Sunday School, November 15, 2020 24 Pentecost, A proper 28

 Sunday School, November 15, 2020    24 Pentecost, A proper 28

Theme:  Use it or lose it

The Parable of the talents

Jesus told a story about people who were given money.

Some invested their money and received more money.

One person buried his money in the ground and when he did not invest it, the person who gave him the money took it away and gave it to the one who invested wisely.

This story is about some important things in life:

Everyone is given gifts.  Our gifts are different in what they are and in our ability to use them.

Jesus does not ask that we compare ourselves with each other.  Jesus asks that we compare ourselves with ourselves in the future when we have developed and learned and practiced.

How do you know if you can play soccer, play the piano, dance or sing, or invent things if you never try them or practice?

Practice makes perfect and if we don’t practice, we will never know what gifts we have or how good we can be with our gifts.

Jesus wants us to develop ourselves to max. We are not to hide our gifts but to use them, share them and develop them and perfect them.

Atrophy is the law of nature which says, “Use it or lose it.”   That is the message of the parable of the talents.

Sermon:

  Sometimes it hard to understand things in lives.  And Jesus knew that things were hard to understand, so he told stories to help people understand some of the difficult things in life.

  He told a story about a rich man who gave some money to three of his workers.  He gave five thousand to one, two thousand to another and one thousand to another.  He left town and when he came back he ask his workers what they did with their money.  The one with five thousand earned five thousand more.  The one with two thousand earned two thousand more.  But the one with only one thousand, did not earn anymore.  He simply hid his money so that no one could steal it.

  Jesus told this story to remind us that God is the owner of our lives and that we are all supposed to be working for God.  And God has given us many gifts.  But we still have to find our gifts and practice to use our gifts.

  If I have a gift to run fast, but never practice.  Will my gift be useful?  If I have the gift of singing or dancing or doing mathematics, but never practice, what will happen?

  I am going to teach you a word.  The word is Atrophy.  Atrophy means that if you don’t practice and use your ability, you lose your ability.

  Did you know that if you stay in bed too long without exercise, that your legs will not work?

  Jesus reminds us to work and practice our gifts.  The people who practice their gifts do not lose their gifts and they enjoy their gifts because they help many people.

  So remember today.  God has given you many gifts.  And the fun in your life is discovering your gifts.  But you also must practice your gifts as well.

  Say:  God has given me gifts.  I will practice my gifts.  I will help God and other people with my gifts and abilities.

Liturgy for the Day

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

November 15, 2020: The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: The B-I-B-L-E, I Am the Bread of Life, Peace Before Us

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 B-I-B-L-E, (All the Best Songs for Kids   # 119)

The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me.  I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.  

The B-I-B-L-E, It is God’s word for me.  I will obey God’s holy word, the B-I-B-L-E.  

The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me.  I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.  

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and 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

Liturgist: A Reading the First Letter to the Thessalonians

For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 123

So our eyes look to the LORD our God, * until he show us his mercy.

Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy, * for we have had more than enough of contempt,

Too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, * and of the derision of the proud.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

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 said, "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, `Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' His master said to him, `Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, `Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' His master said to him, `Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, `Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master replied, `You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "

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. (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 Music:  For the Beauty of the Earth,    # 416  (blue hymnal)

1-For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies, Refrain: Christ our God to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.

2-For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light, Refrain.

Doxology

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

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

Prologue to the Eucharist

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

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of 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 up 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.

(Alll may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

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

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

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

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

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

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the holy one, give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ his Son (sing twice) Give thanks!

Post-Communion Prayer

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

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

And His Presence has been known to us.

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

    and sisters in Christ.

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

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

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

Closing Song: Peace Before Us, (# 791, Wonder, Love and Praise)

Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet.  Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.

Love before us,…

Light before us…

Christ before….

Dismissal   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Plan on Being Lucky for Christ's Arrivals

23 Pentecost, Cycle A proper 27, November 8, 2020
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Psalm 78
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13

Lectionary Link

The kingdom of heaven will be like this. Be ready for it at all times.

You may have heard it said, that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. Also, the more I pray, the more luck I seem to have.

