Sunday School, December 31, 2017 1 Christmas B

Sunday School, December 31, 2017    1 Christmas B

Theme:

A different kind of Christmas Story

If we say that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, that means he has always been.  So, where was Jesus the eternal Son of God, before he was born to Mary in Bethlehem?

The Gospel of Jesus gives us the answer to this question.  In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The Word was made flesh…the Word was found to be in the baby Jesus who grew to be a grown adult man.  So, the Word, which created everything, lived with us in the person of Jesus.

The Gospel of John tells us about Jesus, the Christ, before he was born in Bethlehem.

Word is a very good metaphor for Christ and for God.  Why?

Word is the most distinguishing thing about being human.  People have and use words in a way that no other creatures do.  Words make us human.  The only way that we can know that we know anything at all is by having and using words.

Why is it important that Jesus as WORD AND GOD?  To be the very best human beings, we have to learn how to use words in the very best way.  We have to learn to use words to be wise, to know as much as we can, to speak with love and kindness, but we have to remember our body language too.  We have to have our body perform deeds of love and kindness.  Jesus is the Word made Flesh and though the life of Jesus, God showed us how we can create our lives in the very best way through the ways in which we use words, with our speaking and with our writng and with our body language.

As we begin the new year, let us make a resolution to improve our word use, in our speaking, in our learning new things, in our writing and in our body language.

Remember God as Word is everywhere, inside of us and outside of us because God as Word is Life and Light.

My Word to You:  Happy New Year and God bless you in how you use your words in 2018

Sermon

  Let’s pretend for just a minute.  Let us pretend that we cannot see.  Let us pretend that we cannot hear.  Let us pretend that we cannot speak.

  It is hard to pretend this.  Because if we had never learned the word pretend, we wouldn’t know what pretend.

  Maybe we should think about a little baby who is crying.  Do we know why a baby cries?  Can the baby tell us why exactly he or she is crying?  No, but we try to guess.  Do we need to change a diaper, or give the baby some milk, or give the baby some medicine?  Do we need to burp the baby?  Does the baby have a tummy ache?  Or is the baby cold?  Or is the baby too hot?  Or is the baby lonely?

  We try to guess why a baby is crying, but we cannot be sure why a baby is crying.  Why?  Because a baby does not yet know how to speak or to use language.  And when a baby begins to use language, a baby starts to become more like a grown-up.  Why?  Because the baby can now talk to mom and dad and to brothers and sisters and Grandmothers and grandfathers.  And so we always celebrate when a baby says the first words, because we know that the baby is becoming able to tell us how she feels.

  There once was little girl named Helen Keller.  When she was a baby she had a sickness and she lost her ability to see, to talk and to hear.  Because she could not see, talk or hear, she had no way to learn how to talk.  Can you imagine what her life was like?  She was not happy and she was very hard to care for, because she had no way to talk with her parents.   Her parents hired a teacher to try to teach her.  And it is very hard to teach someone who cannot see, hear or talk.  But the teacher used her hands to make letters in her hand.  But she did not even know the letters, until one day when water was pouring over her hand, the teacher spelled “w-a-t-e-r” into the hand of Hellen Keller.  And Helen suddenly understood what words meant.  And she was so excited she wanted to know the name of everything that she could touch.  And when she could use words, her life was suddenly new, because she could now talk with her parents using her hands.  Helen Keller grew up to be a famous and well-educated person, and she helped and inspired people who did have the ability to see, hear or speak.

  Jesus Christ is called the Word of God.  And from the life of Helen Keller, you and I can understand how important Words are for us.  Everything in our world is created with Word, because we don’t know what anything is if we don’t have words.

  Let us be thankful today that we have words.  With words we don’t have to live alone and be lonely, because with words we can talk with the important people in our lives.  And let us be thankful that God our creator made us special because we were made to use words.  And so today we use our words to thank God who made us to have words in our lives.  And we should be very careful about how we use the words of our lives.  Our words can create love and kindness; or our word can cause war and fighting.  Let remember when we use words; they are special gifts to us that God gave us to use. Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 31, 2017: The First Sunday after Christmas

Gathering Songs: What Child Is This?;   Go Tell It On the Mountain; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

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

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever.  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.

What Child Is This  (Blue Hymnal # 115)

What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?  Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?

Chorus: This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing;

   haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary.

