Sunday School, June 30, 2019 3 Pentecost C, proper 8

Sunday School, June 30, 2019  3 Pentecost C, proper 8

Themes

Can a student ever become as wise as a teacher?

Elisha was the student of Elijah and when it came time for Elijah to die, Elisha was fearful about losing his teacher.  He was worried that God would not be the same for him as God was for Elijah.  Before leaving Elisha wanted his teacher Elijah to promise that God would make him a good prophet and teacher for other students just as Elijah had been.  Elijah said that if Elisa would see him depart this earth, then it would be proof that God would make Elisha a good prophet and teacher.  Elisha had a vision of Elijah leaving this world riding on a chariot.  And so he knew that God heard his prayer and would be with him just as God was with Elijah.

Students, remember that some day you will be teachers, parents and you can have faith to know that God will be with you in the same way that God has been with the people who have been good teachers in your life.

The Epistle Lesson is about the Fruits of the Spirit

The soil of the earth can grow some really ugly thistles and weeds but if the soil is taken care of properly, soil can grow vegetable and fruit.

St. Paul shows us that our life is like “soil” which needs to be taken care of.  Out of our lives we can grow the weeds of bad behaviors OR we can grow the fruits of God’s Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  We need to learn how to tend the “soil” of our lives and allow the Holy Spirit to help us grow the fruits of the Spirit.

The Gospel Lesson

Jesus taught his followers not to be angry if people did not follow or agree with them.  People have to be ready to hear the good news of the Gospel and we need to be ready to share the good news of God’s love when people are ready to receive it.

Some people think it would be very easy to follow Jesus and other people make excuses about why they can’t follow Jesus.

Jesus used his riddles to help people understand that following Christ can be adjusted to every situation in our lives.  Jesus used his riddles to prove that most of the time when people say, “I can’t follow Christ” it really means “I won’t follow Christ.”

Today, Jesus is trying to convert our “I won’t” into “I can and I will.”  Remember at our baptism we make promises and we say, “I will with God’s help.”

A Children’s sermon on “I can’t,”  “I won’t,” and “I, will!”

How many of you have ever told your Mom or Dad, “I can’t?”

  Please eat your carrot…No I just can’t do it.

  Please pick up your toys.  No I just can’t do it.

  Please don’t tease your brother or sister.  No, I just can’t do it.

  Please finish your homework.  No, I just can’t do it.

  I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.

Why do we say, “I can’t?” 

  It is okay to say I can’t when we are asked to do something that is impossible or when something is not good for us.

  But do our parents ask us to do things that are impossible?  No, our parent only ask us to do things that they know that we can do.

  So most of the time when we say, “I can’t to Mom or Dad, we really mean, “I won’t or we mean I do not want to.”

  Please pick up your toys…

  Jesus had some people who were not sure that they wanted to follow him.

  They were trying to say to Jesus, I can’t.

  And Jesus was using a playful language to try to get them to see that when Jesus ask them to do something, he was only asking them to do things that were possible for them to do.  And he was promising God’s help to anyone who followed him.

  So we need to be careful when we say “I can’t” to our parents or to God.

  When God asks us to do something, even if it seems hard to do, we need to learn to say, “I will do it with God’s help.”  If we learn to say this, then we will surprise our selves about how much we can do.

  Let us not say to Jesus today, I can’t.  Let us say, “I will, with God’s help.”  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

June 30, 2019  3 Pentecost C, proper 8

Gathering Songs:

 I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,  I will make you Good Fisher Folk, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,  I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light

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

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

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: I have Decided to Follow Jesus  (All the Best Songs for Kids, # 130)

1-I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.

2-Though none go with me, still I will follow, though none go with me, still I will follow, though none go with me still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back.

3-The cross before me, the world behind me, the cross before me, the world behind me, the cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen..

Litany of Praise: 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 Second Book of Kings

Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 77

I will remember the works of the LORD, * and call to mind your wonders of old time.

I will meditate on all your acts * and ponder your mighty deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy; * who is so great a god as our God?

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God!

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.

Jesus and and his disciples entered into another village.  As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me wait until my father has passed away." But Jesus said to him, "Then you will wait too long; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first get advice from all of my family at home." Jesus said to him, "If a farmer looks only behind him while he plows he will plow a crooked row; you must look to your future for the kingdom of God."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Lesson – Fr. Cooke

                           

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

Song for the Offertory: I will Make you Good Fisher Folk (Christian’s Children Songbook, # 58)

1-I will make you good fisher folk, good fisher folk, good fisher folk.  I will make you good fisher folk, if you follow me.  If you follow me, If you follow me.  I will make you good fisher folk, if you follow me.

