Sunday School, April 1, 2018 Easter Sunday, B

Sunday School, April 1, 2018  Easter Sunday, Cycle B

Theme:

Imagine a picture album of your entire life from when you are a new born baby until you are a very old person.  From picture to picture you look very different.   And when you compare your baby picture with the picture of you when you are very old, how would anyone know that the person in the two picture is the same person.

We depend upon a community to remember who we are.  When we are babies we depend upon on parents to know who we are and what we looked like when we were babies.  When we have died, we depend upon our children and grandchildren to remember who we were.

But who will remember who we are when everyone who has known us has died?  

The resurrection of Jesus is really about how much God loves us.  How does God love us?  God loves us to remember us forever.  God is bigger than all of our earthly family who might remember who we are.  God's memory is the greatest and God can remember us when we live and when we die.

We might even say that God's memory is magically strong and creative.  How so?  God's memory can keep us together as a remembered person even after we have died.  This is how much God loves us.  And this is message that we get when Jesus was raised from the dead.

God will remember you and keep you together forever even when you go out of the sight of everyone else.  That is how much God loves you.

Children’s Sermons

Easter Sermons for Children

The Smith family had three children, Harry, Jeremy and Chloe.   And they had some wonderful grandparents.  The three kids loved to do things with their grandparents.  Papa and Nana would do wonderful things for them and with them at special times of the year, like for their birthdays, for Christmas, Easter, summer vacations and for Valentine Day.

One year the three children decided to ask their Nana and Papa for something special.  They just loved Christmas; it was so fun to wake up on Christmas morning and see lots of gifts under the Christmas tree.  They loved to sing Christmas songs and so they decided to ask their Nana and Papa for something special.
Chloe, Harry and Jeremy were with their Nana and Papa one day and Chloe said, "Nana and Papa, we have something special to ask you."  Papa said,"Well, what do you want to ask?"  Jeremy jumped in and said, "I will asked.  We have been talking about this for a long time and so now it is time to ask you."  Nana said, "Okay, Jeremy, what is it that you want?"  But then, Harry interrupted and said, "Nana, I should ask you since I am the oldest.  I'm 9, and Jeremy is 7 and Chloe is 5, so I should ask."  Papa said, "Okay, what is it that you want?"  Harry said, "What we want is this.  We want you to make Easter for us just like Christmas."   Papa thought he knew what they meant.  Perhaps they were thinking about all of the presents under the Christmas tree and they were comparing this with just getting about a dozen chocolate Easter eggs in the Easter egg hunt.  Nana looked at Papa and winked and said, "Papa, we'll have to think really hard and see if we can make Easter a special time for the kids."
The children were very excited now and they could barely wait for Easter.  Every day they would ask their mom and dad, "When is Easter coming?  Will it be coming soon?"  Harry asked, "Can I use your cell phone to call Nana and Papa to make sure that they don't forget Easter and their Easter promise."
Mom and Dad made a count down calendar for them on the refrigerator and each day they would mark big red X on a day.  They were so excited.  And mom and dad were worried that it might be a big let down for the children and they did not know what Nana and Papa had planned.
Well, finally Easter came and the children got up really early.  They went down stairs to see if there was anything in the living room. Nope.  Nothing there.  They went into the backyard to see if there were any surprises there.  They couldn't find anything.  Chloe wondered," I wonder if Nana and Papa forgot."  So the children went to the kitchen and mom and dad had breakfast ready.  And then they had to get ready for church.  So they went to church and had a very good Easter celebration and they had an Easter Egg hunt, but no Nana and Papa.  Jeremy asked their mom and dad, "Where is Nana and Papa?  Why weren't they at church?"   Dad said, "Well, they went to their own church today.  But we are going to drive to their house today and see them."
Chloe said, "Great, so we will get our Easter surprise."After they got home from church, they changed clothes and ate a quick lunch.  Harry said, "Let's go.  We have to go to Nana's and Papa's to see if they can make Easter better than Christmas."
So they got into the car and in about twenty minutes they came to Nana and Papa's house.  Jeremy was excited and he said, "I can hardly wait for our surprise."
They got out of the car and Nana and Papa greeted them and hugged them and wished them a happy Easter and they all went into the house.  And the children were surprised by what they saw in the family room.  You know what they found?
They found a large cross there.  And around the cross they found lots of gifts wrapped.  Chloe said, "Nana, is this a Easter Christmas Tree?" 
Nana said, "No, this is a cross."  Harry said, "I see that you have our names on the gifts.  Can we start opening them?"  Papa said,"Okay, do you want to start?  So each child got one of the gifts with their name on it."  Jeremy said, "Let's open them together.  On, your mark get set, go!"  The three children ripped off the wrapping as fast as they could.  They got down to the box.  And together they ripped open the boxes.  And Harry said, "There's nothing in my box.  Where's my gift?"  And Jeremy said, "There's nothing in my box either."  And Chloe said, "There's nothing in mine either.  My box is empty."  Chloe started to laugh in nervous way, "Ha, ha, Papa, that's a very good joke.  Can we open the rest of the gifts now?"  Papa and Nana said, "Sure go ahead.  Open all of the gifts."
So the children began to open all of the gifts.  They opened their second presents and again, all of the boxes were empty.  Jeremy said, "Let keep going and open more presents; this is a scavenger gift hunt."  So they open three gifts and then four gifts and five gifts and all of the boxes were empty."  And they came to their last gift.  Harry said, "I hope you saved the best for last."  And they all opened their sixth gift and their sixth gift was also an empty box.  The family room was a mess; it was full of the all of the wrapping and boxes of 18 different wrapped boxes and all of the boxes were empty.
Chloe was sad and she started to cry.  She said, "Why didn't we get any gifts?  I thought you were going to make Easter as good as Christmas."  Harry was older and he said, "Papa, you got us!  That was a good Easter joke."  Though he still was sad about the empty boxes.  Jeremy said, "Nana and Papa, why did you do this?  We got so excited and now we're so sad and disappointed.  Why did you do this?"Papa said, "Well, your parents told us that we should not make Easter like Christmas.  They said we should do something to teach you about Easter.  Christmas is about giving the gift of our lives to the baby Jesus, just like the wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus.  That is why we share gifts at Christmas.  But Easter is different from Christmas.  How did you feel when you opened your presents?"
Chloe said, "We felt sad and disappointed because we were expecting to find some gifts."  Harry said, "I thought it was a joke that you playing on us."
Nana asked, "What did the women discover on Easter morning when they went to the tomb of Jesus?"  Jeremy said, "They saw that the tomb was empty.  They were very sad.  They thought someone had stolen the body of Jesus."
Papa said, "But was it good that they found the tomb empty?"  Chloe said, "Yes, because it meant that Jesus was alive and risen.  The angel told them that Jesus had risen.  And then they were really happy when they saw Jesus alive and well."
Nana said, "So what did you learn from the empty presents?"   Harry said, "I learned that sometimes empty can mean the very best gift of all because the empty tomb of Jesus meant that he was alive.

