Easter Vigil Liturgy of the Word with Comments

The Great Vigil of Easter



Following the blessing of the new fire, the lighting of the Paschal Candle and the chanting of the Exsultet, members are invited to a reading of Salvation History with responses from Canticles and Psalms followed by the corresponding Collect.

The Liturgy of the Word


The Celebrant may introduce the Scripture readings in these or similar words

Let us hear the record of God's saving deeds in history, how he saved his people in ages past; and let us pray that our God will bring each of us to the fullness of redemption.

I will read two of the lessons including the requisite lesson from Exodus.  On the others, I will provide, a “CliffsNote” abstract of the lesson and the response.  I would like for us through Easter to focus on “Receiving an identity,” which culminates in “We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song.”



Link for all the Vigil Readings:



The story of Creation


Genesis 1:1-2:2

The creation story establishes human identity.  We are made in the “image” of God and therefore made to live up to that image.  Image=icon.  We are God’s icons.  In the world of freedom we are “tricked” by our underdeveloped state into knowing good and evil in the wrong way.  We discover that as people alienated from our “image” we can only live as imperfect beings in an imperfect world, but still a very, very God-created good world.  Evicted from Eden and alienated from our true identity as God’s children, we look for “salvation,” or a path to return to the original blessing of God’s image upon us.



Psalm 33:1-11, or Psalm 36:5-10

Psalm 33 is a Psalm which expresses rejoicing in God as the creator of the world

Psalm 36, is about God’s love, righteousness and faithfulness.  And since Light was first act of creation, the Psalmist says about God, ”In your light, we see light.”



In the Collect, we asked to be restored in our intended image and dignity.


Let us pray. (Silence)

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.





The Flood

Genesis 7:1-5,11-18; 8:8-18; 9:8-13


The Story of Noah’s Ark presents the sense of God personally acting in the events of nature.  Nature is treated as being in symbiotic relationship with God, except God’s can’t get humanity to comply because of the willful freedom of humanity to forsake the sacred image upon their lives.  The results are disastrous and so God is presented as One who does not give up, but rather, who starts over with a remnant on the Ark.  Noah, his family and pairs of animals, are destined to survive a worldwide flood.  It ends with a rainbow as a promise that God will not destroy the world with such events. (This can be understood as the wisdom of the writer discerning not to accept the freedom of events of nature as direct "acts of God.")  In Christian symbols, the waters of the flood are presented as dying with Christ in being immersed in the waters of baptism.  The rainbow is the promise that the waters of death are not God intended and will not destroy us.


Psalm 46

Psalm 46 is about how God is our refuge (like the Ark) in the storms and tumults of life. 



The Collect picks up the baptismal theme.  Please note how the Vigil indicates how we have Christianized the Hebrew Scriptures, which have a different presentation in synagogues today.



The “Rainbow” Collect is about it being a sign of God’s covenant not to destroy humanity and how we live under the covenant of water baptism.



Let us pray. (Silence)

Almighty God, you have placed in the skies the sign of your covenant with all living things: Grant that we, who are saved through water and the Spirit, may worthily offer to you our sacrifice of thanksgiving; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac


Genesis 22:1-18

Abraham and Sarah had a marvelous birth of an only son, Isaac, the promised heir to continue the line of Abrahamic people.  But God told Abraham in secret to sacrifice his only son away from home in the land of Moriah. (Probably if he had told Sarah, she would have prevented him and thought him crazy).  Kierkegaard called the time of the call to Abraham to sacrifice his son, the “teleological suspension of the ethical.”  Abraham had to abandon the ethical “thou shalt not kill,” and trust God for another kind of “telos” or end.  Kierkegaard called this suspension, a “leap of faith,” and in that obedient leap he discovered that God provided the ram to sacrifice in place of Isaac.  In terms of human anthropology, one could look at this event as wisdom writers understanding that God did not require human sacrifice.  The age of human sacrifice was replaced with an age of animal sacrifices, which is diagnostic of how people regarded what God required.