2-Hear Christ calling come unto me, come unto me, come unto me.  Hear Christ calling come unto me, I will give you rest.  I will give you rest, I will give you rest.  Hear Christ calling come unto me, I will give you rest.

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)

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 rejoin their parents and take up their instruments) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Swing, Low Sweet Chariot

Refrain: Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home. Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home.

1-I looked over Jordan, and what did I see, Coming for to carry me home.  A band of angels coming after me, Coming for to carry me home.

2-If you get there before I do, Coming for to carry me home.  Tell all my friends I’m coming too,

Coming for to carry me home.

3-The brightest day that ever I saw Coming for to carry me home.  When Jesus wash’d my sins away,

Coming for to carry me home.

4-I’m sometimes up and sometimes down, Coming for to carry me home. But still my soul feels heavenly bound, Coming for to carry me home. 

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: I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light

1-I want to walk as a child of the light, I want to follow Jesus.  God set the stars to give light to the world, the star of my life is Jesus.

Refrain: In Him there is no darkness at all.  The night and the day are both alike, the Lamb is the light of the city of God.  Shine in my heart Lord Jesus.

2-I want to see the brightness of God, I want to look at Jesus.  Clear sun of righteousness shine on my path and show me the way to the Father.  Refrain.

3-I’m looking for the coming of Christ, I want to be with Jesus.  When we have run with patience the race we shall know the joy of Jesus.  Refrain

Dismissal:

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Jezebel, Legion and People Whispering

