Sunday School, August 23, 2020 12 Pentecost, A proper 16

 Sunday School, August 23, 2020  12  Pentecost, A proper 16

Theme:

Building a church

How does one build a church building?  From the bottom up.

What is the bottom of the church called?  It is called the foundation.

Old buildings were built with stones, shaped to fit together.

A large anchor stone on the foundation was called a cornerstone.  Other stones were laid next to the corner stone and on top of the cornerstone to build a church building.

But a church is not just a building.  Before we called churches, buildings, the church was the group of people who believed that Jesus was God’s special Son and that he was God’s chosen King for the world.  Another name for God’s chosen King is Messiah or Christ.

Jesus told Peter and the disciples that he would build his church upon a rock.  Peter’s name means rock.  Since he was one of the first followers of Jesus, he was at the foundation of the church.

Jesus is the Big Rock or Cornerstone of the church.  Peter was a smaller rock or stone.  Jesus used people to build the group of people called the church.

Image the church like a great building.  All of us are like stones that fit together to make the large People Church.

How does a building keep standing?  If the bricks and stones are not toppled or pushed off the foundation.

How does the people church keep alive?  By remembering that we are built upon Jesus Christ as our foundation and on Peter and the disciples and on all of the Christians who have come before.  We join with other Christians to form the People Church now that still rests upon the foundation of Jesus and Peter and the apostles.

How do we keep alive and well as the church of people?  We remember that we were founded by Jesus Christ.  We remember to confess him to be the Messiah.  And we remember that Jesus continues to build the church through us as people who share the news about Jesus with other people.

Sermon:

How many of you know about super-heroes?  Does anyone know who Clark Kent is?  Does anyone know who Bruce Wayne is?  Does anyone know who Peter Parker is?

  When Batman does not have his uniform on he is Bruce Wayne.  When Superman is not in his costume he is Clark Kent.  When Spiderman does not have his costume showing, he is Peter Parker.

  Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker.  Who knows that these ordinary people are superheroes?  Only a few special people, and of course, we do when we watch the movie.  But most people do not know the superheroes unless they have their uniforms on.

  Many people who lived during the time of Jesus did not know that he was a special person like a superhero.  Yes, they knew that he could do wonderful things, but they thought that he was just another prophet, teacher and preacher.

  But there were some people who came to know how special Jesus was.   Peter and the disciples who followed Jesus got to know how special Jesus was.  They got know him as a superhero.

  Peter said to Jesus, “You are the messiah, the son of the living God.”  You are the superhero.

  And Jesus said to him, “Not every one knows this Peter, so you are special to know my true identity.”

  The story of Jesus has been written in a book so that readers can read this story too.  And everyone who hears and reads this story can come to know the identity of Jesus of Nazareth.

  We today confess the true identity of Jesus of Nazareth.  We know that he was not just an ordinary person, he was a superhero.  And so we say today about Jesus.  You are the Christ, the Messiah, the son of the living God.

  And you and I today can feel very happy because we are privileged to know the true identity of Jesus of Nazareth.  He is our superhero, and we know that he is the special son of God.  And we know that he has made us sons and daughters of God too.  He has made us know that we are a part of God’s family.

  Let us be thankful that we have come to know our super hero, Jesus Christ.

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

August 23, 2020: The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Shine Jesus Shine; Christ Beside Me; Open Our Eyes; Here I Am, Lord

 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: Shine Jesus Shine, (Renew! # 247)

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

Lord, the light of Your love is shining in the midst of the darkness shining; Jesus, light of the world, shine upon us, set us free by the truth You now bring us. Shine on me, shine on me. Refrain

Lord, I come to your awesome presence from the shadows into your radiance; by the blood I may enter your brightness, search me, try me, consume all my darkness. Shine on me, shine on me.   Refrain

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son 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 of Paul to the Romans

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 124

Blessed be the LORD! * he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.

We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; * the snare is broken, and we have escaped.

Our help is in the Name of the LORD, * the maker of heaven and earth.

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.

When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

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.

 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.

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: Christ Beside Me, (Renew! # 164)

Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, King of my heart; Christ within me, Christ, below me, Christ above me, never to part.

Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand, Christ all around me, shield in the strife;  Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting, Christ in my rising, light of my life.

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 friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Hymn: Open Our Eyes, Lord, (Renew! # 91)

Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus, to reach out and touch him, and say that we love him.