How can this "folk knowledge" be correct? Whether we're scouts or whether we do emergency planning, we often think of being prepared for things to go wrong.
I would like for us to look at the parable of the bridesmaids in a "glass half full" type of way. What do the bridesmaids get to do if they are prepared?  They get to fulfill their wedding role when the bridegroom arrives.

This is what the kingdom of heaven is like. Be prepared for the in-breaking events.
God, for a long time, wanted to bring the people of Israel into their new home. But they weren't prepared. They are presented as those who were grumblers about the terrible conditions of the journey, and indeed the journey lasted forty years.

And when the successor of Moses, Joshua brought them to the door step of the Promised Land, he asked the people to renew their covenant with God, the one they often forgot during the journey.   Joshua asked them to be loyal to God as they entered the  homeland of their new kingdom.

Paul wrote to some worried people in Thessalonica who believed in the resurrection and they believed in a coming kingdom of the return of Jesus to this earth. But they were worried about their friends who had died before the return of the Lord. And Paul wrote as a comforting parent.  And he encouraged them to do their preparation of being faithful and he gave a comforting scenario of how he believed that God would unite the dead with the living in the future kingdom of heaven.

In our community, we try to presents some recommendations for a rule of life for people to adapt to their own life rhythms.  It involves a holistic program, prayer, Bible study, corporate worship occasion, take care of your physical body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, and opportunity for mission and giving as we identify with those who are poor.  And why do we do it?  Because we need to pay the bills and maintain the institution?  No.  We want people to be prepared for the arising of the God-events in their lives.

You have the seeming experience of more events of grace and favor, if you actually have been preparing your life to see and process them when they happen.  

Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven will be like this."  And the sad thing is that many people miss the experiences of the kingdom because they are not prepared.  They are like the sleeping bridesmaids who did not have enough oil for their lamps and when the bridegroom arrived, they did not have their lamps ready to be the needed luminarias for the honored guest.

The metaphor of a wedding bespeaks of union.  The kingdom of heaven is about union, union with God and each other.  And such unions offers many occasions of climactic events, if we are prepared and practiced to be able to recognize them.

Today, as we live in earthquake and wildfire country, we are encouraged to be prepared for threatening events.  But the life of faith is not just about being prepared for what can go wrong.

Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven will be like this...."  Like what?  An arrival of an event of union and joy.

The Gospel program of the church is a program of preparation for the arrival of the Christ-events each day in our lives.  And for these, I say, be prepared.  Amen

Sunday School, November 7, 2020, 23 Pentecost, A Proper 27

 Sunday School, November 7, 2020   23 Pentecost, A proper 27

Theme:

Wisdom means being prepared.

What is motto of the Boy Scouts?

Be Prepared

What do we prepare for?  We try to prepare to make the best response for all things that can happen to us in life.  We prepare for emergencies.  We also prepare for good things in life, like for graduation, for learning skills, sports, dancing and we prepare for the work and jobs that we will do in our lives.

Jesus told a parable about being prepared.  Jesus used stories to teach lessons.

He told a story about five wise bridesmaids who were prepared and five foolish bridesmaids who were not prepared.

In the time of Jesus bridesmaids had an important role at weddings;  they had the important role when the groom made a parade to get his bride and bring her back to the wedding feast.  And the bridesmaid had to be ready to greet the wedding party.even if it was late at night.

The five wise bridesmaid had enough oil for their lamps to be ready to give light for the parade of the groom.  The five foolish bridesmaids did not have enough oil and so when the wedding parade arrived, they could not help light the parade.  They were locked out of the wedding.

What is the message of Jesus that is hidden in the story?

We need to be prepared.  For what?  For the wedding of our souls with God.  A wedding is the beginning of a special friendship between two people.  Jesus used the wedding to teach us about the special friendship that we can have in our lives.  And we need to be prepared for this friendship with God.  And if we are lazy and not prepared we will miss out on a wonderful relationship with God that has been shown to us by Jesus Christ.

We come to church and learn so that we can be prepared for our wonderful relationship, for our wedding with God as a special companion and friend.

Sermon:

Have any of you ever been to a wedding?

  A wedding is a very happy time when two people get married.  It is a great celebration and a great celebration needs lots of people to do things that make the celebration special.