2 Pentecost, Cp7, June  23, 2019 

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a  Psalm 22:18-27

Gal. 3:23-29   Luke 8:26-39

Lectionary Link

Why don't parents name their daughters Jezebel?  If you say about a woman, "She's a real Jezebel," it's a supreme insult.  Who was Jezebel? Jezebel was the daughter of a Phoenician King who married, Ahab, king of the northern kingdom of Israel.  Jezebel brought her religion with her to Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom.  King Ahab built temples for Jezebel's gods, Baal and Astarte and she perhaps was a royal priestess in one of the temples.  In this political marriage, Ahab perhaps was too drawn to his wife's religious leanings and Jezebel managed to support lots of false prophets who served her gods.  Against this compromise with the foreign gods, the prophet Elijah made a heroic stand; he called down fire from heaven in a showdown with the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, and he killed the false prophets with a sword but then he fled in fear of the bounty that Jezebel put on his head.  Jezebel is the patroness for harlots as she is known for dressing up in finery and putting on facial make up.  Jezebel was all painted up, perhaps as a seductress, when Jehu saw her on a balcony and had her thrown down and trampled and left her corpse for the dogs to eat.  (Do you see why we censure portions of the Bible as being X-rated for children?) Elijah, in fear, retreated to a most holy place, Horeb, the Mountain of God, formerly known as Mount Sinai.  Elijah perhaps thought that if he ran away to the Mountain of God, then he could meet God in the same place that Moses did.  Moses had a cloud and light show and shaking and thundering on Mount Sinai, but alas when these happened to Elijah, he could not find God.  He found God in sheer silence when God spoke to the pouting prophet who was so consumed about the persecution and he did not know what God knew the faithful of other people in Israel.  And this is all a prelude to his departure and the finish of his prophetic ministry on earth.
  Jesus of Nazareth did not confront Jezebel; he confronted a configuration of fallen angels or gods who went by the name Legion and who possessed a man. 
  Fallen angels and gods of ancient days had morphed into inward beings who tormented and possessed people and caused them to harm themselves and others.
  The earliest writer of the New Testament, Paul, wrote that we don't fight against flesh and blood; rather we fight against principalities and powers of darkness in heavenly places.  In Paul's spiritual psychology, the heavenly world is an inner world of battle against unseen cosmic forces of darkness.
  The spiritual warfare of St. Paul is instantiated in the ghost busting and people whispering ministry of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.  John does not present Jesus as an exorcist as the other Gospels do.
  When illness of the physical and mental sort occurs, the ancient world had their own public health systems and systems of classification.  The unseen cause of people having unclean spirits within them was an all-embracing diagnosis for all manner of maladies particularly those that show the signs of some severe mental health disorders.
  I have come to favor Jesus as a People Whisperer to best explain the phenomenon of exorcism.  Jesus was such a person of extraordinary internal strength of peace and calm; that the interior lives of other reached out in various ways to him.
   The early church believed Jesus was the name above all other names and that he had authority, inward authority over unseen inner forces, the forces which compelled harmful acting out behaviors.  
  In ancient time as today, people are afraid of the public displays of extremely erratic behaviors, one that can be seen as dangerous to other people.  Today, one of the biggest social issues in our country is that there is not enough treatment for mental health disorders and the panorama of drug and opioid addictions, resulting in unseen inner forces becoming harmful behaviors.  In the ancient system of medical diagnosis, a person's interior force of motivation could be declared as "unclean."  In the Purity Code, something or some state of being was either "clean" or "unclean."  If it was designated as "unclean" it was to be shunned and quarantined so others would not be made unclean through contact with such an agent of defilement.  It was a system of infectious disease control.
  Jesus, the people whisperer, saw the pain and the isolation that such designation brought to the suffering persons and their families.  He had the inner strength to confront the inner forces of other people.  The Gospel narrative the exorcism that we've read today is highly symbolic.  Where were the "unclean" spirits sent?  Into the poor animals designated in Jewish society as being unclean, the swine.  So the unclean spirits enter the unclean swine causing them to kill themselves by drowning.  They jumped into the abyss of the water.  The unclean spirits were sent back to the chaos of the abyss and this indicated how Jesus was the Messiah in the heavenly realms.  Jesus was not yet a king on earth; but he was the king of heavenly and inner forces.
  The church has bishops, priests and deacons, preachers and prophets and all sorts of ministries.  What the church needs and what this world needs are more people whisperers.
Think of all of the times when you and I have needed people whisperers?  When we we infants and children worried about the "boogie men" in our rooms at night.  The horrifying images of a nightmare.  And mom or dad was there to be a people whisperer for us.  And many times, our unseen inner worlds have seemed to be threatened by the forces of accusation, addiction, victimization, fear, anxiety, illnesses of all sorts and we have needed an authoritative people whisperer to say, "now, now, everything is going to be well.  just hold my hand, I'm here with you and for you."
  When you and I don't think that we have any ministry at all, we do have the ministry to be people whisperers to the ones to whom God puts in our way to be present to as those who are willing to be acquainted with the grief and sorrows of others.
  The forces like that  of Ahab and Jezebel are always threatening.  People of power can incite others to do things that an individual would not do on one's own.  Outward events can instill inward fears and disorders.  Who ya' gonna call?  Jesus the ghost buster and people whisperer.
  And if you and I have received the gift of being whispered through some difficult times in our lives; then we too are called to make ourselves available to allow God's Holy Spirit to whisper other people through us.
  May Jesus, the great people whisperer, whisper us; and may we go forth to whisper the people who need to know the inward calm and peace of Christ.  Amen.

Sunday School, June 23, 2019 2 Pentecost C proper 7

Sunday School, June 23, 2019          2 Pentecost C proper 7

Jesus as a People Whisperer

Some people have special abilities to interact and tame animals.  A person who is very good with horses is often called a "horse whisperer."  A person who can make a dog feel very calm is a "dog whisperer."

Sometimes people are just very good at getting along with animals.

There are time when we need someone to "whisper" us as people or calm us down.  When are those times?  a baby crying.  falling down getting your knee skinned.  waking up in the night because of a bad dream.  whenever we are afraid.   Can you think of some other times when you need someone to comfort you and let you know that everything is going to be fine.  What about when we lose at a game and we are disappointed or sad?  What about when we don't get something which we really wanted?

Jesus was a people whisperer.  He knew how to calm people when they were upset or when they would feel very confused inside.  Jesus would tell people to calm down and be peaceful and they would come to be peaceful.

Jesus was like a doctor of our souls, our emotions, our thoughts and the place inside of us where we decide.

We also need to learn to whisper other people.  The best way to whisper people is by gentleness and kindness and always making other people feel safe and comfortable.  If we can learn to make other people be safe and comfortable, then we can learn to be people whisperers like Jesus.

  Have you ever been to a circus?  Have ever seen someone who works with animals?  With wild animals?  Have you seen a lion tamer?  Or have you seen someone who teach a dog to do amazing tricks?