Jeremy said, "So we learned something very important today.  Easter is not supposed to be like Christmas because the empty tomb of Jesus is the very best gift of all."

Papa said, "I so happy that you have learned about how special Easter is.  But I do have something fore you.  Here's an envelope."
Harry opened the envelope and he found airplane tickets for all of them to go to Hawaii for a vacation together.  The children all hugged their Nana and Papa and thanked them for teaching them about Easter.

Sermon Two:  The empty Easter Egg

  Let me tell you today about an Easter Egg hunt that took place on Easter Sunday in a church.  And the Sunday School teacher wanted to teach a lesson to the children on Easter Sunday.  So Mr. Jones during Sunday School on Easter Sunday, said to his class, “Today is Easter Sunday and so we want to do something special.  We are going to have an Easter Egg hunt.  I’ve have already hidden the eggs.  So let’s go outside and look.  And I want each of you to find only one egg.  And when everyone has found one egg, then we will come back to the classroom and each of us will open our egg in front of the entire class.  So the entire class of twelve children ran outside to look for the eggs in a place on the lawn where Mr. Jones had hidden the eggs.  One by one each child found an egg.  One child said, “I’ve found my egg.”  Another child said, “Please help me find my egg.”  And finally after about 10 minutes each child found an egg.  Mr. Jones rang a bell and said, “Come into the classroom.”  And so the children came back into the classroom each holding an egg.  Now these eggs were not real eggs, they were plastic hollow eggs so that there could be a hidden treat inside of the egg.

   When they were seated in the classroom, Mr. Jones said, “Now one by one we are going to open each egg to see what’s in the egg.  And let me tell you, there is a surprise in one of the eggs and whoever has the surprise will get something special.”

  One by one the eggs were opened.  Johnny said, “I have a dollar bill in mine…I bet I won the prize.”  Mary opened hers and she found some very nice chocolates so she said, “No, these are really the best chocolates, so I bet I won the prize.”  Jimmy opened his egg and he had a little Lego man so he said, “I think I got the best prize.”  Grace opened her egg and she had a cute little furry bunny rabbit and she said, “I won!”  Gloria opened her egg and found a silver dollar and she said, “Wow!  I hit the jackpot!”  Jeremy opened his egg and he found a lovely ring that fit his finger and it had a red jewel on it, so he said, “Surely this must be the best prize.”  Betsy then opened her egg and she found a cute little baby chick, and she was thrilled because she knew she had won.  Todd opened his egg and found a shiny whistle and he blew the whistle because he thought he had won.  Everyone who heard the loud noise, said, “Stop blowing the whistle, it hurts our ears.”  Joey opened his egg and he found a little race car…just what he wanted, and so he believed he was the winner.  Margaret opened her egg and she found a cute little teddy bear and she was happy.  Harry opened his Easter Egg and he found a porcelain little Dalmatian.  And he just loved those spotted dogs.  And then there was only one person and one egg left to open and it was Lucy’s egg.  Everyone said, “Hurry and open it let us see.”  But Lucy got very shy and so she hid her egg under desk so that no one could see her open it.  She looked down as she opened it and when she got it opened, her face turned red and said.  Everyone shouted, “What did you get Lucy?  Did you win?  What did you get?”  And Lucy looked up and said, “I lost…I did not get anything…my egg is empty.”  And the children laughed at her and said, “Mr. Jones really played a joke on you.”

