Sunday School, April 15, 2018 3 Easter B

Sunday School, April 15, 2018   3 Easter B

Theme

Jesus eats again with his disciples

Before Jesus died, Jesus had a meal with his disciples.  And he told them to continue to gather in this special meal when they gathered together.  And he promised that he would be present with them when they gathered for the meal that we call the Eucharist.

A meal is a time of not just sharing food; during the meal we talk with each other and we share our stories and our friendship.  When we eat together and share friendship we experience the very best of our relationship.

When Jesus died, he was gone, and he could not be seen.  But he promised his friends that they would see him again.

In the Easter stories, we read stories about how the friends of Jesus saw him again and he ate with them again to prove to them that he was really present with them.

He did this for his friends, so that they could tell the entire world that Jesus was still alive and that he promised to be present with us always.

Jesus ate with his friends after he was raised from the dead.

We eat with each other on Sunday and when we do we celebrate and we recognize how Christ is present with us, because we believe the promise of Christ to be with us always.

The Risen Christ is inside of us and we become the replacement for Jesus in this world.  Jesus, when he was alive could only be in one place at a time.  After Jesus rose again and sent his Spirit to be in us, Jesus can be in us and be present everywhere in the world.

Jesus ate with his friends after he rose again to prove to his friends that he lived after dying, and because he lived, we too will live again after we die.

Sermon

  How many of you have a body?  Do you know what a body is?  Your body is wonderful because it is made up of many parts.   Head, eyes, nose, ears, tummy, arms, legs, feet, hands, muscles and tiny things that you cannot see nerves and blood veins and vessels.  And each part of my body is me, but it is not my entire body.

  In our words we use body in another way.

  We often say that a group of people is like a body.  Why would we say that?

  Have you heard of the Army, the Navy and the Marine Corps?  They are the soldiers, sailors and marines who protect our country.  What does Corps?  It is spelled differently than we pronounce it.  C O R P S…looks like Corpse and we know what a corpse is; but we say “cor” because it is the Latin word that means “body.”  A large company is called a “corporation” and so it too is a body.

  Did you know what “we” are called in the church?  We are called the “Body of Christ.”  Why would we be called the body of Christ?

  Can we see Jesus?  Can we touch him and talk to him?  Is Jesus here on earth now to see?  No, he isn’t.

  When Jesus lived he could only be in one place at a time.  And there was so much good work to be done and so he had to leave and give his work to other people to do.

  When Jesus left, he gave his work to other people to do so that his good work could be done in places all over the world.

  And since Jesus only had two hands, he said to his disciples, “I want to use your hands to do good. I want to use your voice to tell people good news.  I want to use your feet, your mind and your eyes and ears to do the good work that I want to do in this world.”

  And since Jesus is using our lives to do his work, we are called the body of Christ.

  And even though Jesus is not here, we are here, and we are the body of Christ because we are doing what Jesus would do if he were here.  And what would Jesus do?  He would love his neighbor.  He would help.  He would tell people good news.

  So when you think about your body today, think about another body.  The body of Christ.  You and I are the body of Christ because we are to do the things that Jesus would do if he were here.

  Raise your hand.  Say this is my hand.  Say, “But this hand is the hand of Christ, as I use it to help others.”

  To remind us that we are to become the body of Christ, Jesus gave us a special meal…It is call Holy Eucharist, Communion, The Mass.

  And at our Holy Eucharist, I will give you some bread and what will I say to you, “The body of Christ, the bread of heaven.”  When you receive the bread, it goes into you and becomes a part of you, reminding you that Christ is very near to you.  It also reminds us that we are the body of Christ, now that Jesus is no longer seen.  Can you remember that you are a part of the body of Christ?

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

April 15, 2018: The Third Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah; I’ve Got Peace; Amazing Grace; When the Saints

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.

People: The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia.

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Hallelu, Hallelujah (Christian Children Songbook, # 84)

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, praise ye the Lord. 

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, praise ye the Lord. 

Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah.  Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah. 

Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah.  Praise ye the Lord.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First 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 First Letter of John

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 4

You have put gladness in my heart, * more than when grain and wine and oil increase.

I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; * for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

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 Luke

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

While the disciples were telling how they had seen Jesus risen from the dead, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."

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: I’ve Got Peace Like a River, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 122)

I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.  I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.

I’ve got love like a river….

