is shown as one who recommended Jesus to his followers.

So why didn't the community of John the Baptist persist and last?  One might speculate that unlike the Christian church, the community of John the Baptist was most likely limited in its appeal to Palestine and to the Jewish people.  It was perhaps more geographically based close to the Jordan River which was the primary location for the ritual of baptism.  The locations in Palestine were devastated by the invasion of the Roman Army, and the community of John the Baptist did not prove to be community that fared well when follwers had to flee their homelands.  There is no indication that John the Baptist made an appeal to the Gentile peoples in his time and his followers did not either, though Apollos in the book of Acts may be an exception.

The community of John the Baptist could be regarded as a proto-Jesus Movement.  The Jesus Movement and the church transformed the community of John just as they did with the traditions of the Hebrew Scriptures.  A dominant interpretive practice within Christianity was to take what came before and "spiritualize" it.

For Christians, heaven was the new Jerusalem, the church was the New Israel, the work of the Holy Spirit was called the New Creation.

So how was John the Baptist spiritualized within the Jesus Movement?   The church understood that John limited himself to the water ritual of baptism along with the requirement of repentance.  The church contrasted Jesus to John the Baptist by presenting the confession of John about Jesus: "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

The Christian practice came to add to the practice of baptism, the understanding that Christian baptism was not a external physical washing of the body, rather it was accompanied by the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a sign that the work of Christ is to recreate our lives by giving us the presence of the Holy Spirit.

In Advent, Christians present John the Baptist as the one who prepared the people of his time to embrace Jesus Christ as the expression of God's destiny for many people.  Christians believed that there would be smooth continuity from following John the Baptist to following Christ.

To say the very least: The Gospel writers present a highly appreciative view of John the Baptist as the Water-man who persuasively recommended Jesus as the Spirit-man.  Amen

Sunday School, December 10, 2017 2 Advent B

Sunday School, December 10, 2017   2 Advent B

Theme:

John the Baptist

Who was he?  He was a cousin of Jesus.  His dad was Zachariah, a retired priest, and his mother was Elizabeth.

John took a special religious vow, the vow of the nazirite.  He did not shave his hair and he did not drink wine.  He lived his life in the wilderness.  Perhaps he learned and studied with a group of people who lived there.

John wore a camel hair jacket and he ate grasshoppers and wild honey.

John began to preach and baptize in the area around the Jordan River.

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.

There were many people who followed John the Baptist.  He was their leader and teacher.

His main message was to asked people to repent and be baptized.  To repent is a special kind of education.  We learn how to be better and then we do something about it to make our lives better.

If we have lied, we quit lying and tell the truth.  If we have stolen things, we quit stealing and respect what belongs to others.  To repent means to learn when we have done wrong, to correct it and never do the wrong thing again.

John the Baptist was very bold.  He even tried to correct the bad behavior of King Herod.  And because of this he was killed.

During and after the life of John the Baptist, many of his followers became the first followers of Jesus.

John the Baptist was not jealous of Jesus; he was happy that his followers became followers of Jesus.

Why do we study John the Baptist during the season of Advent?

Advent is a season of preparation for the birth of Christ.

John was a person who prepared people to receive Jesus Christ.

In Advent, we are supposed to live a simpler life and share some of our extra time, food and money with people who are in need.

John lived a very simple life.  He showed us that we do not need much to live   He showed that we can make our lives simpler and if we simplify our lives we have more time to share with God and with other people.

Also from John the Baptist, we learn that we are to live and prepare others to love and accept Jesus Christ.

Questions:

What do you think about John the Baptist’s clothes and his diet?

How do you think that you can simplify your life during Advent?  What is something that you can do without during Advent?

What projects can you do in Advent to help other people who are in need?

Sermon:

  What does a blocker do in football for a running back?  He pushes and shoves tacklers out of the way so the running back can run far with ball.

  What do we use bulldozers and earthmovers for?  We used them to build straight and level roads so we can get places quicker in our cars.

  Today we read about a man named John the Baptist.  And John the Baptist is a person who was like a blocker or like a bulldozer.

  He was like a blocker, in that he pushed aside everything, to prepare a way for Jesus Christ.  He was like a bulldozer in that he was trying to help people come directly to knowledge of God.

  John the Baptist lived a very different life.  He camped out all the time.  He lived out amongst the wild animals all the time.  He probably slept in caves.  He wore a camel hair robe and do you know what he ate:  He ate grasshoppers and honey?

  John came and he wasn’t very popular, because he saw some things that were wrong that needed to be corrected.  And no one likes to be corrected, do we?  When our parents or teachers correct us, it is not always fun.  But why do they correct us?  Because they want us to be better.

  John the Baptist corrected people, because he believed that they could be better.  And he really wanted them to be introduced to Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ was an important gift from God to us.