  Have you ever taught your dog some tricks? Can you get the dog to fetch a ball?  Or roll over?  Or sit?  Or does your dog train you to feed it whenever it wants?

  Some people have a special gift with animals.  A person who can tame a wild horse is sometimes called a horse whisperer.  A horse whisper has such a calming effect upon the horse so that the horse will become very friendly and peaceful.  Sometimes a horse is wild and seems to be angry because the horse has been taught to be fearful and not trust anyone.

  Did you know that as people we can have things that make us wild?  Do you know what can make us wild?  Pain, loss and fear can make us wild.

  Do you ever remember falling and hurting yourself and all you can do is scream in pain; you cannot do anything else.  Pain makes us seems as though we are wild.  Fear also makes us seem like we are wild.  Losing important things and people in our lives makes us have a sadness and this sadness controls our lives.

  Just as a wild horse needs a horse whisperer; we as people need people whisperers.

  When we hurt ourselves, we need our parent or someone with us to hold us and help us, to give us a band aid.  We need someone to calm us down from the wildness caused by pain.

  When we are afraid, we need a people whisperer; we need someone with us to show us that we are safe and that everything is okay.

  Jesus was a wonderful person because he was a people whisperer.  Jesus knew how to calm and tame people from the wildness of pain and fear.  We have many stories of Jesus helping people when they suffered from pain and fear; he gave them hope and encouragement and he made them peaceful and calm just to be with them.

  And Jesus wants us to be people whisperers too.  He wants us to learn how to be with each other when we are hurt by pain and fear.  Everyone has pain and fear at some time in their lives and so it is very important that we learn how to be people whisperers with each other.

  We need to know how to be with each other in pain and fear.  When your friend gets hurt on the playground what do you do?  You try to help them; you run and get help, you call 911 if they are really hurt badly.  When people are in the hospital what do you do?  You visit them, you send them cards or flowers, you pray for them, you let them know that you care.

  Why?  Because Jesus wants us to be people whisperers.  Jesus wants to know how to help each other when we have pain and fear.

  Can you say today, “I will be a people whisperer when people are in pain or fear?”  Because I want to be cared for too when I have pain or fear.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

June 23, 2019: The Second Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Here I Am Lord; As the Deer; Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart; Oh When the Saints

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

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

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Here I Am, Lord, (Renew!, # 149)

I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry.  All who dwell in dark and sin my hand will save.  I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright.  Who will bear my light to them?  Whom shall I send?  Refrain: Here I am, Lord.  Is it I, Lord?  I have heard you calling in the night.  I will go, Lord, if you lead me.  I will hold your people in my heart.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: 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 Prophet Isaiah

I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me.  I said, "Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 22

My praise is of him in the great assembly; * I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the LORD shall praise him: *
"May your heart live for ever!"

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, * and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

For kingship belongs to the LORD; * he rules over the nations.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God!

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!

For our fathers on this father’s day.  Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for 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 Song: As the Deer Pants for the Water, (Renew! # 9)

As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs after you; you alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship you.  Refrain: You alone are my strength and shield, to you alone may my spirit yield; you alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you!

I want you more than gold or silver, only you can satisfy; you alone are real joy-giver and the apple of my eye.  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.

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.

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,

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Give Thanks, with a Grateful Heart, (Renew! # 266)

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ, his son.  (Sing twice)

And now let the weak say “I am strong”, let the poor say “I am rich” because of what the Lord has done for us.  (Sing twice)

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ, his son.  (Sing twice)

And now let the weak say “I am strong”, let the poor say “I am rich” because of what the Lord has done for us.  (Sing twice) Give thanks.

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 Go Marching In (Christian’s Children’s Songbook # 248)

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

Oh when the girls go marching in. Oh when the girls go marching in.  Lord I want to be in that number when the girls go marching in.

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

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

The Trinity and the Baptismal Formula

Trinity Sunday  June 16, 2019

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 Psalm 8/Canticle 13

Romans 5:1-5  John 16:12-15

Lectionary LinkPerhaps you remember the apocryphal story of Isaac Newton and the law of gravity.  Newton was sitting under an apple tree and an apple fell and hit him on the head, thus inspiring his famous theory and law of gravity.  And he got credit for the law law of gravity even though Aristotle and Hindu philosophers wrote in other ways about this obvious force of Nature long before Newton.