Certainly, Christians, borrowed the sacrifice of only son Isaac, in understanding how God the Father was seen as being in the  role of Abraham in offering his only Son to death.  And in the case of Jesus, there was no substitute for him being the Perfect Offering.  It should be an evolution in human understanding that the God does not require bloody sacrifices because to assume God needed such would be to diminish divine perfection.



Psalm 33:12-22, or Psalm 16

Psalms 33 including waiting on God for his loving kindness to be known.  Abraham waited on the Lord even as he obeyed.



Psalm 16: “For you will not abandon me to the grave,  nor let your holy one see the Pit. You will show me the path of life;”  This turned out to be true in Isaac’s rescue from death.





Abrahamic Collect

The Paschal Sacrament can be baptism and Eucharist coming to the newly baptized and to all people of the world who are invited to partake.



Let us pray. (Silence)

God and Father of all believers, for the glory of your Name multiply, by the grace of the Paschal sacrament, the number of your children; that your Church may rejoice to see fulfilled your promise to our father Abraham; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



Israel's deliverance at the Red Sea
The Hebrew Scriptures present the selection of the Abrahamic line as being chosen as exemplars in the world to show the rest of the world how God’s image on humanity was supposed to be lived out.  Israel was to exemplify God’s grace of selection.  How was this shown?  By giving them examples of his power acting on their behalf in very threatening times.  God’s exemplifying deeds were to give Israel a reason to believe, and the rest the peoples of the world, a reason to respect the God of Israel.



The escape from the Pharaoh of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea is a Root Story event in the identity of the people of Israel.  In the regular recounting of this event of deliverance, especially at Passover time, the people are renewed in their identity as God’s people and renewed in the dynamic remembering of the power of God's deliverance.  If God did it then, then we too can access that power as we remember it afresh in our time.  The followers of Jesus Christianized the waters of the Red Sea as the baptismal path through probable death, but surviving.





Exodus 14:10-15:1

As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, 'Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still."

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers."

The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt."

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them:

"Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

horse and rider he has thrown into the sea."



Interesting that the ecstatic song of Miriam gets entitled the “Song of Moses.”


Canticle 8, The Song of Moses

 Cantemus Domino

Exodus 15:1-6, 11-13, 17-18



Especially suitable for use in Easter Season

I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted; * the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and my refuge; *

 the Lord has become my Savior.

This is my God and I will praise him, *

 the God of my people and I will exalt him.

The Lord is a mighty warrior; * Yahweh is his Name.

The chariots of Pharaoh and his army has he hurled into the sea; * the finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea.

The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them; *

 they sank into the depths like a stone.

Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might; *

 your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy.

Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods? * who is like you, glorious in holiness, awesome in renown, and worker of wonders?

You stretched forth your right hand; * the earth swallowed them up.

With your constant love you led the people you redeemed; * with your might you brought them in safety to  your holy dwelling.

You will bring them in and plant them *

 on the mount of your possession,

The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord, * the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.

The Lord shall reign * for ever and for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.  Amen.



The Red Sea Collect, Christianizes the Red Sea Waters as a Sign of Baptism.  Remember one of the key event of the Vigil is Baptism, so the baptismal theme is pronounced in all of the lessons and teaching.



Let us pray. (Silence) 


O God, whose wonderful deeds of old shine forth even to our own day, you once delivered by the power of your mighty arm your chosen people from slavery under Pharaoh, to be a sign for us of the salvation of all nations by the water of Baptism: Grant that all the peoples of the earth may be numbered among the offspring of Abraham, and rejoice in the inheritance of Israel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



God's Presence in a renewed Israel 


The prophet Isaiah is a Utopian, envisioning ideal worlds, especially for the people of Israel who have known continuously bad times with the division into two kingdoms and threats from invading conquerors.  The vision of renewal was obviously an analgesic to people in suffering and pain.  The utopian vision, “though it means “no such place,” gives the ideal direction in a world of freedom where good and evil happening co-exist.  The image of God upon our lives include hope, not to taunt us, but to witness to the direction of perfection.  Don’t mock utopian vision or hope.  Hope provides the positive direction of our lives.



