Sunday School, January 19, 2019 2 Epiphany C

Sunday School, January 19, 2019            2 Epiphany C

Sunday School

Themes

Spiritual gifts.

Have a discussion about the children’s gifts and talents.  Ask them if they all are equally good in everything.  Do they all excel in math? Or football?  Or singing?  Or sewing?  Or dancing?  Or baseball?

Why aren’t all people the same?  Would life be boring if all people were the same?  If everyone only played tubas what other wonderful sounds would we miss.

Remind the children that what we believe about baptism is that God gives everyone different gifts and all of the different gifts are needed to make us a better community and church.

Make a list of all of the things that people can do for the church.  When gifts are used in the church we call this “ministry.”  So everyone is a minister.  But we also do ministry outside of the church to when we go to school or when we are at play.

If we understand that God has given us gifts then we understand that our purpose in life is to serve God as a minister.  And we don’t have to be a priest or pastor to be a minister.  To be a minister means that we use our gifts to serve Christ and to help other people.

The Gospel is about when Jesus and his disciples went to a wedding.  Mary, the mother of Jesus told Jesus that they were running out of wine and she ask him to help.

Jesus told the servants to take jars of water and serve them to the guests.  And when the guests drank they thought that they were drinking the very best wine.

This story is a story about faith.  Sometimes life seems to be like ordinary water; but with faith can sometimes find that there are some extraordinary things within the ordinary.  Faith is the ability to find the extraordinary things within ordinary life.  It means we keep alive within us that wonder curiosity to always being ready to find wonderful things in life.  With the curiosity of faith we never have to be bored in life.  So when some people think that we are just drinking ordinary water, we in our experience can taste something extraordinary and wonderful.

A sermon on gifts

  How many of you received gifts at Christmas?  So you received some new toys and some clothes and many other things didn’t you?

  A long time ago, Saint Paul wrote a letter to his friends and he told, “You have many gifts.  And God has given you many gifts and you are to use those gifts to make your family and community better.”

  And as I look at all of you today, I see men and women and boys and girls who have many gifts.  I am not talking the gifts that you received at Christmas.  I am talking how God has made each of you special and how God has given each one of you different abilities.  Those abilities are what we call gifts from God.  And as we find our gifts and abilities as we practice our gifts and ability, we become better at using our gifts.

  There something else about our gifts.  Different people have different gifts.  Now if you have a gift that I don’t have, should I be jealous?  Or happy?  I should be happy, because we need different gifts and abilities to our community get more done.

  What if a music teacher came to class on the first day, and everyone in the class was a drummer?  If a music class had only drummers then that would be a loud class and only a certain kind of music could be made?

  What if a basketball team had only real tall players who were slow and could not shoot long shots?

  What if a football teams on had 300 pound linemen, and no smaller faster players to run and catch the football?

  God has made us all a little bit different and has given us different abilities and gifts.

  One of the first secrets of happiness in life, is to find our gifts.  Your mom and dad and teacher are encouraging you to try lots of things in life because the want you to find your gifts.  Because if you find what you are good at, then you will be happy.  And if you practice what you are good at, then you also have a wonderful ability to share with others.

  And the second secret to happiness in life, is to use your gift to make your family, and your community and your world a better place.

  And thirdly, all gifts are important.  And you have many kinds of gifts.  When you help clean your room or take care of your pets that does not seem like an important thing.  But all of our gifts are important.  And what is most important is our willingness to use our gifts to make our families and church and community better places.

  Today, I want you to remember that God has given to gifts.  God has given you special abilities to do some wonderful things in life.  But you will not know that you have gifts unless you work to discover them or if you do not share them with the people in your lives.