Why lies he in such mean estate where ox and ass are feeding?  Good Christian fear: for sinners here the silent Word is pleading.  Chorus

So bring him incense, gold and myrrh, come, peasant, king, to own him; the King of kings salvation brings, let loving hearts enthrone him.  Chorus

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God..

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 147

Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God! * how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!

Great is our LORD and mighty in power; * there is no limit to his wisdom.

The LORD lifts up the lowly, * but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; * make music to our God upon the harp.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.  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. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Song: Go Tell It On the Mountain, (Blue Hymnal, # 99)

Chorus: Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere; go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born!

While shepherds kept their watching o’er silent flocks by night, behold, throughout the heavens there shone a holy light. Chorus

The shepherds feared and trembled when lo above the earth rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior’s birth.  Chorus

Down in a lowly manger the humble Christ was born, and God sent us salvation that blessed Christmas morn.  Chorus

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 God.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of 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,

(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: 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 :  Ukrainian Carol,  piano solo by Stephenie O’Donnell

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: God Rest You Merry Gentlemen (Blue Hymnal # 105)

God rest you merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay; remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day, to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.  Chorus: O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy; O tiding of comfort and joy!

From god our heavenly Father a blessed angel came and unto certain shepherds brought tiding of the same: how that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name.  Chorus

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Meanings of Christmas

Christmas Eve B  December 24, 2017
Isaiah 9:2-7 Psalm 96 
Titus 2:11-14  Luke 21-14(15-20)

Merry Christmas!  And thank you for being here to observe the most literal meaning of Christmas.  Christmas means the "Mass of the Christ?"  And what is this liturgy tonight?  The Mass of Christ.

The Christmas story has been told in various ways and it has attained many meanings.  For a moment we might look at some meanings of Christmas.

Meaning happens when communication can result in understanding.  For understanding to take place two parties have to understand a common vocabulary of words and common cultural references.  When a young child is read advanced physics, no communication takes place and meanings do not happen.  An audience has to be familiar with common vocabulary and cultural reference for what might be called "telling" meanings to occur.

The writers of the Gospels wrote to audiences who came from the traditions derived from Hebrew Scriptures.  But also the early readers of the Christmas story were Gentiles without benefit of a background in the Hebrew Scriptures.  The Christmas story, in order to attain effective meaning, had to be written in the vocabulary and culture references available to a diverse audience.

Members of the early churches with a background in the stories of the Hebrew Scriptures,  knew about David, Bethlehem and the city of David.  They knew what Messiah meant.  They knew about angels.  They knew the Isaian writings about a prince of peace and a maiden bearing a special child.  They knew about the Isaian writing about Emmanuel.   They knew what the name Jesus meant:  It was the same as the Hebrew Joshua, meaning  God is our Savior.

The Gentile members of the church from their cultural experience in the Roman Empire knew that Caesar Augustus had been given credit for bringing peace to the world.  In Roman propaganda, he was called the savior of the world.  There was also a miraculous conception story told about the Caesar.  There were stories about a comet in the sky at the time of his birth.  He had been elevated by the Roman Senate to be a god and that made his son a son of a god.

The writers of the Christmas stories borrowed from the language of their audience to present the meanings of the life of Jesus in an accessible way.  And their message was this:  Even though we have borrowed the language and cultural references of the Hebrew Scriptures and even though we have borrowed from the propaganda motifs of the Roman Caesar, Jesus of Nazareth takes the meanings to another level of uniqueness.

If you believe that King David was a messiah, Jesus of Nazareth by virtue of his resurrection from the dead is a totally different and unique messiah.   If you believe that the Caesar is a great ruler in the world, Jesus of Nazareth has become a Cosmic ruler of the inner world above all principalities and powers.

The Christmas story had cultural meanings for the members of the early church who were both Jews and Gentiles.  But the Christmas story also had theological and mystical meanings for the members of the early churches.

Today,we assume the general availability of most literature.  It is hard for us to conceive of the Gospel writings not being available for a general readership.  In the time when the Gospels were written they were private literature for a limited readership, namely those who gathered in the home churches for the liturgies.

As  private literature, the Gospels were a cryptic literature hiding the meanings of the spiritual practices of the church within a story.   There was a hidden and an inner meaning of the Christmas Story to be known only to the spiritual initiates of the churches.