  Then the children asked Mr. Jones, “Tell who won the best prize?”

 And Mr. Jones said, “Children, Lucy won the best prize and so she get this special prize, a new Bible.”  The children said, “Why did Lucy win?  Her egg was empty?”

  Mr. Jones said, “Today is Easter.  And when the women went to the tomb of Jesus what did they find?”  They found that the tomb was empty and because it was empty they were winners, because that meant that Jesus was still alive.

  And so Lucy’s egg was empty.  And she wins the prize on Easter to remind us that the empty tomb of Jesus means that Christ is alive and that he is still with us today. 

   So as winners today let us be happy about the empty tomb of Jesus.  Let us say, Alleluia, Christ is Risen.  The Lord is risen indeed.  Alleluia! 

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

April 1, 2018

Gathering Songs:

Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks; I am the Bread of Life; Jesus Christ is Ris’n Today

The Return of Alleluia out of Lenten Hibernation

Bringing Back Alleluia from Lenten Hibernation

Song: Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks, Hymn # 178, in the Blue Hymnal

Refrain: Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the Risen Lord, Alleluia, Alleluia, give praise to his Name.

1-Jesus is Lord of all the earth. He is the King of creation. Refrain

2-Spread the good news o’er all the earth: Jesus has died and has risen. Refrain

3-We have been crucified with Christ. Now we shall live forever. Refrain

4-Come, let us praise the living God, joyfully sing to our Savior. Refrain

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.

People: The Lord is Risen Indeed. Alleluia.

Holy Noise!

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

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and 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

A reading from the  First Letter to the Corinthian Church

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them--though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 118

The right hand of the Lord has triumphed!* the right hand of the Lord is exalted! the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!"

I shall not die, but live,* and declare the works of the Lord.

On this day the Lord has acted;* we will rejoice and be glad in it.

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 Mark

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

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 with you always.

People: And also with you.

Anthem:  

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 family 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 good and right so to do.

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 & 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 neighbors.

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, 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 (Sung): (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 by 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.

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: Jesus Christ is Risen Today! (Blue Hymnal # 207)

1-Jesus Christ is Ris’n today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia! Who did once upon the cross, Al-leluia! Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!

2-Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia! Unto Christ our heavenly King, Alleluia! Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia! Sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia!

4-Sing we to our God above, alleluia! Praise eternal as his love, alleluia! Praise him, all ye heavenly hosts, Alleluia! Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Alleluia.

Dismissal:

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

People: Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Aphorism of the Day, March 2018

Aphorism of the Day, March 31, 2018

Biblical mystical-ity has to do with how the inward identities of people are constituted by words.  The inner world of words in someone is a mystery and to give it "substance" one makes reference to the "outside" world.  Physicality in biblical writing is used as a metaphor for something being substantial=really real=actual; it does not necessarily mean that something has empirical verification.  Confusing poetic mystical-ity with empirical verification accounts for the varieties of "fundamentalisms" that have trapped so many people in staying in the state of what Ricoeur called "primary naivete" where external things can become idols if one lingers too long there without moving on to mystical transformation.

Aphorism of the Day, March 30, 2018

The cross of Jesus is the ultimate case of revisionary history when Christians proclaimed that God meant it to happen.  Providence is when history is seen specifically as a seeming direct action of God.  This means that Providence is significant revisionary history.  Providence is Revised history.  It is history injected with the interpretive rose glasses of faith.

Aphorism of the Day, March 29, 2018

The early churches had to deal with competition in ministry and with betrayal within the leadership.  The Johannine church used a last supper discourse to highlight the fact that betrayal was found in the beginning of the Movement and so was competition between disciples of Jesus necessitating the foot-washing example of service being the mark of genuine leadership.  Service is the expression of someone who is comfortable enough with the esteem given by God so as to be able put others first and not feel diminished.  The universal tendencies of human beings account for the Gospels being teaching tools in blending current community issues under the guise of a oracle of Jesus teaching about loyalty and service.

Aphorism of the Day, March 28, 2018

The story of Judas Iscariot a disciple of Jesus is quite tragic.  He was close to Jesus and yet was conflicted by the popularity of Jesus and how that popularity was perceived as a threat to religious leaders who also influenced Judas enough to persuade him to betray Jesus.  Judas is perhaps a paradigm of those who are conflicted about "having fallen in love with Jesus" and what that might do to one's former loyalties.  The strength of one's former loyalties has the power to undo the love that changes one's life.