Open our ears, Lord, and help us to listen, open our eyes Lord, we want to see Jesus.

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: 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.

Dismissal:   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Sunday School, August 16, 2020 11 Pentecost, A proper 15

 Sunday School, August 16, 2020     11 Pentecost, A proper 15

Theme

Rules of the Game

Inviting more people to the Game

What if there is a game, like soccer, that has rules but the rules for the game includes unattainable rules for everyone to participate.  Like, “girls can’t play soccer.”

For a long time, it might have been accepted that “girls can’t play soccer.”  Yet girls can definitely play soccer and many of them played even when they were allowed to have “official teams and girls’ leagues.”  Eventually girls began to complain about not being able to play “official” soccer and they grew in number and influence.  And girls have come to be able to play soccer in their own leagues even though they don’t play with boys who have their own soccer league too.  Boys and girls can love soccer even though they may not always play together in the same game.

The biggest Game of life is knowing and loving God.  Our religious life is like a “God Game we play and we follow rules.”  But what is the most important rule in the great “God Game?”  God is for everyone, God loves everyone and God wants everyone to be involved in a “God Game.”

But sometimes people can think that they “own” the God Game.  They think that they can restrict people from being a part of the “God Game.”   When Jesus came, he saw that some people were not allowed to play the God game.  The rules were too restrictive and many people who wanted to play the God Game were not allowed to play.

Jesus showed us that all of us have a tendency to sin and break rules, but he also showed that God invites us to be a part of the God Game even though we are not perfect and even though we are different in our experience.

Jesus believed that God show loved to the people of Israel so that it could spread to all people in the world.  Not everyone wanted to the share “their God” with all people.

Jesus showed that if everyone can have faith, they can play in the great God Game of life.

Can girls play soccer?  Yes, they can and they should be invited to play as much and as many ways a possible.  Is everyone able to play in the great God Game of life?  Yes, indeed, because everyone has the ability to have faith.

Let us exercise our faith in the God Game of life and let us always invite everyone to do the same.

Sermon

How many of you like play games?  What does every game need?  Every game needs rules, right?

  But have you everr played a game with someone when you didn’t know the rules or when suddenly someone changed the rules.

  When you don’t know the rules or when somebody changes the rules, then you cannot win.  And it is very sad and frustrating when you want to play a game and the rules do not allow you to win.

  Have you ever played the game of tag?  When you run and touch someone, then their It, and they have to run and touch someone else.  And they are only safe when they are “at home base.”

  Well, I remember playing tag with a friend when I was young.  I would run and touch him, and say, “you’re it.”  And he would say, “No, I’m not.”   And I would say why not, I caught you and I tagged you?”  And he would say, “I’m standing on one foot, so that means I’m “on base.”  And I said, “Well, I didn’t know that was a rule; if I had known, I could have used that rule and not gotten tagged.”  And then the next time I tagged my friend, he would have another rule for why he was “not it.”  And so I quit playing the game of tag with him, because there was no way of winning.

  When Jesus came, he found some people who had special rules for playing a religious game.  And because they had special rules about what you had to do to be loved by God, there were many people who did not know the rules, and so they were treated like people who were not loved by God.  And Jesus said this was very wrong.

  What kind of rules did they have?  They had rules about cleanliness.  There were special rules about dishes had to be washed and how you bathed your body and how you prepared your food and what kinds of food you could eat.   And if you didn’t follow these rules, then you were a loser with God and you were a loser according to the rules and you didn’t even know the rules.

  Jesus came correct the rules.  He said that it was not rules about cleanliness that made you a good person.  He said it was the condition of your heart.  Do you have love and faith?  Do you act with faith?  And do you act with love?  That is what the rules of God are.  All of these other rules are the changing rules of men and women.

  So, Jesus said you could not call a person a loser, if he or she was not following some special rules.  A person is a winner in God’s eye when they live with faith and love.  Those are the big and important rules in life.  The little rules often make us disagree with each other and dislike each other.  We can all have some special rules for our lives for our family and our church, but let us remember that Jesus only had the big rules, the rule of love and faith.  Those are the important rules which help us to know that we are winning with God.  And we all want to win with God, don’t we?  And we want everybody to know that with love and faith, they too can win with God. 