  Repeat after me:  God’s Spirit has given me gifts.   Help me God to find my gifts.  Help me God to share my gifts with others.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

January 20, 2019: The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs: Jesus, Stand Among Us.,He’s Got the World World, Eat This Bread, Shine, Jesus, Shine

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

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

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Jesus Stand Among Us, Renew! #17

1          Jesus stand among us, at the meeting of our lives, be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

2          So to You we’re gathering out of each and every land.  Christ the love between us at the joining of our hand; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

3          Jesus stand among us, the breaking of the bread, join us as one body as we worship Your, our Head.  O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ¹s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 36

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, * and your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the strong mountains, your justice like the great deep; * you save both man and beast, O LORD.

How priceless is your love, O God! * your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.

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.

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

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

Offertory Hymn: He’s Got the Whole World  (Christian Children’s Songbook,  # 90)

1-He’s got the whole world; in his hands he’s got the whole wide world in his hands.  He’s got the whole world in his hands; he’s got the whole world in his hands.

2-Little tiny babies.   3-Brother and the sisters  4-Mothers and the fathers

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 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.

Children may gather around the altar

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through

Jesus Christ our Lord.

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Children may rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

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

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Hymn: Eat This Bread, (Renew!  # 228)

Eat this bread, Drink this cup, come to me and never be hungry.  Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in me and you will not thirst.

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: Shine Jesus, Shine (Renew!,  # 247)

Refrain: Shine, Jesus shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory, blaze Spirit blaze, set out hearts on fire.  Flow river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy, send forth your word, Lord, andlet there be light.

1-Lord, the light of your love is shining in the midst of the darkness shining; Jesus, light of the world, shine upon us, set us free by the truth you now bring us.  Shine on me, shine on me.

Refrain

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

b   

Why Baptism?

1 Epiphany  c       January 13, 2019   

Isaiah 43:1-7                Psalm 29       

Acts 8:14-17       Luke 3:15-17,21-22

Lectionary Link Some people may ask, "Why baptism?"  Why should someone be baptized?  Why should  parents baptize their child?  Isn't it just a silly superstitious rite to assure ourselves that we and our babies will be free from hell? 

Why baptism?  Why any human behavior?  Why graduation ceremonies?  Why birthday celebrations?  Why rites of passage rituals?  Why initiation rituals to get into a fraternity or sorority?  Why are people ritual beings?

Baptism partakes of human social behavior, so why do we have defend baptism as being meaningful when lots of initiation behaviors seem to be less rational than what Christians believe about baptism.

Christians baptize even as Christians disagree about many things regarding baptism.  Baptists detach the grace of God from the baptism event.  They say baptism is a public declaration of faith after one has already attained the assurance of salvation by asking Jesus into their heart.  So baptism can only be done by an adult or by a person whom a pastor believes to be of an appropriate age of accountability.  Episcopalians and Catholics and others do not separate an actual experience of grace from the baptismal event.

So why baptism?  And further, why would Jesus the one whom we proclaim as the Son of God, undergo the rite of baptism by John the Baptist?

Why Baptism?  Well, we are human and we know ourselves to be human because we have language.  What does having language mean?  It means that there is more than one person in the world.  We have language as proof that we are social people who are made to be in relationship with each other.  The use of language is evidence of our relationship but it is also the most important means of relationship through speaking and through our body language deeds.  Our entire lives are a witness to the fact that we have language because we are made to be in relationship with each other.

Baptism is a ritual way of enacting and celebrating the belief that we are related to God and to each other.

What was happening in the baptism of Jesus?  Jesus as God's Son, was saying to John the Baptist and to all people who witnessed his baptism, "I am not too great or too aloof to be identified with you John and you my fellow members of the human community."  So,ity it was natural for Jesus to express his solidarity with human within their own communities.  Jesus went to the synagogue community.  Jesus went to the Temple.  Jesus taught in the streets, on the hills and the plain.  Jesus was a community person.  He celebrated his relationship with other people.  In fact, he elevated relationships, even the one's frowned on by religious society.  He embraced women in a society that segregated men and women.  He touched leper and other folks who were said to have unclean spirits and those who were victimized by religious rules of quarantine.  Jesus was with humanity; he became so much "with humanity" that he died with humanity, because every human being must die.  Jesus was God being so baptized, so immersed into humanity that he  even went to the terminal place of humanity, death itself.