I’ve got joy like a river….

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.

Holy Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Amazing Grace, (Blue Hymnal, # 671)

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures; he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; ‘tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.

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: When the Saints (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 248).

O when the saints, go marching in.  O when the saints go marching in.  Lord, I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.

O when the girls go marching in…

O when the boys go marching in….

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Sausage Making behind the Doubting Thomas Story

2 Easter    B    April 8, 2018

Acts 4:32-35   Psalm 133

1 John 1:1-2:2  John 20:19-31

 Lectionary Link

There are two Sundays of the year designated as "low Sundays;" the Sundays after Christmas and Easter.  Often preachers who do not want to witness the stark fall off in church attendance, will save their egos by taking these Sundays off.    In 37 years, I don't think that I've ever taken a Low Sunday off.  And I have faced some brutally small crowds, so why don’t I take "low Sundays" off?  The Low Sundays, always have some of my favorite Gospel readings.  After Christmas, John 1:1 and after Easter, the Doubting Thomas story.  So, I've preached on both of these at least 37 times. And so, I do again today.

Why do I love the Doubting Thomas story?  I love it because I believe the story encapsulates the reality of what it means to believe in Christ after Jesus can no longer be seen and it provides us with insights about the validity of our own belief today.

One of the reason that you may or may not like my preaching, is because I generally delve into the "sausage making" process of reading the Bible.  This is like me interrupting a Disney animation movie for children and saying, "kids, you may like the story but stop and look at how this story is actually made.  Then I would show you South Korean animators working at computers putting together progressive frames of Snow White moving her hand slowly upwards.  And I would be excited about how the animation process works and say "isn't this exciting?"  And the kids would say, "Dad, just let us get back to the movie; your behind the scenes stuff is so boring."

And so today, you might be saying, "Just let me enjoy the Doubting Thomas Story...it's such a good story.  Don't tear it apart with too much analysis."

Sorry, but I think the analysis provides the relevant corresponding insights for us today in our lives of faith.

The Gospel of John was the last Gospel written.  It was written by preachers in the early church who inherited oral traditions about Jesus.  But they were writing for church communities which were gathering in the decades long after Jesus had gone.

The Gospel preachers were like St. Paul; they believed that they had the mind of Christ and when they spoke in the name of Christ, they believed their words were in authoritative ways,  the words of Jesus.  And those words were written down in the Gospels.

So, what was the big elephant issue in the room for the people of the community of the Gospel of John?

It is also the big elephant in the room for you and me today.  Your experience of the Risen Christ is inferior.  My experience of the Risen Christ is inferior.  Why?  Because we weren't one of the favored few who had the experiences of the post-resurrection appearances of the Risen Christ.  If we could have been with Peter, James, John, Thomas and Mary Magdalene 2000 years ago to see the Risen Christ, then we would have valid faith and valid belief because it is superior experience to have been able to see and touch the Risen Christ.

This same big elephant in our room lets us off the hook for having valid belief.  We are in the age of modern science; real truth happens because we can see, we can experience direct observation and we can repeat and replicate the experiment and get the very same results.  And since, we can’t see the Risen Christ, we don't really have to believe in a way that would inspire us to really transform our lives.

The writer of the Gospel of John did not let the readers off the hook.  The writer of the Gospel of John does not let us off the hook and let us wallow in an inferiority complex; "I didn't see the Risen Christ, therefore my faith and belief is inferior."  And if we feel this way, we let ourselves off the hook from being devout or from intentional embracing spiritual practice that would provide for continuing affirmation of the significant presence of Christ in our lives.

We cannot read the Doubting Thomas story without understanding the basic themes in the Gospel of John.  Remember before Jesus became Jesus, Jesus was the Word from the Beginning.  And the Word was God, and all things were created in the only way that humans can know anything because of Word; because of language itself.

In John's Gospel, Jesus also said, "My words are Spirit and they are life."

The doubting Thomas story presents the Signs of the Risen Christ?  He breathed his Spirit on the Disciples.  What is Spirit?  It means Wind or Breath.  But really what is the invisible essence within us that determines our lives?  Words are the invisible essence within us which constitute our lives.  The ministry of Jesus was to breathe Spirit-Words on his disciples to reconstitutes their inner lives which were put together by the arrangement of the words inside of them.  The words of Jesus are Spirit and life because they enter us to interdict our losing scripts and to rewrite our lives toward transformation and new behaviors.