Isaiah 4:2-6



Psalm 122

Psalm 122 presents Jerusalem as the ideal city of peace where unity resides.  We are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, not because God doesn’t love the other cities on the earth, but Jerusalem stands as the ideal city of humanity all living in peace.  This Psalm is coupled with the utopian vision of the prophet Isaiah.



Cloud and Pillar Collect


The cloud and pillar were “markers” of God’s apparent presence to God’s people.  We live toward moments when God’s Presence is apparent and the utopian visions are visions of that hope for the totally Apparency of God, when indeed tears will be wiped away.



Let us pray. (Silence)


O God, you led your ancient people by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night: Grant that we, who serve you now on earth, may come to the joy of that heavenly Jerusalem, where all tears are wiped away and where your saints for ever sing your praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



Salvation offered freely to all


Christian faith was born from understanding of universal or catholic salvation offered to everyone.  This means beyond those who were adherents of Judaism and inhabitants of Israel.  Israel as God’s people were to be the “leavening agent” of salvation for all of the people of the world, but in the reality of conflict and the fear of assimilating into the practices of their neighbor of being assimilated by them, it was difficult for Israel or any people to fulfill that role of being the leavening agent of salvation offered to everyone.  Early Christian readers of the Hebrew Scriptures jumped on the themes of “universal” salvation that they found in the prophets.



Isaiah 55:1-11



Canticle 9, The First Song of Isaiah, or

In this Canticle from Isaiah the universal theme is expressed directly:  Make his deeds known among the peoples;  see that they remember that his Name is exalted. (peoples would mean more than Israel).


Psalm 42:1-7

In this Psalm: The image of God on each person means that the soul is athirst for the living God.  "As the deer pants for the water, my soul longs after Thee."



Collect of Renewal


In this Collect both water and Spirit are used in a way that is explicit in the discourse of Jesus with woman at the well, in John 4.



Let us pray. (Silence)


O God, you have created all things by the power of your Word, and you renew the earth by your Spirit: Give now the water of life to those who thirst for you, that they may bring forth abundant fruit in your glorious kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


A new heart and a new spirit



In Ezekiel, the prophet sees a time when God become accessible to everyone.  Obviously with the destruction of the Temple and people carried into exile, how could “God identity” and “Torah identity” be maintained when not in one’s land or having a Temple to go to?  God was to be portable into the human temple.  I will give you a new heart and a new spirit.

Certainly, the post-Pentecostal church relied upon this understand of what was happening in the experience of the Holy Spirit.


Ezekiel 36:24-28


Psalm 42:1-7, or Canticle 9, The First Song of Isaiah (see above)

Let us pray. (Silence)



Reconciliation Collect


In this collect, there is a petition for us to live lives congruent with the faith we confess, because we have been given access to this new covenant which provided us with a new heart and new spirit.

Let us pray. (Silence)

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who are reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



The valley of dry bones


This is the portion about “dem dry bones” of Ezekiel.  A question during the time of Jesus among religious parties was about the resurrection from the dead.  The Pharisees believed in it; the Sadducees did not because they did not think they could find reference to such in the Torah.  The Pharisees and others believed that beliefs could be established with reference to the other Hebrew Scripture writings and not just limited to the Torah.  The dry bones passage of Ezekiel is one such “resurrection” passage from the Hebrew Scriptures.  Obviously hope dwells in people who experience great disappointment and great injustice.  How can a just God be believed in when the hope of justice is not realized?  Well, God has a way of putting flesh back on the bones, a sort of reverse aging, but you get to keep all the wisdom gained from aging.  The Spirit is able to breathe new life and reconstitute a person and a people so that they can know their own continuity into the future in some way.  St. Paul referred to the Holy Spirit as the assurance or down payment of the resurrection.