What else happened in the account of the baptism of Jesus?  The voice of God the heavenly parent proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son and with him I am well pleased."  The Baptism of Jesus was a Trinitarian event because God the Father declared, God the Spirit Dove  was made evident on the life of Jesus.  And Jesus was identified and revealed as God's beloved Son.

Why do we get baptized?  Because we believe certain things about ourselves and about God.  We believe that we have language and that we are made for relationship with each other. We also know how difficult good relationship with each other can be.  We know that we need to have Higher Power help to be good at human relationship.  In baptism we seek the best support of a helpful community.  So we make vows to our helpful community.  And the community makes vows to us.  And we believe that God wants to be with us in the vows that we make to each other.  And when we baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit we are seeking to constitute the elements found in the baptism of Jesus.  Like Jesus, we present ourselves to the human community of support.  Like Jesus, we seek to know the invoked presence of God's Spirit upon us.  And like Jesus, we want to be acknowledged by the heavenly parent as a beloved son or daughter of God.

Baptism is only a silly ritual if it is isolated from its profound meanings and devout practice.  Today we are going to renew our baptismal vows and they can be a reminder to us of our abject failure to keep them.  Or they can be the vision of what we are continually called to be.

And what are we called to be?  Sons and daughters of God.  Sons and daughters of human parents in relationship with men and women as our brothers and sisters.  We are called to be working to have better relationship with God and with each other.

Let this new year be a renewal year for us in the realization that each of us is a beloved child of God, gifted by God's Holy Spirit and placed in a particular place with particular people to love, serve and minister the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Sunday School, January 13, 2019 1 Epiphany C

Sunday School, January 13, 2019   1 Epiphany C

The theme is the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.  It is also a baptismal occasion within the church.

If the parish has baptismal candidates then it is important for children to be there to witness it and renew their own vows.  If there are no baptismal candidates then there may be an renewal of baptismal vows.

Explore the very basic meaning of baptism.

Use the analogy of having two families, the family of one’s natural birth or adoption.  One’s baptismal family in its most general sense is being a member of the family of God by virtue of our belief that we have been made in God’s image.

What does being made in God’s image mean?

Sometimes children look like their parents in shape of nose, color of eyes and other ways.  Children are born in some ways in the image of their parents but they are not their parents.

Each person is born in the image of God and so each person has the image of God in them as what we call our spirits.  So in spiritual ways we can be like God our heavenly parent even though we are not God.

We have to know about being made in the image of God.  We have to know that we are spiritual people.

Holy Baptism is a celebration of our having been born into the family of God.  But we are also recognized as being born in the family of Christ since Jesus was God’s special Son who came to remind us that we are made in God’s image and therefore we too are God’s sons and daughters.  Jesus is our brother in God’s family who came to remind us that we God’s children.

When we are born we receive a name and it is a sign of belonging to the family of our parents.   When we are baptized we receive our “Christian” name.  We have the sign of Christ written on our foreheads when the oil of chrism is used to mark us as belonging to Christ forever.

So baptism is a reminder to us about being a member of the spiritual family with God as our Father and Jesus as our brother.

It is important to remember that we are made in God’s image because if we remember this we will value our lives and do everything we can to make them better.  Also if we believe that other people are made in God’s image, we will value their lives too and we will give them the same kind of respect and care that we want for ourselves.

This celebration of being in God’s family, the family of Christ, is what is very important to remember about baptism.

When Jesus was baptized by John, he was telling us that he was happy to be a part of our human family but he was also reminding us that we were made to be in God’s family.

A voice from heaven at the baptism of Jesus said, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Each of needs that the voice of God says this to us:  You are my beloved son or daughter.  I like you and I am pleased with you.  If you and I can know that God regards us to be sons and daughters who really likes us, then we can know that our lives have special value.