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

August 16, 2020: The Eleventh Sunday of Pentecost

Gathering Songs: The Lord Is Present, Hosanna, Ubi Caritas, Awesome God

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:  The Lord Is Present  (Renew!  # 55)

The Lord is present in his sanctuary, let us praise the Lord.  The Lord is present in his people gathered here, let us praise the Lord.  Praise him, praise him, let us praise the Lord.  Praise him, praise him, let us praise Jesus.

The Lord is present in his sanctuary, let us sing to the Lord.  The Lord is present in his people gathered here, let us sing to the Lord.  Sing to him, sing to him!  Let us sing to the Lord.  Sing to him, sing to him!  Let us sing to Jesus.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son 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 of Paul to the Romans

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 133

Oh, how good and pleasant it is, * when God’s people live together in unity!

It is like fine oil upon the head *  that runs down upon the beard,

Upon the beard of Aaron, * and runs down upon the collar of his robe.

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.

Jesus called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit." But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us." Then he said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon –   

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

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.

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: Hosanna (Renew! # 71)

Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!  Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in highest!  Lord we lift up your name with hearts full of praise; be exalted, oh Lord my God!  Hosanna in highest!

Glory, Glory, Glory to the King of kings!  Glory, Glory, Glory to King of kings!  Lord we lift up you name with hearts full of praise; Be exalted, oh Lord my God!  Glory to the King of Kings.

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 friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy 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:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Ubi Caritas (Renew!  # 226)

Ubi caritas et amor, ubi caritas, Deus ibi est.

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: Awesome God (Renew!  # 245)

Our God is an awesome God, he reigns from heaven above. 

With wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God.

(sing three times)

Dismissal:   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Canine Social Theology

11 Pentecost, A p15, August 16, 2020
Isaiah 56:1,6-8  Psalm 67   
Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

Lectionary Link

From today's appointed Gospel, I feel inclined to present a Canine Social Theology.  Sometimes animal metaphors are used to denigrate both humans and animals.  Some politicians refer to perceived enemies as dogs, using the ancient negative connotation of dogs, that derives in part from biblical and holy book traditions, even while in our society, dogs and other pets have achieved near sainthood status.   Our pets love us and are highly dependent upon us to feed them and take care of them and they bring us joy, support and companionship.

Dogs have not always and are not always held in such esteem.  I lived in a Middle Eastern Country for four years.  I witnessed children stoning young stray puppies in the river bed without conscience.  One had to be afraid of packs of wild dogs late at night on the city streets.  They scavenged the garbage left from the day.  I wondered where all of the dogs went in the day; and on a mountain hike above the city, I happened upon an entire pack of sleeping dogs.  Needless to say, I exited quickly, honoring that old cliche, "let sleeping dogs lie."  To curse at one's enemies one would issue a supreme insult, "Your father is a dog."  I guess that at least the female mother dog designation was not used, like it is so often used in our world today.  Can you tell me what is so bad about motherhood, that it is derogatory for a mother dog? Some dogs were prized in the Middle East.  I did find herd dogs when I visited and stayed with a nomadic tribe.  Those dogs were very useful and therefore given better status.

Biblical dogs were generally regarded to be like walking mammal vultures; they were scavengers, more like a pack of wolves rather than domesticated pets.  They, like the pig were designated as unclean and impure, not to be touched or eaten, and certainly that was their only good fortune.  Too unclean to eat.

The fact that dogs could be at a master's table during the time of Jesus, probably means that dogs had attained a semi-domesticated status.  Perhaps, they were good at keeping the rodents and other pesty animals away.  And they could be janitorial vacuum cleaners after a meal to clean up the floor, for scraps and the food that didn't pass the five-second rule.

With our modern day sensitivities and political correctness, we could take offense at the exchange between Jesus and the Canaanite woman.  "Jesus, please help my tormented daughter!"  "Ma'am, you know the the public stereotypes.  You're crossing boundaries.  Your people are regarded to be dogs, outsiders, scavengers  by my people.  Why are you presuming to cross those boundaries?"  "Jesus, as an outsider, a dog, I am happy to scavenge at the table for scraps to get my daughter healed."  "Woman, your faith has torn down the wall of separation and has given you access to health and healing for your daughter."

For the Isaian prophet, the Temple was to be a House of Prayer for all people.  What was the original intention of God the creator?  Each person created in God's image was to be a temple of God.  Each person had within the interior life a holiest of holy, a meeting place with God.  Such an interior temple had to be exteriorize into a Building Temple in Jerusalem within a certain people, as a strategy of the rehabilitation of all humanity, to once again realize each person's as a Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Israel and the Temple became a particular people and sacred building as a strategy for all of humanity to realize that each person could be God's holy nomadic tabernacle and dwelling for God's Spirit.