In the mysticism and spiritual practice of the early church,  the evidence of the Risen Christ was known in  an experience called a New Birth.  St. Paul called the mystery of the ages to be the experience of Christ being born within the inner life of people.  Such a birth did not come from reading the Hebrew Scriptures; such birth did not come because of Emperor Cult of the deified Caesar.  The birth came when a person's life was overshadowed by the power of Holy Spirit.  The result of this spiritual encounter was the transformation of one's life.  Such people who experienced such spiritual births, gathered together and as they gathered, they taught others about the reality of the birth of Christ into their lives.

The mystics of the early church were people who knew that they were on a path of the transformation of their lives because of a spiritual event.  They taught and promulgated this event in the Christmas Story.

In the mysticism of the early church, Mary was the paradigm of every Christian.  The physical birth of Jesus in Mary was understood as a providential act of God.  She was over-shadowed by the Holy Spirit and knew her child to be special.  Within this story of Mary, is the spiritual and mystical story of each Christian.

Jesus was born to Mary in a miraculous birth;  the Risen Christ is born into each of us in a marvelous spiritual birth initiating the transformation of our lives because of this encounter with the Higher Power of God.

Each year we re-enact the Christmas Story and it is easy for us to stay with the cuteness of the story and make sure that we make Christmas a delight for children.  And it does us good to tend to children.  The Christmas story is about an amazing event happening for some very poor people, peasant shepherds and obscure persons like Mary and Joseph.    Christmas is good time to help our charities as they help the persons who are vulnerable.  This year, the disastrous events in nature has disrupted the quality of life through hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and fires.  And we pray and give towards people having just the basic necessities of life as a good Christmas.

Tonight we pray for more Christmas meanings in our world.  And I pray that each of us will know the mystical events in our lives which give us the assurance of being helped on the path of further excellence for ourselves and in our mission within this world.

The literal meaning of Christmas is the Mass of Christ.  And in this event, we are renewed in the event of once again realizing the Real Presence of Christ in our lives.

Merry Christmas and God bless you with mystical evidence of the birth of Christ within your life.  Amen.

Mama Mia in Luke's Gospel

4 Advent B        December 24, 2017

2 Samuel 7:4,8-16     Ps.89       

Romans 16:25-27     Luke 1:26-38  

Lectionary Link

How many of you like musicals? There is something fascinating about them.  In the middle of a story and narrative, all of sudden the characters break out in song and dance, with full orchestration.  You don't even think about how illogical it is:  Where are they hiding the band and the orchestra as they sing and dance in La La Land?  And how is it that all of the bystanders in Mama Mia can suddenly break out in song?

Are musicals foreign to the Bible?  Perhaps not.  There are songs and poetry found in the Bible and it could be that the book of Psalms is in fact the hymn book of the Hebrew Scriptures.

But one might have to call the Gospel of Luke the Musical Gospel.  Angels break out in song in heaven.  Zechariah breaks out in song.  The old man Simeon breaks out in song with prophetic prediction.  And the greatest song of all in the Gospel of Luke is from the greatest Mama Mia of the Church, the blessed Virgin Mary.

Luke inserts songs within the narrative of his Gospel and such insertions make them have something of the artistic appearance of Musical.  Song and art make us suspend our logical minds.  Art makes us suspend reason.  How is it that these folks can be so instantaneously inspired to spontaneously break out in chanting this lovely poetic songs?

And of course, it didn't happen this way, the Gospel of Luke is probably the liturgy of the early church re-presenting the life of Jesus and including in this artistic literature, Songs of those who witnessed Jesus.  These songs were being sung by members of the early church who have witnessed the birth of the Risen Christ in their lives.  And how did the birth of Christ happen in the lives of the early Christians?  They were over-shadowed by the Holy Spirit.  They were inspired.  They were made to feel favored.  They were made to confess their belief in God's justice in the middle of living under the conditions of the justice of the Roman Empire.

The Gospel of Luke with its famous songs is still the liturgy of repetition for the church today.  We repeat it because we want to reinforce the primary identity of our lives.  And what is that identity?

We are children of God, we are brothers and sisters of and in Christ.  Jesus was born of Mary.  The Risen Christ is born in us.

These are anchors of our identity as people and so we repeat the Song of Mary as a song of our identity with Jesus Christ.

Jesus was born in Mary as a gifted Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Risen Christ is born into each of us by the power of the Holy Spirit, making us children of God.  And so like Mary we can break out in song:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: *the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him * in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, * he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, * and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, * and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, * for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, * to Abraham and his children for ever.  Amen.