  Today, when we think about John the Baptist, let us remember that sometimes we need to be corrected so that we can get better. What If we never were corrected, then we could not get better.  It does not always feel good to be corrected, but remember we do want to get better.  And the only way to get better is to have someone show us how.

  Jesus Christ showed us how to be better.  He showed how to love God with all our hearts and how to love our neighbors.  Let us be thankful today for the people that God gives to us to help correct our behavior so that we can become better.  That is what the season of Advent is about: Correcting our behavior so that we can be better.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 10, 2017: The Second Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs:  Light a Candle, Prepare the Way of the Lord;   Jesus Stand Among Us,  Lord, I Lift Your Name on High

Song: Light A Candle   (tune: Jimmy Crack Corn)

Light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today.  Advent time is here.  

Light a candle for peace today,…….

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.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for 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

Liturgist:   A reading from the Prophet Isaiah

A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 85

I will listen to what the LORD God is saying, * for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.

Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, * that his glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth have met together; * righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

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 Mark

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"  John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

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:   Prepare the Way of the Lord  (Renew! # 92)  Sing four times

Prepare the way of the Lord.  Prepare the way of the Lord,

and all people will see the salvation of our God.                  

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 up 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 can we 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: 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.

 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: Lord, I Lift Your Name on High (Renew!  # 4)

Lord I lift your name on high; Lord, I love to sing your praises.  I’m so glad you’re in my life;

I’m so glad you came to save us.  You came from heaven to earth to show the way,

from earth to the cross my debt to pay.  From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;

Lord, I lift your name on high.

Dismissal   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Relating to Biblical Utopia and Apocalyptic

1 Advent Cycle b    December 3, 2017
Is. 64:1-9     Psalm 80:1-7
1 Cor.1:1-9   Mark 13:24-37
Lectionary Link
My primary goal as a preacher is to convince people that the Bible is relevant to our lives in our postmodern world.  This has become increasingly difficult because more people believe that modern science is the preferred truth over the way in which biblical truths are presented.  Also, it has become more difficult for people to believe in biblical truths because of the way in which Christians have defended and presented biblical truth.

This is nowhere more obvious than in the presentation of the utopian and apocalyptic portions of biblical writings.  We have apocalyptic words attributed to Jesus in the appointed Gospel with the assertion that the very generation that lived during the time of Jesus would not pass away before these things occurred.

The buzzer goes off like the one on a quiz show when someone gives the wrong answer.  We are still here now and the Apocalyptic end of time has not happened so the Bible and the words of Jesus are false, therefore we are not obliged to believe and follow teachings which are patently false?

All religions and Christians too have had their sects even cult-like groups of apocalyptic literalists.  They read the Bible like a tea leaves and make predictions about the end of life as we know it.  Lots of apocalyptic prophets have tried to predict the exact dates even though the words of Jesus remind us we need to be agnostic about when life as we know it will end.  No one knows the time or the hour.

Many people deny the relevance of the Bible because of the way in which the apocalyptic and utopian vision of the Bible has been presented.

How can I stand before you today and say that the apocalyptic and utopian portions of the Bible are anthropologically sound, that is, honest to human nature?

I think that answer lies near and close to each of us.  How so?  You and I are always attended by personal parallel universes.  In simple terms, the parallel universe for each of us is called "day-dreaming" when we are a awake.  Whether we admit or not, we are always attended by our "day-dreams" as an alternate and parallel inner reality.

Children and people who act out without sufficient blocking controls, merge the alternate day-dream universe with their actual lives and the adults who do that too often are called narcissistic, megalomaniacs, or Don Quixotes, Dreamers, divorced from truth or reality.

For you and I to appreciate a right relationship with the apocalyptic and utopian portions of the Bible we need to learn how to be in right relationship with our own life of day-dreams.

It is very human, all too human, and normal and naturally human to have the parallel state of day-dreaming.  Day-dreaming is the great complement to our real and actual lives.

What kept the Cubbie fans hopeful for so many years?  What keeps every sports fan hopeful about the team they support even when there has been no such recent championship performances?

What keeps us old people looking in the mirror without sheer terror of the visible effects of aging?  If we're lucky, we have day-dream material to always give us glamorous make-overs in how we see ourselves.  Day-dream space is like the perfect accompanying placebo to make us feel, look and act better than we actually are.  It functions that way, if we are not inwardly sick and afflicted by the rot of impaired self-esteem.  People with mental health problems have them revealed in how their day dream space is working.  Is it working for them or against?  Is it giving best case scenarios and utopian outcomes or is it giving them worst care scenarios inspiring neurosis, worry, anxiety and deep Angst, even depression.

I would submit that it is very important to have a right relationship with our day dream parallel universe, for our own mental health.