Ezekiel 37:1-14


The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord God, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord."


So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act," says the Lord.



Psalm 30, or Psalm 143


In Psalm 30, the Psalmist says, “You brought me up, O LORD, from the dead;  you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.”  One can see how these words were appropriated by Christian resurrectionists.


Psalm 143 includes a request for personal revival: "Revive me, O LORD, for your Name's sake;  for your righteousness' sake, bring me out of trouble."



Sealed by Spirit Collect


This collect refers to the “Passover” of Jesus from death to life, and in the waters of baptism we ritually go into the water of death and are raised from the water by resurrection in identity with the “Passover” of Christ.  And we received our Christian Brand on our forehead:  “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.”



Let us pray. (Silence)


Almighty God, by the Passover of your Son you have brought us out of sin into righteousness and out of death into life: Grant to those who are sealed by your Holy Spirit the will and the power to proclaim you to all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



The gathering of God's people



The prophet Zephaniah is like Isaiah, a utopian, and envisions a rescue and a return of all the people of God to their homes.  When the people of Israel could not have their own freedom in their own land, they still had the identity of hope.  And the prophet Zephaniah feeds the reality of hope with a narrative utopian vision.  Obvious, everyone wants to be “home;” home as the very best place to be, a place of familiarity, safety and comfort.  St. Paul, was not sure about comfort in earthly places or home, and he as a utopian said that we were citizens of heaven.  This is true even as we ask that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.


Zephaniah 3:12-20


Psalm 98, or Psalm 126

In Psalm 98, the poet anthropomorphizes nature and has nature shouting and praising God for what he has done for his people.


Psalm 126 is about restoring the fortunes of Zion and seems to be written in the captivity of exile away from home.  But in exile, the identity with the home place of Zion formed the identity of many people who never did see Jerusalem.  Zion and the Hope of Zion seem to be the same for the Psalmist poet.



The Plan of Salvation Collect


In this prayer we understand the church as God’s providence in furthering a plan of salvation for the whole world to see.  It is a collect of admitting that we are not yet finished in the quest of perfection.


Let us pray. (Silence)


O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquillity the plan of salvation: let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



The Vigil ends here.  We will begin our Easter liturgy with the Renewal of our Baptismal Vows and complete our Vigil with our Easter Eucharistic liturgy. 

Sunday School, April 12, 2020 Easter Sunday, Cycle A

Sunday School, April 12, 2020  Easter Sunday, Cycle A

Theme:

 Life after life

Bring pictures of the same person over the span of their lives. 

Does the person look the same when 15 as at the age of one?

Does the person at 50 look the same as at 20?

How do we know it is the same person?

The person has Self memories.  He or she knows that he or she is the same person at 5 as at 25.

The people who know the person for a period of time know that a person is the same person at 25 and at 30.

We have DNA and we have fingerprints which stay the same and so we can be identified as the same person.

The questions today:  Will we be able to recognize ourselves after we have died?  Will others be able to recognize us after we have died?

Answer: Yes, we will.  We change in our appearance as we grow and age in our lives.  And when we died we will also change in our appearance but we will continue to have an appearance on another level of living, heavenly living.  How do we know?

After Jesus died, he reappeared to life.  Living people saw Jesus again after he died.  The resurrection of Jesus is God announcement to us that we will be preserved after we die in a wonderful way.  This is why we can have hope in our lives because we know that we will always have a future.

Children’s Sermons:

Easter Sermons for Children

In this sermon, have the entire congregation, one by one share the Easter Message "Christ is Risen."  Make a baton and write on it the traditions that the church has passed on.  This is to illustrate to the children the transmission of the Easter message for all of these years.