Do you and I know the Risen Christ?  We do if we are letting the Spirit Words of Life of Jesus reconstitute our inward make up, the inward place which controls our choice and volition to motivate our actions.

Next, is seeing believing?  And what kind of believing is seeing?  Lots of people saw Jesus.  They obviously believed that Jesus existed, but they did not believe in him in a way that changed their lives.  Believing in the Risen Christ involves believing that is attended with life changing attraction and love.  We, as people, believe in lots of people who are present in our lives, but the people who really change our lives are those whom we believe in with love.  Belief with love is what changes our lives.  Belief with the motivation of love changes our lives.

The Doubting Thomas Story is all about affirming the people who did not ever see Jesus or have a post-resurrection appearance of Christ, yet still had belief with love for Christ whose spirit-words and witness got inside of them and changed their lives.

The Gospel of John writer channeled the oracle words of Jesus about those who believe without seeing, and I paraphrase:   "Thomas, you're a skeptical scientist.  Why didn't you believe the words of your friends?  Why, didn't you believe the love in your heart for me, your mentor and friend? You could have....but just think about all of the people who will not have such an experience of me...They are blessed for believing without seeing.  Why?"

"Because in their loving belief of me, they have known my peace, they are living in forgiveness with each other and not retaining each other's sins, and my spirit-words are changing their inner lives.  So, they are blessed in their belief."

John's Gospel is all about how the Spirit=Words of Christ create believing love for the Risen Christ which transforms our life.  And this can happen in a third level of the life of Words?

What is the first level of Words?  It is immediate experience when we see and identify in face to face encounter in the present experience because we already know the words for what we see and feel.  We only see actual encounter through the screen of words which identifies what and whom we are seeing.  The second level of word experience is what lawyers call "hearsay."  We hear the words about Jesus and in hearing these words we have life changing belief.  The disciple friends of Jesus told Thomas but he did not believe their "hearsay." And what is the third level of words?  It is the written text.  The writer of the Gospel of John in the Doubting Thomas story affirms how we can come to loving belief in the Risen Christ through reading the Gospel of John: "These things are written so that you may believe and in believing you may have life in his name."

The eternal Word of God in the Spirit=Words of Jesus are active and alive in the written word of the Gospel in changing peoples' lives, so the written words of the Bible can be validating proof of the Risen Christ.

I am really excited about all of the dynamic meaning that is present in this doubting Thomas story.  I hope it gives encouragement to us about the blessed validity of our experiences of the Risen Christ, about 2000 years later.  I hope that the encouragement gives us inspiration to devote ourselves to further spiritual practice so that we will not miss the further reconstitution of our inner lives by the Risen Christ, whose words are Spirit and Life. Amen.

Sunday School, April 8, 2018 2 Easter A

Sunday School, April 8, 2018  2 Easter A

Theme

Do we only believe in things and people that we see?

When you are sleeping in another room than your parents, do you see them?  Do you still believe in them?  Do you still love them?  Do they still love you?

We believe in people that we don’t see all the time.  We love people whom we don’t always see all the time.  Why?

Because we know them enough that we can believe them and love them.

The story of Thomas is to teach people about how we can believe in Jesus, even when we don’t see him and even though he walked on this earth 2000 years ago.

There are people whom we see and yet we don’t have faith in or believe in.  We see lots of people every day and because we don’t know them, we don’t trust them.  In fact, we are taught to trust the people whom our parents tell us to trust.

For many years, we have had lots of people who have been handing down a message of trust.  Many people have been telling us to trust and believe in Jesus, even though we’ve never seen him.  And billions of people have believed and trusted in Jesus Christ even though they have not seen him.

Thomas, disciple of Jesus, said that he would only believed that Jesus rose from the dead, if he could see and touch him.  And Jesus gave him proof.  But Jesus also said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet who have believed.”

That’s you and me.  We have not seen and we have believed.  Why?  Just like we believe in our mom and dad when we don’t always see them with us, we know their reputation.  We know they still love us when we don’t see them.  We know that we can see lots of people who don’t take care of us like our parents, friends and teacher do, so believing in Christ, means that we can feel the closeness of Christ inside of us when we know peace, kindness, love, care and friendship.