Aphorism of the Day, March 27, 2018

Dying or being crucified with Christ was a spiritual motif in the theology of Paul.  When this theology came into the life of Jesus as a parable, the oracle of the words of Jesus in the early Gospel churches was, "take up my cross and follow me."  This theme was most literally instantiated the life of Simon of Cyrene who in the Passion of Christ, bore the same cross that Jesus did.   Simon was the teaching motif for "taking up the cross of Christ."  This same theme is reiterated in the Pauline theology of the negative experiences being understood as "suffering with Christ," and "filling up what was lacking in the afflictions Christ."  In this theology of vicarious suffering with Christ in all of the suffering of the world, one can see the acknowledgment of affirming true freedom in the world for some really bad things to happen and these bad things get unevenly distributed into the experiences of people in the world.  People of faith do not get exempt from "bad things happening" in their uneven distribution, and people of faith accept their having been "incorporated" in humanity and further, in Christ, sharing in the general affliction that does and can come to all. Thus in Holy Week on our way to remembering the Cross of Jesus, we embrace the impoverished side of true freedom, namely, the freedom for a wide variety of things to happen to the full variety of humanity.  The Cross of Jesus is a symbol for us to be "really" real about the conditions of freedom.

Aphorism of the Day, March 26, 2018

Holy Week is a remembrance week for the liminal phase of preparing to have the physical body of Jesus removed from sight and accessibility of people never to be again placed under such time space limitation.  It is prelude to the universalization of Christ freed from the constraints of have only one location at a time.

Aphorism of the Day, March 25, 2018

King David was both a melek, a king with political authority and a meshiach, an anointed messiah chosen one of God.  From Hebrew to Greek: melek=basileus, meshiach=Christos.  Jesus was not regarded to be the Christos by his Jewish religious interrogators, however they presented Jesus as a pretending basileus to the Roman authorities who knew the Caesar to be a basileus and Herod to be a basileus.  The early Christians believed that Jesus in his death and resurrection was the Christos derived from the suffering servant theme of the prophet Isaiah.  They believed that the resurrection was proof of his also being a "basileus" whose political sway would be realized in the future coming.  And when the Roman Empire became the Holy Roman Empire or Christendom, the trappings of Christ as basileus were seen as instantiated.

Aphorism of the Day, March 24, 2018

The ambiguous notion of "king" figures significantly in the Passion accounts.  When the Sanhedrin brought Jesus to trial, they asked him if he was the "king," meaning Messiah.  This was an insider term in the Jewish context.  When Jesus was tried by Roman authorities he was asked if he was a "king" basileus.  If Jesus were presented as a king like Caesar, he would be a threat particularly since Herod was the King of the Jews (certainly not a messiah) in the time of Jesus.  People who believed that the Messiah was also a Political King with armies, like king David, represent the competing notion of the Messiah that in part divided the synagogue from the Jesus Movement.  Jesus did not prove to be a "basileus" king like Caesar or David.   His followers defined him as a "suffering servant" Messiah King.

Aphorism of the Day, March 23, 2018

How can one explain the glorification of the death event of Jesus on the Cross?  It is as though a spiritual vortex of Cosmic Karma is created when the holy and the innocent are unjustly persecuted, mistreated, tortured and killed.  Why is it that the early followers of Jesus did not become a zealot holy war cult out to seek revenge in suicidal ways to make the people responsible for the death of Jesus pay?  The Cosmic Karma of the resurrection appearances of the Risen Christ resulted in a forgiving kindness and the confession of the Roman Centurion at the Cross, "Truly this man was God's Son," became prophetic as the subtle but winsome Gospel of Christ converted the Roman Empire.  The irony is that when Christians have come to have "absolute power," they too have been guilty of being corrupted by that power to themselves be in the role of persecutors.  The Cross of Christ placed as an icon on shields and military planes and tanks, has falsely been used to promote corrupted power.  We need to represent authentically the winsome power of vulnerable kindness of the Cross of Jesus.


Aphorism of the Day, March 22, 2018

Question to Jesus are you the King of the Jews?  A very loaded question depending upon whether one was saying Christos or basileios.  One was the God anointed "king" or chosen leader and the other was "secular" king.  In the Passion narrative the suggestion that Jesus would be a "secular" king of the Jews like Herod being the King of the Jews was a political notion whose promotion would be a reason for crucifixion.

Aphorism of the Day, March 21, 2018

What is the good of death?  Death can end some dreadful things like pain and suffering, but what good is untimely death?  What good was the untimely death of a thirtysomething Jesus?  The early Christians believed that the meaning of the horrible death of Jesus made memorable by the post-resurrection appearances was the power to interdict the sin of the world which was manifest in the unworthy and misguided direction of desire focused upon doing and thinking and saying the wrong things.  In spiritual methodology of the early church, Christians used the mantra of the death of Jesus as internalized energy of identity to redirect the energy of desire away from idols and redirect the power of desire toward God who alone is worthy of the intensity of human.