Sermon One: Passing the Baton in the Great Relay Race

   What Christian Feast Day is more important? Christmas or Easter?  They are both very important but Easter is the most important Christian day of the Christian year.  Why?  If Jesus had not come back alive, we would not celebrate Christmas and we would not even exist as a church

  When the resurrection of Christ happened, the friends of Jesus who saw him alive again after his death began to share the story.  And now that story has been share for about 2000 years.  If the church is about 2000 years old, that means that there has been about 100 generations using 20 years as the average length of a generation.  So how has the message of the life, the death and resurrection Jesus been remembered for 2000 years?  By one parent sharing the message with their children and their children share the message with their own children. 

  If we have about 100 people here let us see how long it takes to share the message. One by one, let’s share the message, one time for each generation.  Let’s see how long it takes to say Christ is Risen around this entire gathering.  Okay start.

   But the church has not just passed on spoken message.  We have passed it on in things that we can see and touch and feel.  And so I have made a baton for a relay race and I’ve written some things on the Baton.  The Bible.  The Old Testament Stories.  The New Testament Stories.  Creeds. Holy Spirit. Water of Baptism. Oil of Baptism and Confirmation.  Fire of Baptism.  Bread and Wine of Eucharist.  Prayers for the Sick.  Bishops, Priests, Deacons and Lay Persons.  Marriage Rings.

  These are things of the church that have been shared for 100 generations.  These things have been passed on from family to family for 2000 years.  And that is why we are here today, because someone told us the message about Jesus Christ and because the church has passed on the various things that have helped us to remember that Jesus rose again.  And because the Holy Spirit is inside us giving us the hope that we are going to live beyond our deaths.  And why do we believe that we will live beyond our deaths?  Because Jesus Christ lived beyond his death; he did it to show us what will happen to us after we die.  We will live beyond our death and we will live with God.  That is why this day is such a happy day and it is why we shout: Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!  The Lord is risen indeed.  Alleluia!  Amen. 

Sermon Two:  The empty Easter Egg

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

April 16, 2017

Gathering Songs:

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

The Return of Alleluia out of Lenten Hibernation

Bringing Back Alleluia from Lenten Hibernation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.

People: The Lord is Risen Indeed. Alleluia.

Holy Noise!

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Liturgist: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist: Let us pray

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

First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great! Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins! Alleluia

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

A reading from the Letter to the Colossian Church

If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 118

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

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

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

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

Thanks be to God!

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

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Liturgist: The Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon: Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People: And also with you.

Anthem:  

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

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

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is good and right so to do.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.

Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we

Forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

this food and drink that becomes a part of us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

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

People: Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia!

Words of Administration.

Post-Communion Prayer

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

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

And His Presence has been known to us.

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

and sisters in Christ.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dismissal:

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

People: Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross

Good Friday   A   April10, 2020       

Gen 22:1-18        Ps 22

Heb.10:1-25        John 18:1-19:37

Lectionary Link It is a tradition on Good Friday to use the Last 7 Words of Christ from the Cross as the theme for mediation on this day.  I think as we look at these words that are gleaned from the various Passion Accounts in the Four Gospel, we can find that these words represent some of the central Christian values.  These words can be transferred from the Passion Narratives into the actual events of our lives and world today. The First Words of Jesus from the Cross:  Jesus said, "Father Forgive them, for they know not what they do."  In our haste we would probably say that they knew darn well what they were doing.  And we would say, that ignorance is no excuse.  To err and to be ignorant is very human but to forgive is divine.  One of the greatest errors of being human is the sin of revenge. Human society at its worst  is caught in a web of paybacks.  Revenge creates a domino effect  that

continues to magnify revenge and the damage, UNTIL one person does not return evil for evil but stops and says, "I forgive you. I will stop the cycle of revenge."  For humanity to rise above the law of the claw, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, forgiveness must happen.  Jesus forgave, he stopped the domino effect of violence, and he asks us to do the very same difficult thing.  