When Jesus met his disciple friends, he said “Peace be with you.”  He was saying that he forgave them even when they failed him.  And he told them to forgive each other.  When people were peaceful and forgiving with each other, this would be proof that Christ was still with them and this would be a good reason to believe in Christ.

Sermon

Today we read a story about a man named Thomas.  And Thomas has a nickname.  Do you know what his nickname is?  He’s called “doubting Thomas.”  What does that mean?  Well, it means that he would only believe that Jesus was alive, if he could see him, hear him, and touch him.

  Do any of us see, hear and touch Jesus today?  Do we believe that Jesus is alive?

  Do we only believe things that we can see, touch and hear?  No.  In fact some of the greatest things that we believe, cannot be seen, touched or heard.

  When you are not in the same room as your mom and dad, do they still love you?  Do your parents still love you when you can’t see them, touch them or hear them?  Of course they still love you.  And you can believe in that love.  So when you are at school, do your parents still love you?  Of course they do.

  I had a very special grandmother when I was young.  I just loved to be with her.  She was so much fun and she gave a nice birthday party and she always fixed special favorite food for us.  And she told wonderful stories and she sang songs with us.  And I knew that she loved me.  And my grandmother got old and she died, and it is very sad that I could not hear her, see her or talk to her anymore in the way I used to.  But you know what?  I still feel her love for me.  I still believe in her love, even though I don’t see her, hear her or talk to her.  I still believe in her love.

  After the resurrection of Christ, the disciples could not see, hear or touch Jesus in the same way.  But they continued to know that Jesus loved them.  They still continued to believe that Jesus was still with them in very special ways.  And how could they tell that Jesus was still with them?

   They were used to arguing with each other; but when they live in peace with each other they knew that this peace was because Christ was still with them.  They used to hold grudges against each; but when they forgave each other, they knew that Christ was still with them.

  When I look at you, I can see you, I can hear you and I can touch you.  And you are wonderful to look at.  But you know what?  I can’t really see the very best part of you?  I can’t see what is inside of you.

And what is inside of you is your spirit.  It is your spirit that makes you a wonderful mystery to enjoy.  And that spirit of yours is always going to be young and new and fresh.  Even though I can’t see your spirit, I know it is most important part of you that makes you special.

  The friends of Jesus did not see the Spirit of Jesus; but it was his best part too.  And when they could no longer see his body;  they could still feel his Spirit with them.  And we can feel the Spirit of Jesus with us today.  We can feel it when we have peace and when we forgive each other.

  So remember today; we can believe in things that we don’t see.  The spirit of Christ is with us today.  And that is meaning of the resurrection of Christ.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

April 8, 2018: The Second Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: Glory Be to God On High; Alleluia, Give Thanks to the Risen Lord; He is Lord; He Lives!

Song: Glory Be to God on High (Christian Children Songbook, # 70)

Glory be to God on high, alleluia.  Glory be to God on high, alleluia.

Praise the Father, Spirit, Son, alleluia.  Praise the Godhead, Three in one, alleluia.

Sing we praises unto Thee, alleluia, for the truth that sets us free. Alleluia.

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.

People: The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia.

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 and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: 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 First Letter of John

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us-- we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 133

Oh, how good and pleasant it is, * when brothers and sisters live together in unity!

For there the LORD has ordained the blessing: * life for evermore.

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.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."  A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon –   

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: Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks, (Blue Hymnal, # 178)

Refrain: Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the Risen Lord, Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks 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

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.

Holy Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

  

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 Spirt so that we may love God and our neighbor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

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

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Anthem: He Is Lord (Renew!  # 29)

He is Lord.  He is Lord.  He is risen from the dead and He is Lord.  Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

He is King.  He is King.  He will draw all nations to him, He is king.  And the time shall be when the world shall sing that Jesus Christ is King.

He is Love.  He is Love.  He has shown us by his life that He is Love.  All his people sing with one voice of joy that Jesus Christ is Love.

He is Life.  He is Life.  He has died to set us free and he is Life.  And he calls us now to live evermore, for Jesus Christ is Life.

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: He Lives  (Lift Every Voice and Sing # 42).

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world to today; I know that He is living, whatever others say;  I see his hand of mercy, I hear his voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him He’s always near.

Refrain: He lives.  He lives.  Christ Jesus lives today.  He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.  He lives, He lives salvation to impart!  You ask me how I know He lives.  He lives within my heart.