Aphorism of the Day, March 20, 2018

While an anniversary might be seen as a return to an originating event, one cannot forget all that has happened since the originating event in the anniversary as an "imaginary" return to the event.  While we use imagination to return to the Passion of Jesus on Passion Sunday, we cannot pretend that the resurrection appearances and the aftermath did not occur. In an anniversary, the originating event is tinged with all of the subsequent accrued meanings.

Aphorism of the Day, March 19, 2018

The Bible is a triumph of the fact that people are language users.  Language use the ultimate unifying reality of all humanity.  Even if we are divided by particular use of words, we are still unified by the fact that we all are language users or language "used."  Word is God in the sense of language being co-extensive with knowing anything.  Word attains particularity in biblical language; the particularities of the word traditions that bear the traces of the biblical writers contexts and their own synthesis of word creations.  And biblical writers can use words to present contradiction and ambiguity in order create aesthetic and spiritual mood, as in: in Jesus, God is emptied of being divine in "achieving" death even death on the cross.  Such poetry had meaning for the early Christians even as much language use always has evocative meanings beyond the way in which scientists use language in the mode of empirical verification/falsification.

Aphorism of the Day, March 18, 2018

One of the signs of the insecurity of people is the need for excessive recognition to somehow authenticate their sense of worth.  Fame is the drug of the media culture and the spiritual counter part of fame is called "Glory."  St. Paul wrote, "Christ in you the hope of glory."  Christ is the Glory and that glory is shared with us in an inward event and to be known by Christ is the genuine fame of life.

Aphorism of the Day, March 17, 2018

Writing many years after the facts results in knowing what happened and so one can retell the story with the end results in mind and one cannot help but indicate how the future was guiding the past in the retelling of the past.  The advantage of speaking last means that one's interpretation prevail until one's latest interpretation gets surpassed by someone else's interpretation.  Such telling of the story make the heroes of the past seem very prophetic.  The Gospels were written well after the Risen Christ effect within the early Christian communities was the glory of Christ that guided the Gospel narratives.

Aphorism of the Day, March 16, 2018

Glory is perhaps the religious word for "fame."  Many people have become famous and many more are "infamous," meaning that they have become well-known for things that represent what most regard to be the worst of human behaviors, like continuous lying, or genocide.  Glory is the kind of fame that is a sign of God's imputing action.  The fame of the Risen Christ did not seem to be of human origin; the Risen Christ came to be known as an experience long after Jesus of Nazareth was no longer visible.  How did this kind of fame occur, the fame of convincing so many people that "Christ was in them?"  The New Testament writers attributed the kind of fame that the Risen Christ had attained to the fame called "glory" signified in one being overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and the life of Christ being "born" within oneself.  And so St. Paul wrote, "Christ in you, the hope of glory."  In-Christed people derive glory from Christ, not needing the rather shallow "15 minutes of fame."

Aphorism of the Day, March 15, 2018

Jeremiah understood the future of the law as interior event rather than an external suppressive force in the hands of the strongest.  He wrote that "the law would be written" on the heart.  The law was always in the form of word or language guiding the action or behaviors of people.  The law being seen in the Sinai event as being written on the stone tablets and venerated as an outside force was not effective if the leaders with the power did not follow the law themselves.  Jeremiah saw something of the democratization of the Torah; every one would have the interior Torah as a personalized rabbi.  This Omni-presence of the law was an accessibility of the law that was necessary given that people with power were not modelling lawful living.

Aphorism of the Day, March 14, 2018

The notion of the glorification of Christ probably derives from the totally shocked group of Christians who had to deal with the fact that Christ did not cease to be relevant and present in telling ways after his death on the cross.  The only way that the Christians could rhetorically deal with the staying power of Christ after his death and the ability of the experience of the Holy Spirit was to proclaim the glorification of Christ and return to the Cross of Jesus as the "rocket launcher" to his glory.  In story form, Greeks came to a feast in Jerusalem asking to see Jesus and a booming voice from heaven said, "I have glorified and will glorify Jesus...."  This is the booming voice of the post-resurrection success of Jesus in history saying Christ did not go away because God glorified Him and made his fame evident in the hearts of many.

Aphorism of the Day, March 13, 2018

Impressionists were artists who seemed to be rebels of realism; they saw differently and presented a different version of the real.  One could call the Christian mystics of the New Testament, Impressionist artists because what they saw often contradicted the "realism" of the situation.  Realism: the cross of Jesus was a spectacle of cruel torture to end an insurrectionist movement.  Christian Impressionists: the cross of Jesus was a launching pad of glory which "lifted up" Christ and totally contradicted the real purpose of execution on a cross.  We can be both Christian realists and Christian Impressionists in living in both the kingdom of humanity and the kingdom of God.