The Second Word Christ from the Cross: "Jesus said to the second thief who repented: Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in  Paradise."  Many people put off repentance and conversion because they think that they are too far gone.  They think their habits are too deep to over come.  There is no hope.  But Jesus honors every turn toward the good no matter how young or old we are.  At anytime that we turn towards God's mercy; in that moment we have taken a step toward Paradise.  Paradise is to turn toward what is good and right.  And lest we minimize our own willful acts of lawlessness, we need to remember that God is the only one big enough to give someone a clean slate at any moment of life.    God has the power of clemency and pardon. 

The Third Word of Jesus from the Cross: When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Women, behold your Son?  And he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!"   The fifth commandment is Honor your father and your mother.  Jesus, in his darkest hour fulfilled this commandment.  He obeyed his father in heaven and he fulfilled his destiny.  And he entrusted the care of his mother to one of his disciples.  Caring for our aging parents is a big task in our society and it is something that we must always work at to improve the care of elderly parents.  The disciple friend of Jesus was willing to step in to take care of Mary.  We as a society need to be willing to step forward to care for needy parents and those who are made vulnerable by the aging process. 

The Fourth Word of Jesus from the Cross: And about the ninth hour, Jesus Cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, Lama sabachthani."  which means, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"  Have you or I ever found ourselves questioning the fate of our lives, saying, why me God? Why me? Where are you God?  Pain, evil, suffering, misfortune,

ridicule, sense of failure, loss, and grief  all of these occasions can leave us feeling forsaken.  God’s Power, God’s Love do not seem to fit the capriciousness of human affliction.  Jesus in his Passion came to doubt and uncertainty about God's plan.  Jesus understood but understanding didn't take the pain and isolation away.  Evil is unnatural, and that is why we must always cry out against evil.  When we cry out in pain, it does not mean that we lack faith, it means that we have faith in the normalcy of freedom from pain.  We must in faith protest the conditions of this world that deviate from the wonderful normalcy of health, freedom from pain and having enough to eat. 

The Fifth Word of Christ from the Cross: Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said, "I thirst."  Hunger, thirst, sickness and pain, all the bodily needs of humanity cry out with Christ on the Cross, and Christ cries out with all human need and want.  We have the opportunity to help quench the need and thirst of Christ in our world, everytime that we see someone in need and reach out to help.  Remember that the presence of Christ is found in the lives of people who are in need.   

The Sixth Word of Christ from the Cross: When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished."  Ultimately, pain and suffering have a friend in death.  Death is a friend to those who suffer terminally.  Let us remember the terminally ill tonight, that they might have the grace to say with Christ, "It is finished."  Let us live our lives in a state of preparation so that we might be ready to be finished with life when our day comes.  

The Seventh Word of Christ from the Cross: Then Jesus crying with a loud voice, said, "Father unto thy hands, I commit my spirit." Jesus jumps into the abyss of death, but in faith he knows that his father will catch him and preserve him in an unspeakable way.  May we too, have faith to jump into the hands of a loving God at the hour of our departure, trusting in God’s ability to preserve of a way that no one else can.   

The Eighth Word is not the Word of Christ, but your word and mine as we stand today at the Cross.  As we kneel in silence, let our prayers be expression of faith that the worst of the world and of our life will be redeemed to us.  And let us offer prayers of thanksgiving for what Christ has done for us.  Amen.