  Besides the people getting married who else is at the wedding?  A priest or pastor, or judge.  There are groomsmen and bridesmaids and the bridesmaids get to wear those “once in a life time” dresses.  And the men get to wear tuxedoes.

  And in many weddings there are boys and girls.  What do the boys get to do in some weddings?  They get to carry the rings.  And what do the girls do?  They carry the flowers.

  A wedding needs someone to arrange pretty flowers; someone to fix and cater the food; music for dancing and much more.  And there is one more very important wedding job:  The photographer.  Someone to take pictures of the wedding. 

  Can you imagine a photographer at a wedding taking all of the pictures at the wedding and when the wedding is over, going back to print the pictures.  And he discovers that the memory card in his camera was not formatted and so he has no pictures of the wedding.  How do you think that bride would feel when the photographer tells her that there are no pictures?  She would be angry and hurt.  She would say, “Why did you not check your camera?  Why did you not have a backup camera?  Why weren’t you prepared?”  The photographer would be quite embarrassed

  How would you like to be the photographer who did not provide the wedding pictures?  It would be a horrible feeling and a feeling of failure.

  Jesus told a story about some bridesmaid who had a special job at a wedding.  At a certain time in the evening when the groom would come, they were supposed to be there to greet the groom, and this was just as important as the photographs of a wedding in our time.

  But some of the bridesmaid did not get enough oils in their lamps and so it was dark, and they could not provide light for when the groom came.  And they failed at their jobs.

  This was just a story that Jesus told.  And he told stories to teach lesson.  And the lesson of his story is this:  Be prepared!  Be prepared is a scout motto, right, because being prepared is very important in life.

  How do you prepare if you know it is going to be raining?  How do you prepare if you know that it is going to be cold?  How do you prepare if you know that you have to take a very difficult test in school?  How do you prepare for a soccer game?

  How do you prepare for meeting the most important person in the world?

  The story of Jesus tells us that we need to be prepared to meet God, who is the most important of all.  And how do we prepare?  We practice what God wants us to do?  And what does God want us to do?  To love with all our hearts and to love our neighbors.  If we practice these two things, then we will be prepared to meet God; we will be ready to meet God.

  Remember the message today.  Be prepared! Why because we want to give our very best to God.

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

November 7, 2020: The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Give Me Oil in My Lamp, The Butterfly Song, Alleluia, 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: Give Me Oil in My Lamp (Christian Children’s Songbook,   # 53)

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.  Give me oil in my lamp I pray.  Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning, keep me burning ‘til the break of day.  

Refrain: Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the King of kings.  Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the king.

Give me joy in my heart, keep me shining.  Give me joy in my heart, I pray.  Give me joy in my heart keep me shining.  Keep me shining ‘til the break of day.  Refrain

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and 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 Wisdom of Solomon

Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.  One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty, for she will be found sitting at the gate. To fix one’s thought on her is perfect understanding, And one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care, because she goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 78

We will recount to generations to come the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the LORD, *
and the wonderful works he has done.

 He gave his decrees to Jacob and established a law for Israel, * which he commanded them to teach their children;

 That the generations to come might know,
and the children yet unborn; * that they in their turn might tell it to their children;

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

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 said, "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, `Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise replied, `No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, `Lord, lord, open to us.' But he replied, `Truly I tell you, I do not know you.' Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

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. (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 Music:  The Butterfly Song  (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 9)

If I were a butterfly, I’d thank you Lord for giving me wings.  If I were a robin in the tree, I’d thank you Lord that I could sing.  If I were a fish in the sea, I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee, but I just thank you Father for making me, me. 

Refrain: For you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile.  You gave me Jesus and you made me your child and I just thank you Father for making me, me.

If I were an elephant, I’d thank you Lord by raising my trunk.  If I were a kangaroo, you know I’d hop right up to you.  If I were an octopus, I’d thank you Lord for my fine looks and I just thank you Father for making me, me.  Refrain

If I were a wiggly worm, I’d thank you Lord that I could squirm.  If I were a Billy goat, I’d thank you Lord for my strong throat.  If I were a fuzzy-wuzzy bear, I’d thank you Lord for my fuzzy-wuzzy hair, and I just thank you Father for making me, me.  Refrain

Doxology

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

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

Prologue to the Eucharist

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

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of 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 up 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 can we 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: Alleluia, (Renew! # 136)

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

He’s my Savior, alleluia….