Baptism as a rite of remembering who we are, who we were made to be.

What is the most common mistake that everyone makes, children and adults?

  I think the most common mistake that all of us make is the mistake of forgetting.

  Do you ever forget?  Forget to do your homework?  Forget to clean your room?   Forget what your teacher told?  Forget what your parents told you?  Forget what you promised to your children or spouse?

  Forgetting is easy to do.

  But the most serious forgetting is forgetting about God.   Today we have read the story about John the Baptist on the day that he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.

  John the Baptist and Jesus were special men who were prophets.  And they came to help people recover from their forgetting.  See many people had forgotten some important things about God.  Even the religious leaders had forgotten some important things about God.  And what is often forgotten about God.

  People often forget that God loves them.  People often think that God loves the people in our country, or in our neighborhood or in our race better than people in another country, neighborhood or race.

  When Jesus was baptized, the voice of God said, this is my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.

  You and I need to remember what baptism means.  Baptism looks like just pouring some water over the head of a baby or an adult.  But what does baptism mean?  It means that we celebrate that each and every person is a child of God, a son or daughter of God.

  You see the problems in our life happen when we forget that we are sons and daughters of God.  The problems in our life happen when we forget that other people are son and daughters of God.

  When we remember that we are children of God we treat ourselves with respect.  When we remember that other people are children to God, we treat them with respect too.  When we remember God, then we remember to live good lives for God and we remember to live in peace and love with each other.

  John the Baptist and Jesus came to remind us about some things that we had forgotten.

  Let us remember the meaning of baptism.  Our baptism is a reminder that we and all people belong to the same family of God.  And if we remember that we will work to love one another and live in peace with each other.  Amen.St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

January 13, 2019: The First Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah; Peace Before Us; Seek Ye First; This Little Light of Mine

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

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

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Hallelu, Hallelujah   (Christian Children’s 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

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

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 29

The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; * the LORD is upon the mighty waters.

The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice; * the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.

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.

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

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

Offertory Hymn: Peace Before Us  (Wonder, Love and Praise,  # 791)

1-Peace before us.  Peace behind us.  Peace under our feet.  Peace within us.  Peace over us.  Let all around us be Peace.

2-Love, 3-Light, 4-Christ

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 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.

The Prayer continues with these words

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we 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: 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:  Seek Ye First  (Blue Hymnal, # 711)

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you; Allelu, alleluia.  Refrain: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, allelu, alleluia.

Ask, and it shall be given unto you, seek, and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you; Allelu, alleluia!  Refrain

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: This Little Light of Mine (Christian Children’s Songbook,  # 234)

This little light of mine.  I am going to let it shine.  This little light of mine, I am going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, no.  I am going to let it shine.  Hide it under a bushel, no.  I am going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Don’t let anyone blow it out, I’m going to let it shine.  Don’t let anyone blow it out, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine.  Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

    

The Magi and the Meaning of the Epiphany

The Epiphany C     January 6, 2019

Is.60:1-6,9      Ps. 72:1-2,10-17

Eph. 3:1-12   Matt. 2:1-12

Lectionary Link

The Christmas Pageant director always encounters a dilemma when it comes to the Magi or the Three Wise-men or the Three Kings.

Directorial decisions have to be made and usually directors depart from the Gospel text when it comes to the three Wise-men.  Most Christmas Pageant and creche scene place the Three Kings at the manger even though in the Gospel story the three Wise-men were never at the manger.

One only has so much room for scenery in the chancel and so one takes license with the placement of the Three Kings.