Pillars of the Church: Eucharist and Service

Maundy Thursday   April 9, 2020

Ex. 12:1-14a       Ps. 78:14-20, 23-25

1 Cor 11:23-32      John 13:1-15

 Lectionary Link

Tonight we highlight two pillars of the Christian Church.  Eucharist and service.  Eucharist was a practice very early in the church.  St. Paul said that he received instruction about the Eucharist from the Lord.  He never met Jesus.  He was not at the Last Supper.  Certainly as a Jew, he would have participated in many Passover meals.  The Eucharist includes practices which show derivation from elements of the Passover Meal, but it is distinctively different.  Passover is once a year; Eucharist is on every Sunday.  Passover is an "in the home" family meal; Eucharist is meal that unites people from many families.  As Christians we understand Eucharist to be a command of Jesus for us to do when we meet.  Since Christianity became so prolific, Eucharist lost connection with being an actual meal.  The early Christian gathered to share Eucharist as a way to be present to each other and to care for those who did not have enough to eat.  By eating together, it was a way of making sure that everyone who gathered was getting enough to eat.  The Eucharist had a very practical purpose of care for the early churches and this aspect is lost except when the Eucharist results in also feeding those who do not have enough.  Can we appreciate the genius of the command of Jesus to eat when they gathered in remembrance of him?  In our cultures of excess, we've lost some of the practical sign value of the urgency of the Eucharist for those early communities.  Most every Episcopalian has more than enough food, so we don't have to attend Eucharist to "get" food.  We should not forget the connection of the Eucharist with real food for hungry people.  Sometimes people who need to gather for their well-being are more likely to gather.  We hope that the pandemic will work some reverse psychology upon us; when we're told that we can't gather, we perhaps will appreciate the privilege to gather when permission returns.

The second pillar of this night is the mandatum novum, the new commandment.  Love one another as I have loved you.  How did Jesus exemplify that love?  By washing his disciples' feet.  Hence, foot washing has become a Maundy Thursday ritual.  And suddenly people don't go to the Maundy Thursday service because they are shy about exposing their feet.  Many will spend money for pedicures but suddenly are very modest about their feet at church.  What is symbolic about the foot washing?  Jesus, the main boss, was a servant.  Jesus was training a motley crew that sometimes makes one think about sleepy, dopey, and the other of the seven dwarves.  John and James asked to be the greatest and sit next to Jesus in his administration.  Judas was the treasurer and an embezzler and a betrayer.  Peter was a proud braggart who at crunch time denied knowing Jesus.  Thomas was a doubter.  Andrew was a skeptic about Jesus' ability to feed the crowd.  Nathanael who may have also been Bartholomew, said about Jesus, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" 

These are the guys that Jesus called his friends.  He knew they could be petty and egotistical.  Jesus washed their feet.  And by this he was saying them and to everyone, "Guys, friends, people the only way you can survive as a community is to check your egos at the door.  I'm not too good to wash your feet.  You are not too good to do anything that serves your brother or sister.  And if you are going to survive, the secret is service.

We live in the Maundy Thursday reality today.  St. Mary's was born and survives because we gather for Eucharist (even if we are hindered in the moment).  The mathematic equation for St. Mary's in the Valley is this:  St. Mary's=the sum total of all of the acts of service offered by those who have called St. Mary's their home.  It's as simple as that.  We are the sum total of our service.

Tonight, I would like to thank everyone for their service which has created the reality of St. Mary's.  You and many others have done much more than just wash feet; you have offered all of the kinds of service which comprises our existence as a parish.  We remember all who have served in the past and all who serve now to help us continue to meet and gather.

May God help us continue to be Maundy Thursday Christians by gathering to obey the Lord's command to offer Eucharist and to serve each other in the love of Christ.  Amen.

Power in Weakness

Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday Cycle A   April 5, 2020

Is.45:21-25     Ps. 22:1-11

Phil. 2:5-11    Matthew 26:36-27:66
Lectionary Link

I've entitled my reflections today on Passion Sunday, "Power in Weakness."  I do so to ponder the insights we receive from the writings of St. Paul who quite often offered the poetics of contradiction when he wrote about the cross of Jesus Christ.

"When I am weak, then I am strong.  Christ is God emptied of the Divine even to the point of death, death on a cross.  I determined to know nothing among you but Christ, and him crucified.   Christ has been made all things to us, even death and our sin.  I will not glory in anything except the cross of Christ."  Paul was fixated on the Cross of Christ and he spoke in very contradictory poetic terms about the significance of the cross of Christ.  He believed the cross of Christ, though visibly exhibiting the surrender of God to human death, was in fact an event of great power and glory.  This poetic contradiction is the foundation of the Christian tradition, in which we live and find our family identity as heirs.