He is worthy, alleluia….

I will praise him, alleluia…

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! 

Prepare to Be a Holy Haunter in the Cloud of Witnesses

All Saints’ Sunday, Cycle A Proper, All Saints, November 1, 2020
Revelation 7:9-17 Psalm 34:1-10
1 John 3:1-3    Matthew 5:1-12

 Lectionary Link

Today, we are in the second day of a three day observance of those who have entered the life to come.  All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day comprise this three day articulation of what the resurrection means for us as Christians as it pertains to the people who have left our lives through their deaths.

In our baptismal theology we believe that everyone becomes a "saint" through Holy Baptism; that is one is born of water and the Holy Spirit.  And the presence of the Holy Spirit within us makes us "saints" who are set apart to do the work and ministry of Christ.

We do not all live out our baptism vows in the exact same way.  We do not all have the same public impact with the witness of our lives.  Most of us remain very local and unknown beyond usual geography and social groups of our lives.  But there are others who become known through their manner of life to a greater audience.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mother Teresa of Calcutta are more widely known than we are.  And what does this mean?  It means that saints are global and regional and saints are locale and particular to our own settings in life.  And that's unavoidable.  Just like in Baseball, the Hall of Fame is unavoidable, in the life of the church,  that some Saints became widely known was and is inevitable.  It is the calling given to some to become well known saintly people as global and historic witnesses who lived out the recommended Christ-like values in special ways.   And we celebrate them in individual feast days and in a grand single day, like today, All Saints' Day.

Why do we do this?  Do we want to elevate and revere people above Jesus?  No, but we want to display a vast gallery of exemplars of what the risen Christ can do in the lives of many different people.  If the Risen Christ did wonderful in St. Mary and St. John and St. Francis, what can the Risen Christ do in us?  Saints do not take away glory and honor from Christ; they only demonstrate the Risen Christ in a variety of personalities so that the appeal of Christ can reach us in accessible ways.

In the Eucharistic preface for All Saints Day, we declare that God has surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses in the lives of the saints.  If you believe in ghosts, I would call this a Holy haunting.  The cloud of witnesses is the atmospherics of the saints.  It's the values of how they lived which are ghostly haunting us to live our very best lives.  Let us live in this cloud with them as it is the atmosphere of the values available to us.  This cloud?   No, not that offsite internet storage place; live in the cloud of the witnesses who are the holy ones who have informed the highest values of our lives.  This is how we understand what we confess in the belief of the communion of saints; we live within the holy haunting  from cloud of witnesses of the ones who have been great in love and justice.

And this gives us a clue about how we should live our lives now; we should live in such a way that we will enter the cloud of witnesses at our deaths, so that we to can become holy haunters of the future generation towards the values of love and justice of Jesus Christ.

What is the Holy Haunting inspiring for us this All Saints' Day?  For one, get out and vote.  Live lives of doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly before God.  If we do this  we might be worthy to join the Cloud of Witnesses someday as Holy Haunters of the people to whom we will leave on this earth.

We believe the saints are in heaven and we want to go there too.  But they are also still a present cloud of witnesses and they haunt us in gentle ways to walk in justice, love and mercy.

And who knows, if we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly in the best way that we can, we too may become Holy Haunters in the Cloud of Witnesses to inspire those who will continue to live after us.

With God's help today, let us all seek to be holy haunters in a future cloud of witnesses, but not yet, we're not done with the work of justice and mercy of Jesus Christ.  Amen.  

Aphorism of the Day, October 2020

Aphorism of the Day, October 31, 2020

Death has meaning in human experience, both the death of others and the pondering of one's own mortality.  Death has its days on the calendar, days of remembrance even as in our plague we know the acceleration of the rate of people dying.  In the Triduum of All Hallow's, All Saints' and All Souls, we attempt to integrate death into being a part of life and for some it might seem to be like putting lipstick on a pig.  We poetically make it into a transition and we train ourselves to see afterlife instead of death.  We remember the objective immortality of the Saints and Souls as we remember what they left behind for us who have not yet joined their cloud.  