Sunday School, December 24, 2017 4 Advent B

Sunday School, December 24, 2017   4 Advent B

Theme:

Mary, the mother of Jesus

Review events in the life of Mary

The Archangel Gabriel came to Mary and told her she would have a special Son, who would be God’s child

Mary was surprised by this but she said “Let it be according to God’s word.”

Mary sang a song about God’s favor and about God’s justice winning in our world.

Mary, when see was expecting her baby, met with her cousin Elizabeth who was the mother of John the Baptist

Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to register for paying taxes.  While in Bethlehem, Mary’s Son Jesus was born in a stable because she could not get a room at the inn.

Jesus was born to Mary.

The early Christians believed that the Risen Christ is born into the hearts of every Christian.

And this birth of Christ in us is done by the Holy Spirit.

Following the example of Mary, we say about the birth of Christ in us: “Let it be to us according to God’s word.”

In baptism, we celebrate the birth of Christ within us as our spiritual birth.

So, in important ways, our baptism is like Christmas.

Be thankful for the birth of Jesus to Mary and be thankful for the birth of Christ into our lives.

Sermon:

  What is the most popular and most often said prayer throughout the Christian church today?  It’s probably the Lord’s Prayer or what we call the “Our Father.”

  What is the second most popular prayer throughout the Church?  It is a prayer that is probably the most popular prayer in the Roman Catholic Church.  It is called the “Ave Maria or in English, the “Hail Mary.”  And many Christians use prayer beads called the Rosary to say the “Hail Mary” and to meditate on the mysteries of Jesus Christ.

  For football fans a “Hail Mary” is a last second pass thrown in an effort to score a touchdown just before the clock runs out.  But really the Hail Mary is a very popular prayer.

  And what are the words of the Hail Mary and where did they come from?  “Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed be the fruit of thy womb Jesus.  Holy Mary, mother of God.  Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death.  Amen.

  Some of the words of this famous prayer came from the words of the cousin of Mary, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth was the wife of the priest Zechariah, and she was told that she was going to have a baby, even

though she was too old to have one.

  The angel Gabriel told Mary that she was going to have a very important son who would be the son of God.

  So, when Mary and Elizabeth met before their babies were born, the little baby who was in Elizabeth jumped in his mother’s tummy, because he was excited to meet the mother of Jesus.

  The baby of Elizabeth was John the Baptist.  And when Elizabeth saw Mary she said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?

  So, these words of Elizabeth became a part of the famous prayer: Hail Mary.

  We know that famous parents can also make their children famous too.  But also, a famous child can also make their parents famous.

  Mary became famous because she was the mother of Jesus.  She obeyed God.  And she has become the second most important person in the entire Christian history.

  Let us remember today, Mary, who was a good mother.  She obeyed God and brought into this world the most important person who ever lived.  And so today, as we get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we thank God for Mary, the mother of Jesus and like Elizabeth we say,

 “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 24, 2017: The four Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs: Light a Candle,  

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….

4-Light a candle for love 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

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, 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 letter to the Romans

Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-- to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together The Song of Mary

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: *

the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him *

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm, *

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, *

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

The promise he made to our fathers, *

to Abraham and his children for ever.

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 Luke

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

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: Mary and the Angel (Tune: Reuben and Rachel)

Mary, Mary, look beside you.  There’s an angel standing there! 

It is Gabriel, sent from heaven with Good News for you to hear.

Mary, Mary, don’t be frightened.  God is with you favored one.

You will have a little baby, Jesus Christ, God’s own dear Son.

“How can this be?” Mary wondered. “I’ve not married anyone.”

“God can do all things,” said Gabriel. “The baby will be God’s own Son.”

“As you say,” then Mary answered, “As God says, so let it be.”

We join Mary in her praises; Jesus came for you and me.”

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: I Come With Joy   (Renew! # 195)

1.         I come with joy a child of God, forgiven, loved, and free, the life of Jesus to recall, in love laid down for me.

2.         I come with Christians, far and near to find, as all are fed, the new community of love in Christ’s communion bread.

3.         As Christ breaks bread, and bids us share, each proud division ends.  The love that made us makes us one, and strangers now are friends.

 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 O Come, O Come Emmanuel (tune, Farmer in the Dell)

O come Emmanuel, O come Emmanuel. Come and save your people now, O come Emmanuel.