Did gravity exist before the Newton wrote his law of gravity?  Of course it did.  And Einstein and the Quantum Physicists have come to write theories of gravity different from Isaac Newton's theory.

Today, on Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the Christian understanding of God as One God, in Trinity of Persons.  And the events of understanding God as Trinity; did these events make the Trinity exists or did the Trinity always exists?   And the Trinity would not be God, if the Trinity did not always exist so such a question is obviously, rhetorical.

Did Jesus create the Trinity?  Before Jesus how could we have known that God had a Son?  The only direct son of God before Jesus would have been first son, Adam.   We can say that the Trinity became revealed in time and space history in a particular way with the appearance of Jesus, but the New Testament writers wondered if the Nature of Jesus had existence before the conception of Jesus in the Virgin Mary.

Probably, the most Trinitarian Gospel is the Gospel of John, the last Gospel and one with clear evidence of the oracle of Jesus alive and well in the early church.

John's Gospel, rewrote the beginning in a way different than the book of Genesis.  The Book of Genesis begins: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The Gospel of John begins, "In the beginning was the Word, the word was with God and the world was God.  All things came into being through the Word.

Why do you think the writer of John's Gospel seems to rewrite the beginning?  Was God in the beginning or was Word in the beginning?  Or both?

Could it be that the writer of John's Gospel was trying to indicate how the eternal Christ was One with God from the Beginning?

How does the Genesis writing explain creation?  God spoke and said, let there be light and there was light.  The Genesis writer also wrote that along with God speaking and ordering creation, the divine wind or breath or spirit of God moved over the chaos and brought what was created into being.  God the Father spoke, what he spoke was Christ the creating word and the Spirit executed the Word which made creation, in all of its array.

Even as we can understand that gravity existed long before Newton wrote his law of gravity; so too the nature of God as Trinity  was retroactively shown to be long before it became to be revealed in the way it was revealed in the life of Jesus Christ.

Christians have been disagreeing about the Trinity for many years.  When disagreements threatened the unity of the church and the Empire, the Emperor got the bishops of the church to meet in council to try to standardize a teaching and a doctrine about the Trinity and place it in a Creed so that it could be promulgated and taught in a singular way throughout the known Christian world.  But it took more than a century for the teachings of the Nicaean Council to gain general acceptance, and those who were declared to be heretics were not insincere people of faith.  There are insights to be found in heresies, even as they could not become the general doctrine of the church.

You and I may not identify with all of the politics of the theological disagreements in the church.  In fact there is good statistical evidence today that lots of people are staying from church attendance because of how all of the church disagreements get publicly aired.

You and I probably want something more than the politics of the Trinity.  How do we get beyond the politics of the Trinity?

First, we acknowledge that the Trinity, like God and like lots of things, is a mystery.  We live and move and have our being in the Triune God who is much bigger than we are.  God, who is much bigger than we are, is a mystery.  We can come to honest humility to be able to say "I don't really know the intricate details of how God is a Trinity of Equal Persons, because anything that is truly great is never finished in being further revealed and understood."  The Trinity has been revealed but the understanding of it has not been exhausted; therefore the Trinity still has future Epiphany events for you and me and for this world.  The Trinity is open to a future because being everlasting, means always being open to a further future.

Another way to get beyond the politics of the Trinity is to return to the clearest insight given to us about the Trinity.  The Trinity is essentially the relationship that Jesus had with his Father and the Holy Spirit, and he shared his dynamic relationship with his friends.  

And what did he shared?  He shared that each of us could be born of the Spirit of God and that we can know ourselves to be sons and daughters of God.  Jesus understood himself as God's Son, and he became the chief sibling who taught us how we can be his brothers and sisters with God as our Father.

Perhaps we can see now the importance of the baptismal formula.  "I baptize you in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."  This is the ultimate invitation to each of us.  At the baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon him and the heavenly voice of God the Father, said, this is my beloved Son; with him I am well pleased.

The best way for us to understand the Trinity is to understand the meaning of our baptism.  The Holy Spirit has become known inside of us and given birth within us of the life of Christ.  And in this event we experience our adoption as God's children, children with whom God is well pleased.  We have become God's children with rights to be downright familiar with God and call God, "Daddy, or Abba."

Today, let us not complicate the Trinity; let us return to our baptism and remember that we are born by water and the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ is born within us and we are in the family of God, with God as our intimate heavenly parent.

And so I remind you again today, you are baptized in the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.