By calling them Kings, we are already taking license with the text, because they were Magi, the plural of magus, the same word from which we get magician.  So, they were probably sages associated with the wisdom schools of the time in foreign countries including astrology as a prominent "science" of their time.  The Psalmist wrote, "the heavens declared the glory of God," and the Gospel writers believed the birth of Jesus to be an event of the glory of God to which the heavens and all creation responded.  The magi were also regarded to be kings because of references in the Hebrew Scriptures about Kings coming to pay homage to some exalted figure.  And the Hebrew Scriptures provided the template for telling the story of Jesus.

Beyond the pomp and pageantry of the Kings and Magi which they do add to any pageant, is the function of the Magi story in the Infancy Narratives that arose late in the development of the Jesus Movement.

The Magi Story is the theology of St. Paul placed in a story to emphasize that the Gentile mission was God's priority from the beginning.

Is God available to everyone?  Is the God of the Hebrew Scriptures available to everyone?  The very notion of God would imply that God is universal?  How could God be truly a God if God was only for one tribe or nation or group of people?

It is more important to say that we are God's people than to say that God is my God or our God, the God who specifically belongs to the Episcopal Church, or to any religion or religious group.  For God to truly be "catholic," God must be universally accessible to all.  

Are water, air and food necessary to human life?  Yes, indeed.  God must be regarded to be as necessary and as accessible to human life as water, air and food, to be worthy of the designation of God.

So what's the problem?  The problem is when people become such exclusive gatekeepers of God, that they make God in the image of their own small rituals and practices rather than let God be God.  Members of all religious group can be guilty of over-associating the Great God with their petty practices and they can end up misrepresenting God.

St. Paul, a Jew and a Pharisee, wrote a theology of Gentile Christians in his letter to the Roman churches.  Paul wrote that through Jesus Christ his Lord he had: "received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name."

To bring about the obedience of faith among the Gentiles.  This sums up the meaning of The Epiphany, which means the manifestation of Christ to the nations.

Jesus in his own time and place was much more limited within specific religious parties of Judaism even though the control of the Romans of Palestine brought Gentiles into his life. 

How did the leaders of the early church present the Gentile mission in a teaching narrative of Jesus of Nazareth?  They understood that the Gentile mission was a message about the universal accessibility of God's love to everyone.  The magi story represents that the meaning of the birth of Jesus is that God is available to everyone because God took identity with a specific person Jesus, to indicate that God takes identity with us all as our heavenly parent.

The early Christian leaders who were Jews, searched the Hebrew Scriptures for the universal themes.  They read that the Temple was to be a house of prayer for all peoples.  They believed that Abraham was a father of all faith before Israel and Moses and the Law even existed.  They noted that Jonah preached to the foreigners of Nineveh.  They noted that Elijah healed a foreign general Naaman.  They quoted Isaiah about God's salvation being brought to the ends of the earth.

Peter and Paul had to accept the fact that such a mission of universal salvation was not going to be quickly implemented within the existing religious parties of Judaism.  These parties had a universal message but their invitation was more limited; "you have to come to us to receive a proselyte baptism and begin a life of ritual conformity."  What Peter and Paul learned is that people were having spiritual experience without ritual conformity;  Peter and Paul adopted their theology to what was happening in the spiritual lives of Jews and Gentiles.  A person could receive the birth of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and still be a ritually conforming Jew or they could be a Gentile who did not observe all of the ritual practices of the synagogue.

The Season of the Epiphany is about the program of the universal salvation that was offered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The story of the Magi is a story for the Epiphany because they are placed at the birth of Jesus signifying that it was God's intention to expand the universal message of creation, the promise of Abraham and the messianic meanings of the Hebrew Scriptures to all of the peoples on the earth.

And we are the recipients of this expanded message of universal salvation.  It has given us a bit different mission than Judaism but what it means is that we believe that God is actively coaxing people to accept their belonging in God's family.

Let us rejoice in the message of the Epiphany.  God is manifest to all.  And God is love.  Jesus is an expression of God's love to us.  And it is our epiphany to experience God's love through the birth of Christ within us, and be received into the company of Magi, made wise by having an Epiphany of Christ.  Amen.