Aphorism of the Day, March 12, 2018

Bible translators have the choice of translating words or translating corresponding meanings.  If they translate words without translating meaning they can perpetuate ambiguity.  For example, when Jesus said that one has to hate one's life to save it or to lose one's life to save it what does "life" mean?  It refers to "psueche" life, life of the soul or life of the mind, emotional and will.  Education means the continual renewal of the mind, emotional or will where former states are died and pass away and are "hated" in favor of the soul which surpasses itself in a future state.  To translate without imparting the meanings results in literal absurdities.  Reading the Bible means accepting the fact that precise meaning and context for much of it remains a mystery.  Much guessing at relevant correspondences for our time ensues, as in the unsolvable "koan" of Jesus cursing a tree for not bearing fruit out of season.

Aphorism of the Day, March 11, 2018

The discursive Jesus in John's Gospel speaks continually about himself in the third person as Son of Man and Son of God.  Such an oracle Voice of Jesus in the Johannine churches indicate the belief in the humanity and divinity of Jesus as expressing their Christology, or the proclamation of the meaning of Christ for them.

Aphorism of the Day, March 10, 2018

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." This simile has some similarity of contexts but also many dissimilarities.  Jesus dying on the cross and a bronze poisonous snake on a pole.  Simile check: Jesus is not poisonous snake; is death more like the poisonous snake?  The cross is not a pole, though both may be made of wood and create elevation for visibility or spectacle.  The sinful Israelites who were punished with snake bites received a cure by merely gazing with faith at the bronze snake on the pole.  Christo-mysticism: The cross of Jesus being raised as a symbol of transformation in the consciousness of those who in faith use the power of the death of Jesus to die to what is unworthy and the effects of the unworthy.  Talk among yourselves about the effective communicative value of this simile for you.

Aphorism of the Day, March 9, 2018

What frustrated preachers often don't tell is that they are caught in the debates of scholars about what things mean in the Bible.  If the scholars who have studied history and the original languages all of their academic lives don't agree, what is the poor preacher supposed to do as he or she clumsily prefaces a sermon, "In the name of God....?"  One such notion of disagreement is whether Son of Man and Son of God are interchangeable in referring to Jesus and do we capitalize them because they have the definite article "the" in front of them indicating singularity?  Does the use of "son of man" represent the Aramaic modesty of Jesus saying something like "yours truly" lifted up?  Does Son of Man vs. Son of God represent the theologies of the editors and redactors regarding Jesus as God from the beginning or as an adopted divinized person receiving the anointing as God's Messiah?  Do Son of Man and Son of God use in the Gospels presage the debate of Arius and Athanasius at Nicaea?  Like many things of the ancient past, we often have to confess agnosticism humbly saying, "Perhaps I would know, if I had been there."

Aphorism of the Day, March 8, 2018

Ponder the theology of English capitalization of words translated from the Greek New Testament.  Son of Man/son of man, Son of God/son of god.  Some translator used English language habits of emphasis to relate the uniqueness of Jesus.  We don't speak in "capitalizations" even though we speak with intonation to impart nuance and emphasis.  Technically, Jesus was Son of Woman (Mary) since Jesus did not have the genetics of Joseph.  However, the Greek for Son of Man refers to "Anthropos" or humanity, meaning that a woman, Mary, truly represents humanity in a unique way in Christian mystical theology.

Aphorism of the Day, March 7, 2018

The older events are the more legendary language is used to recount them.  The pre-historic lore of most cultures have God and gods acting directly the world and speaking directly to people.  The pre-historic lore as we know it was at some time edited and re-presented  as "origin" and "identity" discourse for why we came to do and believe the things that we do and in the way that we do it.  Modern Science problematized lore by requiring that it be judged by the known conditions of empirical verification.  In the face of modern science defenders of pre-historic lore had the option of defending it as "science with the supernatural breaking the laws of science" or defending it as a special artistic discourse pertaining to quest of people attaining metaphorical meanings in their lives in negotiating the inward world and the outward world.  The latter view can reconcile science and the truth of discourses which pertain to inner realities and outer living.  The fact that every person is a Word user means that Word is big enough and most True, as to be able to encompass all sorts of discursive practices.

Aphorism of the Day, March 6, 2018

Understanding the New Testament writings means understanding how the writers appropriated the metaphors from stories in the Hebrew Scriptures.  For example, the rather imprecise metaphorical use of the bronze serpent which Moses put on a pole so that his people could look at the bronze serpent and be spared from death from the poisonous snakes in the camp.  The writer of John relates in one of the long discourses of Jesus that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted so that those who looked at the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, could be saved/healed from the poisonous condition of sin and death.  Literally, only a few people saw the actual Cross of Jesus.  The Johannine writer through the discourse of Jesus was referring to the cross as a metaphorical symbol of inward spiritual transformation, attaining salvation=spiritual health by having faith in the power of the death of Christ to end what is unworthy.  Pity the poor literalists who don't appreciate spiritual poetry and metaphors.