Aphorism of the Day, October 30, 2020

The Word was with God and the Word was God.  This statement can imply several insights. Word is the "beginning," the arche, (Gk word from John) of human life as we know it.  Word is the total field of everything that can be known or come to language.  There is one valid use of a circular argument: Through Word, we establish that word is the unavoidable sine qua non for human experience as it can be known and in a circular and reflexive way, one must use Word to establish the priority of Word and language products.  Word is always the presumed priority of anything human experienced, anything known at all.  But what if I am an Eastern monk sitting and achieving Silent/Wordless nirvana?  Sorry, one has presumed through Word, the entire context for the entire sitting and attaining of such nirvana.  One never escapes Word, even when one fools oneself that one has ceased to think that one is living in a total fast from "word products."  And this does not diminish the "fast from word products" as an extremely important method of "cleansing" the word palates so that from such "silence of ego deconstruction" one can "taste" word-things in new ways.  Music, too presumes an existence in a worded life; but it is profoundly different from the word products of speaking and writing, that it can be a wonderful palate cleanser of our lives so dominated by word products.  Of course, singing involves a mixture and an enhancement such that Augustine said "to sing is to pray twice."

Aphorism of the Day, October 29, 2020

Empathy is the force which assaults and breaks down the fortress of each person's epidermal wall.  Am I locked within my epidermal wall?  Is all that I am really inside of this wall?  The presumption of the empathetic imagination is that an "imaginary I" can escape my interior prison and fly and penetrate another person's epidermal wall and confess that "I am enough like the one on whom I have projected myself into" that I can say "I identify with you in a significant way in all manner of feeling experiences."  Empathy is when the "imaginary ego I" is astrally projected into another person and allow me to presume to identify and have the freedom to say and to respond with "I care" for you because "I care for myself and I also want the care of others."

 Aphorism of the Day, October 28, 2020

The blessings and the woes of the Beatitudes may follow the prayer tradition of blessings and curses.  Those blessed are the poor and the oppressed and the woes are wished upon the powerful, the wealthy and the oppressor.  This martial arts program of Jesus for the oppressed  is based upon the belief that it is better in the rule of justice to be oppressed than to be the oppressor.  An oppressor is already cursed by choosing to be the worst expression of human behavior, not just by persecuting but by getting sadistic pleasure from doing the same.  The curse is double on such an oppressor.

Aphorism of the Day, October 27, 2020

The reason that the Beatitudes of Jesus seem so radical for people of faith in favorable times is that they recommend a rule of life which I call Christian martial arts.  How does one live in times of persecution in non-violent and non-retaliatory way and yet resist in a way that witnesses to the arc of justice?  Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were drawn to the beatitudes for the martial arts of Jesus of Nazareth.  We often in our lives of "easy" faith just place these beatitudes on a pedestal of the "unattainable."

Aphorism of the Day, October 26, 2020

Every moment is an hierarchical moment, since a binary analysis pervades each moment.  I am doing this and not everything else, thus indicating a preference, a privileging of one over the other.  Consistent privileging creates the character of the hierarchy of preferences in one's life.  Hierarchies occur for individuals and for communities and meritocracy usually informs the hierarchies of a community.  Hierarchies in baseball are created from field performance, yielding statistics which are compared and the ultimate hierarchy of baseball is to be voted into the Hall of Fame and thus memorialized forever for anyone who cares about baseball.  All Saints Day came about for the same dynamic; the merit of really good people gets noticed and when the merit is socially widespread the conditions are attained for the Faith Community Hall of Fame, the various ways in which church institutions "canonize" the people deemed worthy of being memorialized for their exemplary lifestyles.  Lots of local people never get "canonized" except in the lives and hearts of those who experienced their saintly effects; All Souls' Day is the acknowledgment of a hierarchy for personal and individual local "saints."