Now let us sing with joy, now let us sing with joy. Jesus came to save us all, now let us sing with joy.

O come Emmanuel, O come Emmanuel. Live within our hearts we pray, O come Emmanuel.

Dismissal   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

John the Baptist: Getting Rid of the Detours to God

3 Advent b      December 17, 3 Advent
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Psalm 126
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 John 1:6-8,19-28

 Lectionary Link

Why didn't the Gospel writers read each other?  Jesus is quoted in the Gospel of Matthew as saying, "If you will accept it, John the Baptist is the Elijah who was to come."  In John's Gospel, "John the Baptist is quoted as saying, I am not Elijah."  Who are you going to believe Jesus or John the Baptist and if you literally believe Jesus, then you might adopt the belief in reincarnation or transmogrification of the soul.  Of course, when one reads the Gospel, one chooses interpretive modes.  "The Elijah" does not need to refer to a return of Elijah but to a prophet functioning in a similar role as the original Elijah, a kind of "third person" Elijah-like figure.

One might note that the writer of John's Gospel perhaps did not read the writer of Matthew's Gospel.  They were writing at different times in different places for variety of different communities.  The oracle of Christ in the early Christianity community had a specificity in application to the needs of the community at the time when the writing was first written for a specific group or gathering of followers of Jesus.

How is the beginning of John's Gospel different?  It has no genealogy of Jesus.  It has no infancy narratives with shepherds, no angels, no marvelous and miraculous birth stories, no star moving in the skies guiding magi, no Simeon, no Anna, no Herod, no flight to Egypt, no slaughter of the innocent.  The Gospel of John does not even tell us that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

As readers of the Gospels, we might want to ponder the differences in the Gospel presentations.  

John Gospel states that Christ was a pre-existent figure who was originally THE WORD WITH GOD and THE WORD BEING GOD.

Logically for humanity any awareness of ourselves existing happens because we live in the web of words and living in a web of word, we know ourselves to be word users.

COSMIC PRE-EXISTING WORD, became flesh in the person of Jesus revealing basically that even the experience in flesh and blood is mainly an experience of existing in words.

Jesus the Christ became the superlative configuration of a word event in humanity and the pre-story for how the pre-eminence of Jesus came about had to be told.

And in telling the story of Jesus, John the Baptist is a bridge figure between Hebrew Scripture traditions and the way in which Christians came to understand Jesus.

John's Gospel was the last canonical Gospel written and it was written by writers who knew that the community of John the Baptist had been a significant Movement in Palestine.  John's Gospel was written in a later time when there were still remnants of the community of John the Baptist around.

The writers of the Gospel of John were wondering:  Why haven't all of the followers of John the Baptist come over to follow Jesus yet?  Don't they know how John regarded himself?  Don't they know that he denied being the Messiah, he denied being Elijah and he even denied being a prophet.  Don't the followers of John the Baptist know that when John compared himself to Jesus, he said he was not worthy even to tie the thong of his sandals

Don't the follower of John the Baptist know that he introduced his most devout followers to Jesus and encouraged them to follow Jesus?

In the Gospel of John, the words of John the Baptist are completely self deprecating when he is comparing himself to Jesus.  He is not Elijah, he is not the Messiah, and he is not a prophet.  John reduced himself to a facet of language which is found in the Hebrew Scriptures:  John said he was but a Voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord.

What was John the Baptist saying according to the writer of John's Gospel? 

He was saying, don't go to the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots, the Herodians, the Levites or the Samaritans and don't come to me.   Why?  All of these contain ways of the Lord but why take an indirect route when the straight and direct path to God's will was now to found in Jesus?

The Good News of the Gospel of John is that a direct path was open to God.  There was no longer any need to go on a long detour to God, around mountains, up mountains, down into valleys.  Go directly to Jesus.

John the Baptist said he was like a single pointing finger, pointing at Jesus.  "I'm not the main man, Jesus is. Go directly to him."

God as Word came most directly to humanity in Jesus Christ.  John the Baptist said, "You don't need any human detours of mediation from other human traditions.  The God as Word came most directly to us in Jesus Christ.  Now you go directly to God in Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist's evangelism is the same evangelism that we embrace today:  Like John, we say, "Go directly to Jesus.  Go directly to how the Word of God is made known to your life."

As Gospel evangelists, let us adopt the evangelism of John the Baptist as we say with him: "Go directly to Christ, the Messiah."   Amen.