The early Christian leaders who came the heritage of the Hebrew Scriptures, believed that their Judaism could not become universally accessible as it was being practiced.   As it was being practice, God's message was cloistered within a single group of people living isolated lives from the people of the Roman Empire.

Very few of the dogs were getting scraps from the table.  There were too many outsiders?  Too many dogs who did not have access even to the crumbs of the Torah.  How can a God be known to be universal, if God is not universally accessible?  How can a pathway to God be locked off and not have the majority of the people of the world be invited?

If we appreciate this dilemma, we might understand Jesus of Nazareth and the early Jesus Movement resulted in a great great surprise.  What was the great surprise?  The mystical and spontaneous experience of the Holy Spirit began to happen in ways in which the religious leaders could not contain.  St. Paul, Peter, and the disciples  as Jews, found the Holy Spirit wildfire could not be contained within the existing religious structures of their upbringing.  What did they do?  They went with the flow, the flow of the Spirit.

The faith of Christ broke down boundaries and borders and would not let there be outsiders.  St. Paul wrote that in Christ, there is no Jews, Gentiles, males, females, but a new creation.

The dialogue between Jesus and the Canaanite woman is an origin discourse for the ultimate success of the Jesus Movement beyond the boundaries of Judaism in the Gentile peoples of the Roman Empire.

The Gospel for us is that through faith we can over come boundaries to the experience of God's favor and love.  

The dialogue between Jesus and the Canaanite woman shows us that Jesus is one who pushes us to have faith and stand up with it.  The use of the word "dog" as the pejorative for outsider is revealing.  The Canaanite woman had faith to challenge whether ethnic and religious barriers should keep us from the health and salvation of God.  This story illustrates how bias and bigotry turn people against themselves.  The woman was willing to accept the designation as an "outsider dog" just so that she might have the crumb of the grace of God from the Master's table, from God's table.  Jesus used the stereotypical "dog" word, to cajole the woman to get beyond her own self image as an outsider to God.  And it was her faith which helped her leap over the barrier.

For us, we need to have faith no to let anyone or anything separate us or anyone else from the love of God in Christ and God's salvation for us.  If St. Paul were here today, he would be writing, "In Christ, there is no East or West, North or South, Black, White, Brown, Asian, LGBTQ....we are all one in Christ.  No one can excommunicate anyone else from the equal love of God.  Period.

May the witness to faith in the Gospel, inspire us not to misrepresent God and God's love and access to everyone.  And may we not let the history of our own victimhood, make us think that we have to grovel to another group of people for grace.  And may, we also redeem the use of the metaphor of the word "dog" and the degrading female term for dog that comes so easily to people's mouths today.

If we have come to have regard for animals to be our pets and friends, and there is a gap between the human and animal kingdoms, can we come to appreciate that God invites everyone to be God's favorite pets in the kingdom of heaven.

This is the secret of the Kingdom of heaven.  God is whispering into everyone's ear: "you are my favorite pet human child, and my grace gives you more than crumbs.  My grace is an invitation to the main table.  Amen.

Jesus As a Surfing Dude?

10  Pentecost, A p 14, August 9, 2020
1 Kings 19:9-18 Psalm 85:8-13
Romans 10:5-15,  Matthew 14:22-33

Lectionary Link

The Bible gives us clues about how to read it.  And we should follow the invitation to read it as spiritual poetry.  We have been intimidated by modern science, modern historical writing and modern eyewitness journalism.   Modern scholarly practice have caused many biblical interpreters to fall in the trap of reading the Bible as though it is modern accurate journalistic reporting with the scientific standard of empirically verifiable events.

The Gospel writers took up the symbolic poetic order of the Hebrew Scriptures and used the metaphors as ways to present in narrative form the spiritual and mystical meaning of Jesus Christ.  Why?  People were having Holy Spirit mystical experiences.  They had sublime experiences and they needed to know how these experiences were connected to this special person Jesus.

How do we understand this sublime?  And how is it connected with an incarnation of God in the person of Jesus who became inseparable from these post-death and resurrection experiences of the Risen Christ?

How do we understand these sublime experiences and teach their meaning?  And how do we teach a program of orientation into the mysteries of the sublime experience of the Holy Spirit?