Aphorism of the Day, October 25, 2020

In reading an ancient text, one needs to be humble to practice empathy for the situation of the ancient people.  We consider Aristotle to be brilliant and relevant to us today in so many important ways, at the same time Newton or Einstein make his physics seem really crude.  We need to exercise the same empathy in ready the Bible, in that we do not regarded the cultural details of some very simplistic things to be precisely absolute in the way that they were understood or formulated; what is absolute is the attitude of each person in their own time striving for the highest insights on good living, scientific living, artistic living, poetic living and spiritual living.

Aphorism of the Day, October 24, 2020

When persons act as though they are above the law and view laws encroachment on personal freedom, it means that such people have not learn the teaching mission of the law, which is to learn empathy.

Aphorism of the Day, October 23, 2020

Asking Jesus what the greatest law is begins with agreeing about a tautological definition of God.  God is the One that none greater can be conceive.  So, it follows that greatest would at the very least include divine existence, and greatness would imply worthiness of worship.  And even if one cannot accept a great Personal God, one can at least admit that one lives within a Plenitude that is greater than us and because we have language we cannot but transact in Plenitude in personal ways.

Aphorism of the Day, October 22, 2020

One might say that one of the motives in law-making is empathy?  Putting ourselves in each other's shoes to appreciate what is harmful to us as being harmful to all.  And yet the laws of empathy cannot take into account the vast differences among people in their situations and so people get angry when a law for all doesn't seem to fit their own situation.  We, therefore have the clash between what should be applied in a Federal way and what should be a mere local options.  Often extreme individualist cry, "I am an island and what I do on my island doesn't affect you, so stay off my island with your rules."  The law of empathy would imply that no one is an island and that we have to take all people into account, even if laws cannot be micro-tuned to everyone's situation.

Aphorism of the Day, October 21, 2020

Often we simplify in our society what being a conservative or a liberal means.  A conservative is one who believes in deregulation and a liberal is one who wants to put regulations on everything.  Such simplification is not true; what has more literal significance is that we are idiocentric regulators, meaning if it is hurting us personally then we want it to be regulated.  When the government adds up all of the idiocentric complaints and then applies the regulations across the board and it is called politically correct, then party spirit kicks in and it becomes a fight between libertarian individualism and distributively applied justice.  In short, we prefer the rules which protect us better than the rules that protect others.  Jesus tried to reduce regulations to the law of empathy: Love God, i.e., have some empathy for the Big One who grants so much freedom, and love your neighbor as yourself, i.e., develop empathy and appreciate that most rules come from the attempt to enforce empathy.  Why because, not everyone chooses empathy as their rule of life.

Aphorism of the Day, October 20, 2020

In the ancient world, one of the way in which the power of the rule was legitimized and promulgated is that God or the gods ordained for the ruler to be such.  The presentation of the "messiah" or anointed one in the context the history of Israel is how the divine right of kings came to Israel.  The Psalter includes what are called "Royal Psalms," which present as both praise to God and the chosen monarch simultaneously.  Jesus stumped his interlocutors with contradictions in one of these Royal Psalms with the accepted assumption of the day, that David wrote all of the Psalm, including the Royal Psalms about his own grandeur.  "The Lord said to my Lord..."  If David wrote this the second "my Lord" refers to someone other than David.  If it is a courtly hymn of praise about the King, then the second "my Lord" refers to David.  One can see how fluid the interpretations were of the "messiah" in the early church.

Aphorism of the Day, October 19, 2020

It doesn't seem fair that Moses is not allowed to go into the Promised Land.  He did everything to get the people there but was not allowed to go in.  This story bespeaks of life and leadership ending with lots of things undone and unfulfilled and it reminds that no matter what we do we still have a solidarity with the future, whether we want it or not.

Aphorism of the Day, October 18, 2020

"Jesus, you show no deference to anyone including the Caesar, so you probably against paying taxes, right?"  Being impartial does not mean that one does not recognize the "differences" among people in how they are known within any social situation.  What makes us equal is being made in the image of God, and indeed this should have social consequences in how we treat each other.  All are created equal but each has a different path to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  And we should understand our taxes as a way to level that path so that all have an adequate pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.

Aphorism of the Day, October 17, 2020

God was too "profound" for Moses to see God's face.  Moses was permitted to see God's backside.  Perhaps one can only see God as God leaves and we ponder in retrospect and not in "real time" the Having Been of God.  Now is ironic since we food ourselves about it because as soon as we think it, we are only thinking about the Having Been formerly known as Now.