Aphorism of the Day, March 5, 2018

The writings which have made it to the canonical New Testament represent those that maintain a connection with the Hebrew Scriptures, albeit, not of the sort that was retained in the synagogue tradition.  Ponder the disadvantage of Gentile Christians.  They never had the opportunity to be "Jews as a pre-Christian Jews," and for them to catch up on the background of the Hebrew Scripture tradition must have been an impossible tasks.  They had to rely upon what the founders of the Jesus Movement from the Judaic tradition presented to them as what the new "telos" of the Hebrew Scriptures had become for Christians.

Aphorism of the Day, March 4, 2018

God as the Playwright of the Great Play of Life, might be a metaphor for our lives since the Genesis account relates that God "spoke" all things into existence and since the Gospel of John relates that the Word was God.  The script for humanity might be the borders of human possibility and so the script allows for ad libbing.  Human freedom is the important ad libbing that we do as we try to perform God's script for living as sublime as we can.

Aphorism of the Day, March 3, 2018

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols.  One might do the semiotics of the Cross of Jesus.  Roman crucifixion meant the end of a person who was viewed as the chief instigator or leader of social unrest or insurrection.  That is what it meant for the Roman bureaucracy. For St. Paul, the Cross of Jesus symbolized the power of interior interdiction to "die to one's self" in order that the Christ nature might be realized in oneself.  Death has the power to end life.  Death is non-discriminating; it will kill cancer in a person but it also ends all of the good constitution of a person as well.  St. Paul saw the Cross of Jesus as something like the targeting procedures of radioactive treatment of cancer; using the power of the death of Jesus to "smart bomb" the unworthy controlling interior impulses to allow the goodness of the Christ nature to thrive and assert controlling influence within a person.

Aphorism of the Day, March 2, 2018

Languages evolve and change as well as the meanings of words as the contexts for the use of words change.  Words place value on what they refer to.  Consider the cross when the event of the crucifixion was actually happening and then consider the meaning of the cross for what it had become in St. Paul's mystical theology of personal transformation.  They seem to be the "same" cross but they are quite different.  The Cross has had quite a linguistic makeover and cultural and social one since we memorialize it in gold and silver jewelry.  The power of later interpretation in a different setting totally revalues the meaning of previous events.

Aphorism of the Day, March 1, 2018

One of the issues of sign in the New Testament was this: How could the Cross of Jesus signify something that was triumphant?  It would not seem to follow that the death of Jesus would mean the success of the Jesus Movement; it would seem to signify its end.  Such seeming non sequitur is why St. Paul said the Greek mind regarded the cross to be "foolish."  One must note that the Cross of Jesus was revalued because of the presence of the Risen Christ in the life of the members of the early church.  For those who did not know the Risen Christ, the Cross was indeed foolish. 

Quiz of the Day, March 2018

Quiz of the Day, March 31, 2018

Whom of the following brought spices for the preparation of the body of Jesus?

a. Joseph of Arimathea
b. Peter
c. Nicodemus
d. Mary the mother of Clopas


Quiz of the Day, March 30, 2017

Which Passion account is always the assigned Passion read on Good Friday?

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

Quiz of the Day, March 29, 2018

Which of the following is not in Maundy Thursday Gospel of John?

a. foot-washing by Jesus
b. the new commandment of Jesus
c. the words of Jesus blessing of bread and wine
d. the refusal of Peter to have his feet washed

Quiz of the Day, March 28, 2018

Which disciple betrayed Jesus?

a. Simon Peter
b. James son of Zebedee
c. Judas Iscariot
d. John son of Zebedee

Quiz of the Day, March 27, 2018

Which of the following is not a metaphor of meaning or action associated with Jesus?

a. cursing a fig tree which did not bear fruit out of season
b. saying that he was the "vine" and his followers were branches
c. saying a one should have faith like a mustard seed
d. observing that the need for the good news was like a harvest ready to reap
e. claiming to be like the largest oak tree in the forest

Quiz of the Day, March 26, 2018

Which of the following in not included in Holy Week?

a. Easter Vigil
b. Palm Sunday
c. Maundy Thursday
d. Good Friday
e. Holy Saturday

Quiz of the Day, March 25, 2018

What events is recorded in the life of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark &; Luke) after his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, which is not found in the Gospel of John?

a. the healing of the centurion's servant
b. the trial of Jesus
c. the praying in the Garden of Gethsemane
d. the cleansing of the Temple

Quiz of the Day, March 24, 2018

Bartimaeus is known in the Gospel for what?

a. he was one of the 70 sent by Jesus
b. he was blind
c. he was a friend of the disciple Philip
d. he was lame

Quiz of the Day, March 23, 2018

Which Gregory was thrown into a pit for 12 years to atone for his father's sin of assassinating a king?

a. The Great
b. Palamas
c. Nazianzus
d. The Illuminator

Quiz of the Day, March 22, 2018

Which of the following is not one of the plague inflicted upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians?

a. gnats
b. locusts
c. bloody water
d. nests of snakes
e. death of first born sons

Quiz of the Day, March 21, 2018

Which of the following is not true of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury?

a. edited and published the first Book of Common Prayer
b. granted an annulment to the marriage of King Henry VIII
c. held to the standard of clerical celibacy
d. died as a martyr shortly after Oxford martyred Bishops Latimer and Ridley