If this is true for each person, it is true for the corporate day-dream parallel universe for society.  Our Declaration of Independence is a corporate day-dream parallel universe.  All created equal.  All have the right to liberty, justice and the pursuit of happiness.  These utopic ideals have never been fully realized in actual life even as they remain the corporate day dream of American society.

If we understand the importance of day dream space, we can turn to the biblical utopia and apocalyptic with a new understanding and appreciation of how they are true, true to the ways in which human being complement the actual woes of this world with a parallel language world of the ideals of the day dream space.  If this is a universal habit of the human psychology, why deny it, and why disparage the manifestation of it in the biblical writings?  Utopia and apocalyptic are totally honest to human nature, and therefore true.  And if it is true, we still must have a right relationship to how it is true.

All of us live in the probable conditions of freedom in this world.  Good things and bad things and indifferent things can happen to each of us and to our families, clubs, parishes, cities, countries and societies.  We live under the probable conditions of freedom.

People who are rightly related to their day dream space have better ability to adjust and live with whatever happens to them.

Biblical people had some really bad things happen to them.  There are people who have had some really bad things happen to them, things like genocide, invasions and wars.  The actual probability of bad things happening can sicken our day dream space and when sickened, our day dream space can malfunction.  Day dream space that malfunctions cannot be a natural analgesic for the pain of the world.  Day dream space that malfunctions becomes the fear of fear, the fear of worry, the fear of anxiety, the fear of Angst, the fear of depression.  Day dream space needs to be cleansed and purified so that it can function as the appropriate analgesic creative space to deal with the actual conditions of the world.

When unlucky societies have lots of strings of bad luck, the corporate day dream of societies can become sicken, unhopeful and even despairing.   The role of leaders, artists, preachers, prophets and priests is to cure the corporate day dream of society.  And this is precisely what has been expressed in the utopian and apocalyptic discourses of the Bible.

People who were under the heavy thumb of invasion, exile and oppression were given an inward cosmetic make over.  They were given an inward cosmological make over with utopian and apocalyptic artistic discourses.  The day dream space is healed of dystopia and depression by the affirming proclamation of utopia, heaven, and apocalyptic superheroes of justice.

Today, you and I are invited to be in a right relationship with biblical utopia and biblical apocalyptic.  You and I are invited to be in right relationship with both our personal and corporate day dream space.

And how do we do that?  First by being truthful about having a day dream space.  Own up to it; it is essence of the endless child aspect of personality.  It has the natural capacity for joy no matter what is happening in our lives and so it is the perfect natural analgesic, if we know how to access it and if we can keep it healthy.

How can we tell when the day dream space is unhealthy.  When we become paranoid, narcissistic and when the lies of dream space are presented as outer world reality.  Our day dream space is unhealthy when it creates only worst case scenarios inspiring fear, worry, anxiety and depression.  Our corporate day dream space is unhealthy when large groups of people give up on the ideals of all being created equal, with liberty and justice and the pursuit of happiness of all.  It is really sick when people become the death cults of jihidis and the genocidal terrorists.

And how is that you and I can be honest and truthful about the utopian and apocalyptic of the Bible?  First, we must confess that we have allowed these expression to move outside of the Bible into our art and cinema, even while we have been embarrassed by the biblical utopian and the biblical apocalyptic.  Be honest to the utopian and apocalyptic day dream space in the Bible and outside of the Bible.

And be honest about the effect of how the day dream space works.  When we see something that is horrendous and unjust, our day dream space reacts by presenting an immediate intervening superhero or interdiction.  Day dream space can create in a rage for immediate justice to fix and punish right now.  Day dream space can be police, the judge, jury and executioner all in one fell swoop.  This impulse satisfies our sense of justice and self protection, even while we know that we cannot act out on such impulses.  The apocalyptic writing of the Bible is the immediate witness to a correcting justice that the people of the Bible needed to survive the times of severe injustice.  Every generation has the experience of the immediate witness to correcting justice.

Let us also be honest to biblical utopian as well.  It is frightening to see violence between human beings and between creatures.  The utopian vision presents a healing harmony which enables us to live with the incredible competition of actual life.  The utopian vision is a healing vision to complement the stress of the conflicts of life.  Utopia is a vision of harmony of differences, where differences complement and do not destroy.

Have I convinced you about how truthful and natural the utopian and the apocalyptic discourses of the Bible are?  If you have ever enjoyed the work of Walt Disney or Tolkien, the Star Wars Series, or Superhero Comic genre,  you have because you have accessed the day dream space of your lives to complement the ambiguities involved in the probable conditions of freedom.

Come to the altar today and seek healing for your day dream space, so that you can believe that justice will ultimately prevail and that peaceful harmony is the most important vision of life.

The Risen Christ will heal your day dream space and my day dream space so that the apocalyptic and the utopian will function to enhance our living today.  Amen.