Aphorism of the Day, October 16, 2020

As God's coins bearing the divine image we are to render the "tax" of God as in loving God and our neighbor, and this "tax" turns out to be the very best for the common good of humanity.  The common good of the world is not achieved because too many are not "paying" their divine taxes.

Aphorism of the Day, October 15, 2020

A Caesar would mint coinage with his image/icon on the coins as proof of his rule and right to collect taxes.  The Genesis story indicates that God placed the divine image/icon on human beings as proof that human beings belong to God in a special way.  The tax which God wants to collect is worship, the acknowledgment of Divine Singular Greatness not because of lack of divine esteem but as a simple matter of fact about the obvious Plenitude with engulfs all humanity within the universe.

Aphorism of the Day, October 14, 2020

If Jesus said to render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, did that mean he was not going to be a Messiah King to overthrow the Emperor and liberate Israel.  For many, being the Messiah meant an actual liberation of the homeland which history tells us Jesus never did.  The Jesus Movement did eventually convert the Caesar and the Empire and Empire Christianity became a watered-down version of what the Jesus Movement had been.

Aphorism of the Day, October 13, 2020

Before the era of computers, icon was mainly a term which referred to religious paintings, most notably deriving from the Eastern Orthodox world.  Icons were/are regarded to be almost like another "sacrament" in that they are means of grace for the viewer.  The iconoclast movement challenged that the veneration of icons bordered on idolatry and yet the supporters of the religious and devotional import of icons prevailed.  A coin with the icon of the Emperor on it was said by Jesus to belong to the Emperor in that he could collect taxes.  But in good old Genesis theology, the Emperor actually belonged to God because people are God's icons and God's coinage.  The question: Are we God's coinage to be in circulation to be a paranoid, narcissistic Caesar or are we being spent for love and just purposes.  How do we bear the "image" of God.  Can God move the cursor over the divine icon on us today and click and get us to do the divine works of love and justice.

Aphorism of the Day, October 12, 2020

The "render unto Caesar, the things of Caesar" saying is a wisdom saying implying because the "image"=likeness=icon=face of God is even on the Caesar, then Caesar belongs to God so Caesar should be rendered unto God.  It is quite a clever wisdom mot.

Aphorism of the Day, October 11, 2020

Spiritual elitism?  "Many are called few are chosen?"  How does that jive with automatic assimilation into the church through infant baptism?  Isn't rain, the water which baptizes and chooses everyone under the sun?  It could be that chosen me the realization of "relationship" only happens at any given time to a lesser number of people than the entire relationship.  All are called to love and yet only a few at any given time are actually realizing the "apparency" of love.  Life is about moving from the general call of God into the apparency of being chosen.  Those who know beam without bragging because it is such sweet serendipity.

Aphorism of the Day, October 10, 2020

The Gospels are evidence that the traces of the words and ministry of Jesus were being remembered in diverse and inexact ways to be applied in the pastoral situations of various Jesus Movement communities, some still associated with the synagogues and some not.  To try to precisely harmonize all of the Gospels internally and with each other is a violation of how the various applications of traces of Jesus were applied in specific situations within a community at a certain time and place.  To try to make a static universal interpretation to be the same for all times and places for an "artificial" textual unity is a violation of the text.

Aphorism of the Day, October 9, 2020

The presentation of divine speech and action within the Bible is different.  It is curious that God seems to speak and act in more anthropomorphic ways in the distant and even pre-historic past and the God of "love" is more often a God of anger.  For example, in the Flood event, God decided that the world was so evil that everyone except eight people had to be destroyed so there could be a "new start."  God threatened the same at the golden calf event.  God said to Moses let me consume all of the people and start over with you.  It is quite interesting that Moses is one who reason with an angry God regarding the "promise" God had made to the Patriarchs.  It behooves us to look at Scripture as the "art" of how the identity of the people of Israel was being formed by religious scribes who wanted to cement the identity of Israel with the Lord G-d.  That Lord G-d of the pre-historic era is seen to be radically jealous and angry at unfaithful behaviors, even to the point of genocidal events (Flood/golden calf).