Today, in the middle of the widespread pandemic, we find ourselves in the condition of weakness.  These tiny little beastie viruses have the power to bring the strong and powerful to death.   And knowing the power of these unseen tiny virus beasts, we are brought to our knees of human weakness.

Those with political power, with great knowledge and great wealth have been made to partake of the equality of weakness in face of this great plague.

The powerful cannot send their armies quick enough to avert the disaster.  The powerful cannot hire their lawyers to sue or delay this virus.  Those who have power who are used to giving orders have been left publicly in lying denial of this foe who leaves us in weakness.  Those with great wealth cannot secure a bargain with the coronavirus to avert its effects.  Those with the power of knowledge, political position and wealth are not used to being in the position of weakness and many of them are not handling it very well or realistically.  We see many of our leader acting and speaking with great denial because those with little practice in being weak, do not know how to be weak.  We need to look to the survival techniques in life and history of those forced into the power of being weak, yea the slaves and subjugated women of past history, the homeless and the practiced poor who by situation have had to practice the power of survival in the conditions of weakness.

The Passion Accounts came to writing in all four Gospels, so we know how important they were.  But they also came to writing after the theology of the cross of St. Paul.

St. Paul wrote, "I am crucified with Christ, but I live, yet not I, for Christ lives within me."  St. Paul believed that in identity with the cross of Christ one could discover the mystical power to die to the selfish Self.  And dying to this selfish Self was a great power to slay that which is unworthy within us.  This is the mystical path that St. Paul had initiation in and a path which he taught to others.  He taught the mystical ability to be weak, and in this weakness manifest the very power of God's Spirit.

Can we appreciate the total contradictions of Pauline mysticism?

The Passion Gospels put into story form the theology of the cross of St. Paul by presenting the event of the Cross as the power of God's Providence.  In the eyes of the logic of human history, a holy exemplary person who wrongly suffers capital punishment, seems to be an event of defeat for what is good and right and holy.  But the rise of a group of people inspired by resurrection appearances of the Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, make the history of the cross of Jesus into the Providence of the power of God to use the event of weakness to uncanny effect and consequences.

Today, as the entire world is faced with the cross of the coronavirus weakness, how can we with eyes of faith pierce and experience the power of weakness?

Many are not yet willing to submit in acceptance of the weakness forced upon the world.  Defiant religious leaders believing their specialness in God's eye, feel they are exempt from the effects of this plague.  And I say to them, accept the weakness of God on the cross and die to the sense of being more exceptional than others in the non-discriminant effects of this virus.

What power are we discovering in this weakness?  All sick must be care for.  All people unable to work have to have financial compensation.  In short, this great experience is forcing upon us the holy power and notion of sacrifice.  Those who are strong must help the weak.  Those who are healers, must apply health to all.  Those who are wealthy must adjust the economic structures to provide a way for all to maintain and survive.

The power of weakness is forced upon us to embrace in this plague.  It is the power of sacrifice, laying down our lives in manifold ways for each other.  This is the power of the cross of Christ; this is the power of the mysticism of the Cross of Christ discovered by St. Paul and by all who wish to voluntarily take on the power of sacrifice, rather than have it forced upon us.

The Passion of Jesus Christ hits us with poignant relevancy today.  We are given the invitation to the manifold power of sacrifice that is needed to bring us to the eventual resurrection of a human world that will be invited to go forward with the preeminence of the power of sacrifice even in the post-pandemic era.  The post-pandemic era invites us to a resurrection of being different forever in our understanding of the power of sacrifice.

Friends, the Passion of the Christ, invites you and me into a renewal into the power of Sacrifice.  With God's help, we will embrace this power in our weakness today.  Amen.