To be born of water and the Holy Spirit, means that there exists a parallel realm within each initiate through which one interprets the exterior and landscape events of life.

Narratives of the landscapes in the life of Jesus of Nazareth were presented in the Gospels to illustrate the meaning of the Risen Christ found within each Christian.

Where can we find the Risen Christ to accompany us in our lives?  According to the Gospels:  Everywhere.  The Gospels present some material situations where the Risen Christ can be found to accompany us.

What has always been some of the greatest conflicts for human life?  They have occurred with events of Nature.  Why the conflicts?  Human schedules and Nature's schedules are sometimes in conflict.   A great storm on the Sea of Galilee would be just plain impressive, unless the schedule of fishermen conflict with the schedule of Nature to put the fishermen in harm's way.

As organisms with the prolific abilities to grow and become parasitic on other life, like cancer and Covid-19 and a large hosts of bacteria and viruses are very impressive.  And if their life and growth could be totally isolated from human interaction, we could be awed observers.

But these living organisms in nature interact with human schedules in time  in our bodily lives and they frighten and they reek havoc, because they cause sickness, suffering and death.

God who is perfect freedom, presides within a world which shares in this freedom.  And because of our love of science to make every an external observable event, we have been tempted to exteriorize the presentation of Jesus in the Gospel.  The Jesus of the Gospel is written to illustrate in a graphic way the profound interior rising of the Risen Christ who can co-exist with all of the freedom which we face in our lives.  And in faith, we need to realize that we are never exempt from the conditions of freedom.

And because we are not exempt from the conditions of freedom, we use probability theory to anticipate and predict.  We want to negotiate our lives in the safest way through the conditions of freedom.  Sometimes we are safe because of wise behaviors that we can learn from science and our biblical tradition.  But in many other things, we find we are not exempt from an entire array of events, sublime, marvelous, good, ordinary, bad, horrendous and evil.  In life's conditions of freedom, we are not exempt from a continuum of events of what might happen to us.

So what is the Gospel for us? If God and Jesus honor freedom and we know that they are not exempt from the array of freedom, how should we live?  We can either live by faith or by fear.  We can be Murphy Law devotees, fearing more of what can go wrong, than enjoying and savoring the vast amount of goodness.  

The ancient God moved by the Spirit on the deep waters of chaos to created through God's Word.  For Elijah, God was not in the earthquake, wind and the fire; God was in the peaceful stillness which co-existed with wind and the fire.

The Gospel writers believed the experience of the Risen Christ was graphically presented in Jesus walking on the stormy waters faced by his friends.  How does one walk in the middle of the stormy sea?  With faith?  Yes and according to gravity, one sinks into the waters.  And who is with us as we sink?  The hand of the Risen Christ.

And when we sink into the ocean of our eventual death because Time and freedom govern our bodily lives, who will be there?  The hand of the Risen Christ to lift us up.

Let us practice knowing the still peace of God within us and the ever rescuing hand of the Risen Christ who truly walks in the storms of Nature with us.    When some of us see the crashing ocean waves, we think awesome frightening power.  But what does the surfer see?  Heavy waves, now that's a challenge.  Jesus is the model for us of a life surfer.  He sees the waves and says, "Heavy waves Dude! now jump on my board!"  Amen.

Bible As Virtual Reality

 Because science has become so prominent in modern life, it has attained a very pragmatic and functional truth status for everything that we do today.  We live and move and have our modern being in the results of the scientific method which was industrialized and commercialized into all of the products which govern our lives.  It has so vastly governed our lives that the latest generation seem to prefer a completely virtual life to actually being present.  And even when people go to big box churches and stadiums, they watch the contest or the preacher on a big screen.

Perhaps Covid-19 will help us appreciate actual presence again when virtuality is forced upon us as the main way to relate with each other because with actual presence we could infect each other.

Lest we despise the virtual too much let us admit that the Bible is virtual.  Written text was a technology of memory which stood in the place of "not being there."  A biblical text did not permit and actual give and take with the actual writer, so it is a virtual communication.  The author of the text becomes very weak; he or she cannot defend or specify or determine a certain meaning of the words written.  The author is weak because the words come to depend upon those who are interpreting.  When it comes to biblical words, traditions of how to interpret the words have arisen and differences in interpretation account for the different communities within Christianity and in Judaism.