Quiz of the Day, March 20, 2018

Which of the following was not written by Thomas Ken?

a. Old Hundredth
b. Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow
c. Awake My Soul, and with the Sun
d. All Praise to Thee, O God, This Night

Quiz of the Day, March 19, 2018

If Joseph was the Guardian of Jesus and not his father and Joseph is called a son of David, how is Jesus from the genetic lineage of David according to the Gospel genealogies?

a. being the legal father still places Jesus in the lineage
b. Mary, too, is a descendent of David
c. we don't know
d. it is a faith lineage, not a genetic lineage

Quiz of the Day, March 18, 2018

To prepare Moses to confront the Pharaoh, God gave Moses three signs.  Which of the following is not one of the signs?

a. his staff turning into a snake
b. his rod starting to bud
c. his hand turning leprous
d. water poured on the ground turning to blood

Quiz of the Day, March 17, 2018

St. Patrick's Breastplate is what?

a. a prayer of protection attributed to St. Patrick
b. a hymn also called The Lorica of St. Patrick
c. a hymn entitled "I Bind unto Myself Today"
d. all of the above

Quiz of the Day, March 16, 2018

Who was Gershom?

a. son of Joseph
b. son of Levi
c. son of Miriam
d. son of Moses

Quiz of the Day, March 15, 2018

Shiphrah and Puah are known in the Hebrew Scriptures for what occupation?

a. warriors
b. Prophetesses
c. dancers
d. midwifery

Quiz of the Day, March 14, 2018

Whom of the following wrote about the gift of speaking in "tongues" or glossolalia?

a. John
b. Luke
c. Paul
d. Peter
e. Timothy

Quiz of the Day, March 13, 2018

Of the husband and wives of the three generations of patriarchs/matriarchs, who was not buried in the cave near the field of Machpelah, near Mamre?

a. Rachel
b. Leah
c. Sarah
d. Abraham
e. Rebekah
f. Jacob
g. Isaac

Quiz of the Day,  March 12, 2018

Which pope saw fair-haired children in the slave market and said, "Non Angli, sed Angeli?"  (not angels but Anglicans)  This same pope sent a missionary to England, the one who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

a. John III
b. Benedict I
c. Pelagius II
d. Gregory I

Quiz of the Day, March 11, 2018

Why was Joseph upset with his father Jacob before Jacob died?

a. he refused to be buried in Egypt in a pyramid
b. he wanted his bones carried back to Canaan
c. Jacob continued a tradition of conferring the greater blessing on the younger sibling
d. Jacob refused to meet the Pharaoh

Quiz of the Day, March 10, 2018

Ephrath is the former name of which town?

a. Zion
b. Emmaus
c. Bethlehem
d. Bethel
e. Bethany

Quiz of the Day, March 9, 2018

In an act of ecclesiastical nepotism, a reluctant Gregory of Nyssa was forced to become bishop by whom?

a. his brother Basil the Great
b. his persuasive sister Macrina
c. his brother Peter Sebaste
d. his father, Basil the Elder

Quiz of the Day, March 8, 2018

When Jacob and all of his family came to dwell in the land of Goshen as sheep herders in Egypt who told him "all shepherds are abhorrent to Egyptians?"

a. Reuben
b. Joseph
c. the Pharaoh
d. Benjamin

Quiz of the Day, March 7, 2018

Why was John the Baptist beheaded?

a. a party favor for Salome who danced and asked for his head
b. he was seen as a public disturbance for Herod's administration
c. it was ordered by the Roman Governor
d. John had accused Herod of treason

Quiz of the Day, March 6, 2018

Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt?  How did they get there in the first place?

a. Egypt invaded Canaan and brought them there
b. Canaan was a province of Egypt
c. Jacob took his family to Egypt to survive a severe drought
d. Abraham, a patriarch of Israel had settled in Egypt

Quiz of the Day, March 5, 2018

"Talitha cum" means what?

a. Get up and walk
b. Little girl, get up
c. Why have you forsaken me
d. Come quickly

Quiz of the Day, March 4, 2018

What did Joseph do to his brothers when they arrived in Egypt looking for grain?

a. he concealed his identity
b. he held one in captivity
c. he demanded they go home and bring Benjamin
d. he set them up to be charged with stealing his silver cup
e. all of the above

Quiz of the Day, March 3, 2018

Of the following, who is the most prolific Anglican hymnodist?

a. George Herbert
b. Percy Drearmer
c. John Henry Newman
d. Charles Wesley

Quiz of the Day, March 2, 2018

Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachael.  Which sons were sons of Rachael?

a. Joseph and Dan
b. Benjamin and Dad
c. Asher and Dan
d. Benjamin and Joseph
e. Joseph and Levi
f.  Benjamin and Levi


Quiz of the Day, March 1, 2018

Who is the patron saint of Wales?

a. Patrick
b. David
c. Alban
d. Andrew