Quiz of the Day, December 2017

Quiz of the Day, December 31, 2017

What did the childless Hannah promise God should God allow her to bear a child?

a. the child would be a priest
b. the child would take the vow of the nazirite
c. the child would anoint the first King of Israel
d. the child would be a soldier in the army

Quiz of the Day, December 30, 2017

Whom of the following biblical performed what might be called mouth to mouth resuscitation or some kind of CPR equivalent?

a. Jesus
b. Moses
c. Elijah
d. Elisha

Quiz of the Day, December 29, 2017

To whom is the Second Epistle of John addressed?

a. the church at Ephesus
b. to a local church bishop
c. to the elect lady
d. to general readership

Quiz of the Day, December 28, 2017

The slaughter of the Holy Innocents serves as a story to present Jesus in comparison to whom?

a. Adam
b. Moses
c. David
d. Solomon

Quiz of the Day, December 27, 2017

In Church tradition, the disciple "whom the Lord loved" is regarded to be?

a. John the Apostle
b. John the Evangelist
c. John, son of Zebedee
d. John of Patmos
e. John the Divine
f. All of the above

Quiz of the Day, December 26, 2017

Who were Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus?

a. Leaders of churches found by Paul
b. Evangelists commissioned in Antioch
c. The first martyrs of the Jesus Movement
d. Earliest deacons ordained to served the poor

Quiz of the Day, December 25, 2017

Who is best known for the promulgation of the eternal birth of Christ in the soul?

a. St. Paul
b. Meister Eckhart
c. Thomas Traherne
d. Julian of Norwich

Quiz of the Day, December 24, 2017

How long is the fourth "week" of Advent in 2017?

a. 6 days
b. 5 days
c. 3 days
d. 1 day

Quiz of the Day, December 23, 2017

In what book of the Bible can one read about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

a. Jude
b. Daniel
c. Ezekiel
d. Revelation

Quiz of the Day, December 22, 2017

Who is the Apostle of India?

a. Sadhu Sindar Singh
b. Francis Xavier
c. Roberto de Nobili
d.  Thomas


Quiz of the Day, December 21, 2017

Which of the following is not true of St. Thomas the Apostle?

a. he is founder of Thomism
b. a Gospel is attributed to him
c. he is called the "Twin"
d. he is referred to as Didymus
e. he wanted empirical evidence of the resurrected Christ

Quiz of the Day. December 20, 2017

Who is the speaker in the "Magnificat?"

a. Elizabeth
b. Simeon
c. Mary
d. Hannah

Quiz of the Day, December 19, 2017

Seven is an important number in the Book of Revelations.  Which of the following is not an item of seven in the Book of Revelations?

a. lamp stands
b. swords
c. spirits of the churches
d. angels
e. trumpets
f. bowls
g. plagues
h. crowns

Quiz of the Day, December 18,  2017

Where can Philadelphia be found in the Bible?

a. it can't; it was a Quaker invention for a city in Pennsylvania
b. Acts of the Apostles
c. Book of Revelations
d. Romans


Quiz of the Day, December 17, 2017

Third Sunday of Advent is called "Gaudete" Sunday.  What does "gaudete" mean?

a. rose colored vestments
b. light the rose/pink candle
c. Rejoice
d. Prepare


Quiz of the Day, December 16, 2017

Who mourned over Jerusalem and wished that he could gather it children like a hen gathers her brood under her wing?

a. Jeremiah
b. David
c. Jesus
d. Hosea

Quiz of the Day, December 15, 2017

Which of the following is Zerubbabel known for?

a. disobeying Haggai
b. defeating Antiochus Epiphanes
c. rebuilding the Temple
d. bringing thousand back from exile in Persia

Quiz of the Day, December 14, 2017

Which of the following is not a writing of the Spanish mystic Juan de la Cruz?

a. Ascent of Mt. Carmel
b. The Spiritual Canticle
c. The Interior Castle
d. The Dark Night of the Soul

Quiz of the Day, December 13, 2017

The famous Neapolitan song "Santa Lucia" is inspired by what?

a. St. Lucy of Syracuse
b. Santa Lucia in the Bay of Naples
c. Dark days of winter
d. The celebration of light

Quiz of the Day, December 12, 2017

Where was John the Divine when he experienced his "divined" state of revelation?

a. Ephesus
b. Laodicea
c. Patmos
d. Thyatira

Quiz of the Day, December 11, 2017

Which of the following prophets received a message from God involving the masonry device of a plumb line?

a. Micah
b. Joel
c. Amos
d. Obadiah


Quiz of the Day, December 10, 2017

Which Gospel has the three songs: of Mary, of Zechariah and of Simeon?

a. Matthew
b. Mark
c. Luke
d. John

Quiz of the Day, December 9, 2017

The Gospel of Mark begins with what?

a. birth narratives of Jesus
b. genealogy of Jesus on Mary's side
c. genealogy of Jesus on Joseph's side
d. the witness and ministry of John the Baptist

Quiz of the Day, December 8, 2017

In what book of the Bible is it written that Michael the Archangel contended with the devil over the body of Moses?

a. Revelations
b. Exodus
c. Daniel
d. Jude

Quiz of the Day, December 7, 2017

"Per saltum" ordination is "direct ordination" or the leaping over all ordained ministries to the one to which one was called.  Of the following who was baptized and made bishop in a most direct way?