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing.  Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King!  The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find, None other is so loving, so good and kind.  Refrain

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Jesus Returned to Share Eternal Life

Easter Sunday        April 1, 2018     

Acts 10:34-43  Psalm118:1-2,14-24

Colossians 3:1-4 Matthew 28:1-10

Once upon in the town of Hope, located near the desert and the mountains,  a very wealthy person John Divine,  decided that he wanted to attract people to come to the town, so he announced that he was going to host a major obstacle race.  He said, "Anyone can come and enter the race at any time.  And if you complete the race you will receive a wonderful and great surprise."   John Divine began to advertise this obstacle race on television and on the internet.  And many, many people began to come to the town of Hope to find out about the obstacle race.

And many decided to try to complete the obstacle course race.  But was not really a race because you were not competing with anyone and how long it took you to complete was not important.  The only important thing was that you finish the race.

So the young and the old began the race.  And the race seemed long and difficult.  And it seemed to be so difficult that all of the participants would quit and turn back.  They complained to John Divine that the race was too hard.  They said that he was tricking them.  They said that he just wanted them to come to the town of Hope as tourists and spend their money.  But John Divine kept advertising the great obstacle Race of the town of Hope.  And people kept coming and they kept failing and they kept complaining about the Race.

But one day, something happened, a man came back from the Race.  His name was Joshua Life.  He announced that he had made it to the end and he had won the prize.

The people did not believe him.  They said that John Divine wouldn't believe him either.  All of the people in the town of Hope followed Joshua Life to the big office of John Divine.  They wanted to know if John Divine would disqualify Joshua Life.

But when Joshua Life came to see John Divine, John Divine shook his hand and said, "Joshua Life, you are the winner.  You completed the race and you have returned to Hope."

All of the people said to John Divine, "How do you know that Joshua finished the Race; he may be lying to you."  But John Divine said, "I know because my helicopter and my drones followed Joshua on his journey.  And they took pictures and they proved to me that Joshua completed the trip."

But then the people shouted to Joshua, "Why did you come back?  If you won the prize why didn't you stay there?"

Joshua said to them, "Well I had a choice to stay there.  I won a beautiful new big house to live it.  It was a perfect place to live."  The people said to him, "Then why did you come back?"

Joshua said, "When I arrived at the end of the race, a nice person showed me the wonderful new home that I had won.  He said to me, "You can stay here forever, but if you want, you can go back to the town of Hope and show others how to get here too.  Just look up the mountains; there are many more homes that need people like you to live in."

Joshua Life said, "I did not want to live alone in that perfect place in the mountains, and I know how to get there; I know the short cuts and I know the best ways to go.  So I decided to come back and lead others on the best way to get there."

The people said, "You should not say that so loudly.  John Divine might hear you and try to keep you silent."

But John Divine said, "No, I am glad that Joshua came back; that is what I really wanted him to do.  And now he can lead many more people to go on the obstacle course and find the way to their new perfect homes.  Everyone give Joshua Life a big hand and thanked him for coming back to show us what the prize is and to show everyone how to get there."

This story can help us understand Jesus and the Resurrection.  Jesus went on a very difficult journey, the same journey that all of us are on.  Jesus arrived at his death on the cross.  But he came back to life.  He journey from death back to life, to show us that we can make the journey of life as we walk in the love and kindness of Jesus and when we die, we can arrive at the perfect place of eternal life."

This is why we say "Yeah God" on Easter Sunday with the special word, "Alleluia."

Alleluia.  Christ is Risen.  The Lord is Risen, Indeed.  Alleluia.  Jesus came back to get all of us and show us the way to everlasting life.  Amen.

The Thought of Having a Future Continuing Personal Identity

Easter Sunday        April 1, 2018 

Act 10:34-43   Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Mark 16:1-8

 Lectionary Link

If the butterfly breaking out of the cocoon is a phase event in the life cycle of a marvelous beautiful creature, we might ponder the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a most poignant phase in bringing the message of Christ to the entire world.

Even as we might think about the butterfly as the end of the phase, the butterfly is but a new beginning of the cycle.  Why?  The butterfly will go on to lay eggs that will continue the endless cycle.  The birth of one butterfly means that there will be many more future butterflies.