Aphorism of the Day, October 8, 2020

Jesus presented God as an "unrequited party host."  What if God threw a party and no one showed up?  It is true that no one is required to see the Vast Plenitude of the universe as a friendly Presence within which is written an invitation a feast which is saying "I have given all of this to you," now can we talk and commune.  We feast and live on our portions of this Vast Plenitude and we often do it in unsharing ways as some have much and many have very little.  The feast of God is an invitation for us to commune and commit to enacting the program of "there's enough to go around for everyone."  And still not enough takers to the feast of God.

Aphorism of the Day, October 7, 2020

In the parable of Jesus when the party giver is disappointed about his guest A list and B list invitees don't want to attend and so when everyone is invited, the logic turns counter: everyone is invited but you get punished if you show up in the wrong clothes.  What one finds is that a very inviting and inclusive host still has standards.  Everyone one is completely invited and included, but there are still rules that govern.  This expresses some akin to the irony of St. Paul: "Shall we just continue to sin so that grace can continue to abound?"  The delightful inclusion of the invitation does not take away the continual responsibility of repentance.

Aphorism of the Day, October 6, 2020

The parable of Jesus gives the impression that there is an A list, B list C list and whomever else list to be invited to God's party.  This is only a reflection of human "dispensational" narrowness and not the carte blanche invitation that God gives in creating all in the divine image.  We cannot be a slave to the limited and piecemeal dispensational perspective which often seems to be presented in specific biblical witness.  If God is not a God for all, then the notion of God becomes inconsistent.

Aphorism of the Day, October 5, 2020

One can see the parables of Jesus as providing insight about the built-in "karma" of the laws of nature.  The person who goes to the wedding without wedding dress when it was the custom of the host to provide garments so that there was "fashion equity," can represent the built-in probably outcome of not following the natural, social and spiritual rules.  The severity of the punishment is built-in to the violation of natural laws.  If you jump off a building you go "splat." It is harsh but true.  

Aphorism of the Day, October 4, 2020

If the parables of Jesus sometimes seem to be severe, it might be an interpretive misunderstanding.  His parables represent a reflection of what does/can happen within the conditions of freedom in the world.  The seeming binary nature of judgment and punishment can seem harsh but in a moment of experience of a moral agent one notes that what happens immediately is binary with everything that did not happen.  Binary in the interpretive moment sets apart what one perceives to be judgment with everything else that could have been happening.  The succession of our interpretive occasions means that in the moment we are limited to that apparent finality of the "binary."  But what deconstructs a former binary is the arising of another binary and the notion of mercy and grace can always be a subsequent binary option to judgment and punishment, which are needed as interdiction to patterns of evil.

Aphorism of the Day, October 3, 2020

The first and tenth commandment can be matched in practiced.  We are to worship God as the one God.  And we are not supposed to covet.  Covet is the energy of desire focusing upon the wrong things for the wrong reasons.  But if we can transform the energy of desire by focusing it upon the one who is truly worshipful, then with this method of focus we can let our desire pass through the other things as transparent objects which we enjoy but don't put them in the place of God.

Aphorism of the Day, October 1, 2020

Stewardship is the goal of biblical salvation.  This is based upon coming into a contractual covenant with God who owns all because the Divine Plenitude is before us and will be after us and we have only temporal duration in our state of being moral agents.  As stewards the recognition of God as our Owner is chiefly acknowledged by living with care for each other in love and justice.  If divine revelation means anything, it is the lure of God for us to care for God by caring for each other and our world as a special gift on loan to us while we live as moral and contractual, covenantal agents.

Aphorism of the Day, October 2, 2020

When one has a big mortgage on one's home, in real financial terms, the lender "owns" the home.  But the one who has the loan is still called the owner of the house, who is given the task of the full care of this assets.  There is an insight here in our stewardship roles; we are given the permission by God to appear to be the "owners" of our lives and our world and it is a significant "ownership" role because of our freedom.  But really God who was before us and who will outlasts us is the Big Generous Lender who lets us prance as "owner" while rooting for us to leave our property better than we found it for those who come after.