a. Cyril
b Clement
c. Ambrose
d. Augustine

Quiz of the Day, December 6, 2017

The "real" Santa Claus was from where?

a. Holland
b. Lapland
c. Rome
d. Myra
e. Bari

Quiz of the Day, December 5, 2017

The eve of December 6, is a big gift giving day in which country the saint known as Sinterklaas?

a. England
b. The Netherlands
c. Belgium
d. Finland

Quiz of the Day, December 4, 2017

Which Christian saint is reported to have worked as an administrator for a Muslim Caliph?

a. Cyprian
b. John of Damascus
c. Gerontius
d. Pope John I

Quiz of the Day, December 3, 2017

The Advent Wreath, with candles, is a liturgical fixture in many Christian Churches.  Where and in what faith community did it originate?

a. England-Anglicanism
b. Ireland-Celtic Christian
c. Rome-Roman Catholic
d. Germany-Lutheranism
e. Constantinople-Orthodox Tradition

Quiz of the Day, December 2, 2017

Channing William Moore was a missionary bishop to what countries?

a. India and China
b. Hong Kong and Indonesia
c. China and Japan
d. Japan and Korea

Quiz of the Day, December 1, 2017

T.S. Eliot's poem about Little Gidding is about a place made noteworthy in church history by which of the following:

a. Oliver Cromwell
b. George Herbert
c. Nicolas Ferrar
d  William Shakespeare

Only One Bible Verse Needed

1 Christmas B      December 31, 2017

Is.61:10-62:3     Ps. 147:13-21

Gal. 3:23-25,4:4-7  John 1:1-18

Lectionary Link

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The Word was God.  This is perhaps the only Bible verse that is needed.  Why?  It tells us the very basis of human life as we can know it.  Word is the grounding of human life in the most general sense.  But Word also needs particularity in that we need modelling for the very best possible use of human words. 

The Word was God is the most basic insight of all.  Why?  In a divine circularity of argumentation, Word is used to establish Word as that which is Primary, First Principle or in Greek, the "Arche" of all human existence. (In principio erat Verbum, Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, En archē ēn ho Lógos)

But you say, isn't Word itself simply metaphorical in that Words constantly refer to things that are not words?  Material things, non-material things, things out there,  things in here?   Indeed that is the very art of having words.  Art is the "as if" of using words to refer to things that are not words, even while to do so we have to use and be used by other words in the referring process.

I hope that I have convinced you of the sheer brilliant obviousness of the phrase and the WORD WAS GOD.

If we can accept the basic constitution of all of our life and life itself by word and within the web of words, then accepting that "arche" we can move on to deal with the most important word issue of all, namely, the quality of how we actually use words.

This is where the other biblical words come to play important roles for us.  This is where the example of holy people, saints and sages arise for us to find role models in how we should freely choose to use the words of our lives.

Part of the task of learning how to add quality to our word use in life is to undergo a word analysis of our lives to understand how we are passively used by words of our lives over which we had no control since in our naïve passive states we could not control how words came to us and how we became constituted by words, not of our mature adult or subsequent "enlightened" choosing.  We were not born in perfect word environments.  In our states of not yet being wise censors of our word exposure, we took on habits of word which encoded our lives into repetitions of language use in word and deed that we have come to recognize as lacking the kind of quality which we have come to see as wise, self-controlled, compassionate and just.

Part of interdicting bad word habits comes from understanding how we have taken on the repetitions of some bad language habits in word and in our body language deeds.   In psychological terms terms, one might look at how our desire became locked into body language deeds of "addiction."  Addictions are those repetitive body language deeds which are locked in by the power of desire and bring a person to be out of control and do and say things that one does not want to do or say.  Addictions can be on a continuum of mild lack of self control in matters not good for our health to the severe addictions that have stark health implications and social collateral damage.

In religious terms, the locking into behaviors of repetitions by the energy of desire might be called idolatry.  An irreligious life is the life of idolatry; it is the life of repeating the false belief that things other than God can be God.  Alcohol, drugs, food, careers, fame, glory can be the dangling carrot in front of us feigning the appearance of the divine and thus demanding the energy of our desire to achieve this feigned appearance.

If we can appreciate the "arche" or the First Principle of WORD BEING GOD, then we can begin to exercise the freedom that we know we have in being language users.  We can become free agents in censoring the kinds of influences that we allow to become a part of the composite inner word reservoir of our lives from which rises all repetitive behaviors in our body language.  This has become quite a task in our Informational Age when we have screaming at us the flood of a worded environment.  The age of the internet is the age of profuse word products and such a quantity seems to indicate that whatever can come to language should come to language as a product to be experienced by you and me and everyone.  Can one see how important it is to be the gate-keeper of the words one allows to have frequent entrance to contribute to the inner cauldron of fomenting words that can become possible future behaviors and future repeating behaviors?

So here's a recommendation for the New Year: 1-Accept WORD AS GOD.  2-Analyze how you have taken on word use in unhealthy addictive, repetitive behaviors in speaking, writing and body language deeds. 3-As a free agent language user, choose superlative models of word use.  Following John's Gospel, this means that we follow Jesus Christ because He was WORD MADE FLESH as a model person to help lead us from the bondage of sin, aka, addictive and repetitive habits of things not good for us or our society.

If we can accept Word as the basis of our lives, then in 2018 we will work on translations of how we use words together with each other into love, kindness, peace and justice for all.  Amen. 

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.