When the New Testament was being written, the early Christians had become the very results of the Risen Christ.  It is a though if Jesus had been the first butterfly, there were many more butterflies because the Risen Christ had entered the lives of many people.  The Risen Christ had become known in the lives of so many that it had become a significant social phenomenon.  How could all of this have happened?  How could Jesus of Nazareth be gone and no longer seen still be known in special ways to so many people?  How could the talk about Jesus shared be so infectious that it resulted in spiritual experience and conversions?  The Risen Christ effect was profound.  The effects of the Risen Christ were profoundly recognized in the life of so many people.  We might call the New Testament writings the testimonies of people who were trying to explain the effects of the Risen Christ in the lives of people.

To explain the effects, it is natural to try to recount a sequence of events to trace what came before and what came after.  On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the most intensive phase of the Risen Christ.  It is the phase that happened when the grief of many people was profound because they had lost their friend and hero teacher to something they did not believe was possible.  They believed Jesus was so wonderful, it was inconceivable to think that he could die.  The friends of Jesus believed that he was too good to die.  And because they believed he was too good to die, his death seemed unnatural.  How could such a God-Person be brought to death?

The death of Jesus must have been for them profound disbelief.  If God did not protect a person as good as Jesus was, who would God protect?  When love and adoration has been profound and when one profoundly depends upon loving a person, the death of that person can make recovery from grief seem impossible.

The post-resurrection events happened to a deeply grieving community of people who knew Jesus to be their beloved best friend.  One could even believe that their collective grief was so profound that it was a deep prayer to God to do something special to heal that great grief.

For a favored few, post-resurrection appearances of Jesus occurred.  Most people who came to believe in Christ, did not have these profound post-resurrection appearances which gave proof to the fact that Jesus was still alive and still able to be present in new ways to people.

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the phase when Jesus goes from being the crucified, dead and buried Jesus of Nazareth into becoming the Risen Christ who was launched and, on his way, to becoming available in new ways to as many people who wanted to know him.  St. Paul did not see the Risen Christ in the way that Mary Magdalene did; he was blinded by a bright light and heard the voice of Christ.  He regarded that to be valid proof of his calling to be an apostle of Christ.  Many others became aware of the Risen Christ in many ways including through the preaching of the Gospel and reading it too.  Why?  Because there is not just one way that Christ re-appears.  Christ re-appears and is made known to each person in ways that are appropriate and compatible with the personal circumstances and differences of each person.

As different as all the ways in which the Risen Christ has become known to people, the shared element in all of these experiences is hope.  Hope is the sense that we will always have a future, even after our deaths and the deaths of our loved ones.

There have long been beliefs and theories about the afterlife.  Transmogrification of the soul or reincarnations or journeys into the afterlife.  What humanity has always needed was a substantial and validating event to verify the deep intuition of hope for a future after our lives.  And the event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ has been the substantiating and validating event for our hope.

Each of us is invited to tell the story of the hope of our lives; the hope that we will not be dissolved like some sugar cube in a cosmic ocean of energy and lose the sense of any future personal identity.  We look to the witness of Jesus of Nazareth having a personal identity after he had died, and from that we reaffirm that we too will have a continuing, recognizable personal identity in our future.  We will not be just impersonal collections of atoms that pass into other collateral elements in our final earthly environments.

There is something that is quite contradictory about the emphasis on a bodily resurrection.  You and I know what happens to our bodies.  We get old, we age, and we show the effects of aging, so knowing that this is what happens to bodies, why do we want another one?  Why was the bodily resurrection notion important in the early church?

The New Testament writers are like us; we tend to use the physical presence as a metaphor for saying that something is really, real.  To speak about the resurrection of the body, is to say that we believe our personal identity will be preserved in a real and substantial way.  It is not to say that we'll just have another future body that will wear out like this one has.

More importantly, the resurrection of Christ and our future resurrection tells us what we believe about God.  It tells us that God loves us enough to cherish our unique personal identity enough to preserve it in a recognizable way into the future forever.  And if you're like I am, I don't feel all that worthy to be preserved forever, but I think it is wonderful to believe that God believes that I am worth preserving in some way for ever.

And that is what I want to leave to each of us today regarding the resurrection of Christ.  God believed that Jesus was wonderful enough to preserve forever.  And God believes that you are lovable and wonderful enough to preserve in your unique personal identity forever.  And the possibility of such care and love of God for us is a very humbling thought.

And as we accept this love of God for us today, let us be grateful as we make our Easter shout:

Alleluia! Christ is Risen.  The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia!