Sunday School, February 14, 2021 The Last Sunday after the Epiphany B

 Sunday School, February 14, 2021   The Last Sunday after the Epiphany B

Theme:

The last Sunday that we use the word “Alleluia” until Easter Sunday.

Activity: Do something to “hide” alleluia from your vocabulary.  You can write “alleluia” on a piece of paper and then hide it in a special place.  A fast is when you give up eating certain food.  After Sunday, we begin an “alleluia” fast until Easter.  We take a fast from “alleluia” because it is such a special word of praise that we stop saying it for while to reserve it to welcome the celebration of Easter, the greatest event in the church because it is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

The Last Sunday after the Epiphany theme is always the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.  We read the Gospel story of when Jesus was on a mountain with his friends, Peter, James and John and it suddenly got cloudy and in a sort of dream-like experience, Moses and Elijah appeared and were talking with Jesus.  The face of Jesus got really shiny just like the face of Moses had become after he went up Mt. Sinai and received the famous Laws.  Elijah was a great prophet who was known for riding a chariot of fire into heaven.

These two great heroes appeared with Jesus as a way of saying that they supported Jesus as the new light of the world to show people a new way to live.

When the face of Jesus shone brightly, the voice of God the Father was heard and God the Father said about Jesus, “This is my Son, the beloved, listen to him.”

When we understand something for the first time, sometimes we say, “the light came on.”  Light is a symbol for understanding.  Darkness is a symbol for ignorance or not being able to understand something.

Epiphany season which ends before the season of Lent, is a season about how Jesus is the Light of the World.

Exercise:

What does light mean to us?

What does darkness mean to us?

How do you think that Jesus could be called the light of the world?

How do you think that you can be a light of the world?

Sermon:

  Today we read a story about Jesus.  The friends of Jesus were Peter, James and John.  And they had a vision of Jesus being with them on a mountain.

  And the mountain was covered with clouds.  And two famous people appeared within the cloud:  Moses and Elijah.

  And when they looked at Jesus, they saw that his face was shining very brightly.  And the friends of Jesus knew that he was a very special person.  He came to show this world who God is.

  That is why we call Jesus the Light of the world. 

  And did you know that Jesus also told us that we are to lights of the world too.

  How many of you like light?  What does light do for us?  It helps us see while we work and play.  When it is very dark we can’t do much.  We trip and fall.

  Jesus is the light of the world because he showed us how to live in the best way.

 We are to be lights in the world, because we’re supposed to live in such a good way, that we help other people live good lives too.

  Jesus is the Light of the world.  And we, too are lights in the world because we are helping to show people how to live good lives.  Amen.

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

February 14, 2021: The Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs:    Shine, Jesus, Shine; Majesty, The Lord Is My Light; I’ll Be a Sunbeam  

Procession 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 and let there be light.

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

2.   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:         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.

Liturgis:           The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, 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 from the Second letter of Paul to the Corinthians

Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus

Christ.Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 50

The LORD, the God of gods, has spoken; * he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, * God reveals himself in glory.

  

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 Mark

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

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 Song: Majesty, (Renew # 63)

Majesty, worship His majesty.  Unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise. 

Majesty, kingdom authority flow from His throne unto His own;

His anthem raise.  So, exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus. 

Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King. 

Majesty, worship His Majesty; Jesus who died,

now glorified, King of all 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 God.”

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.

The Prayer continues with these words

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

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

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

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death 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: The Lord Is My Light  (Renew! # 102)

The Lord is my light, my light and salvation; in him I trust, in him I trust.  The Lord is my light, my light and salvation: in him I trust, in him I trust.

Post-Communion Prayer

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

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

And His Presence has been known to us.

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

    and sisters in Christ.

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

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

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

Closing Song: I’ll Be a Sunbeam (Christian Children’s Songbook  # 112)

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, to shine for him each day; in every way try to please him, at home, at school, at play. 

Refrain: A sunbeam, a sunbeam, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.  A sunbeam, a sunbeam, I’ll be a sunbeam for him.

I’ll be a sunbeam for Jesus, I can if I but try; serving him moment by moment, then live with him on high.  Refrain

Dismissal   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Empathy: Knowing How to Be All Things to All People

5 Epiphany B  February 7, 2021
Isaiah 40:21-31 Psalm 147:1-12, 21c
1 Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39

Paul as an apostle and an evangelist believed that if he wanted to share the Gospel with someone, he had to pass over into the lives of the people with whom he shared the Gospel.  In short, he knew that evangelism required empathy.  He expressed evangelical empathy in this way:  "I have become all things to all people so that by all means I might save some."

St. Paul had to have a conversion encounter with the Risen Christ in order to achieve such profound evangelical empathy.  The very meaning of the life of Jesus Christ is expressed in empathy.  St. Paul understood Jesus Christ to be the ultimate expression of the empathy of God with humanity.  God crossed over into humanity as evidence of divine empathy.

In Jesus Christ, God became all things to all people.  The poetic Paul believed that in Jesus, God was emptied into human life completely.  St. Paul even said that Christ was made our sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God.  And in the death of Jesus, God had complete empathy with the human experience of death.  But God did not want death to be the end of the meaning of human life.  In the resurrection of Christ, God offered humanity the opportunity of empathy with an after life.  In the life of Jesus and in the life of the Holy Spirit, we can find that the promise of eternal life ministers to us in the midst of some very difficult times.

Eternal life expressed in the oft harsh conditions of the disharmony in the free conditions of life is seen in events of salvation, events of knowing what health means.

The Gospels presents the empathy of God in Christ in the healing stories of Jesus.  Why are the healing stories important teaching stories about Jesus?

They are important because one of most heart wringing situations of life is to experience one's own sickness or the sickness of the one's we love.  Health seems so wonderfully normal, that when we lose it, we feel deprived of what seems to be a basic right of life.  When wholeness is taken away, when disharmony within the human systems of community, nature or biology occurs, we lose the experience of health.

Health is very personal and health is very social because the sickness of one person has a ripple effect within the sick person's community.

Simon Peter's mother-in-law fell ill.  Jesus restored her and she immediately got up and served.  Peter was a follower of Jesus and the illness of his mother-in-law affected the life of his family.  Can you imagine Peter's wife asking him if Jesus would stop in and see her mother?

The Gospel of Mark presents Jesus as healing all who came to him, so many that it seemed he needed to go out to a deserted place to pray and to get recharged.  Many of the healings of Jesus involved a psycho-spiritual healing which the Gospel writers understood to be the interior whispering of the souls of people who were inwardly tortured.  

The message of salvation for us in these healing stories is that the Risen Christ is with us in the times when we do not feel well.  

Today, we need to know that the Risen Christ is with us in the midst of the pandemic, in the midst of so many suffering from this disease and so many dying from this awful plague.  What has the pandemic exposed in terms of our human response?

It has exposed the fact that as a society we have failed to live the Gospel values of caring for each other.  We have been slow to respond to the reality of the illness.  We have failed to adjust our economies to help people survive during this illness.

The healing of the Risen Christ for us does not mean that God zaps instant cures; rather God has given us the opportunity to love and care for one another and adjust everything in our lives for the health and safety of everyone, especially the vulnerable.

The healing power of the love of the Risen Christ has been given; but we as a nation and a world have been very slow to respond.  We have wanted "business as usual," even when the pandemic has been saying to us: "Stop and care for each other."

After the prayer time of Jesus was interrupted by his disciple, he said, " let's get going, let's get the message out."  The Gospel does not mean zapping cures in this world through faith healers; it means the conversion of people to the practice of open, honest, caring behaviors of one another.

Think about it, what would we want to do over regarding the pandemic?  We'd want the people near the origin of the virus to be immediately honest about the severity.  We'd want leaders to trust the brute facts of science about this disease.  We'd want social agreement about intervention and prevention of the spread of the disease.  We'd want leaders without egos to lead us to make the hard choices to care for each other.

And in our failure to embrace the healing care that the Risen Christ, always already offers, we can now hear the words of Jesus from the cross, "Father forgive them, for they did not know what they should have done."

We have not known what we have been doing in the failure to practice the healing life of the Gospel of care of Jesus Christ.

Let us arise from asking for forgiveness in our failure to care, and seek to be restored in the healing Gospel of Christ.  This is not "faith healing cure zapping;" rather it is Gospel of caring for each other in community.  The Gospel of care is the best health of prevention.

May God restore us in the Gospel of the health of care through Jesus Christ today.  Amen.

Sunday School, February 7, 2021 5 Epiphany B

Sunday School, February 7, 2021   5 Epiphany B

Themes:

Understanding Health

How many times do most people get sick in their lives?

If we live a long time, we get sick many times.

Sometimes it happens several times in a year.

A strong healthy child can have ear aches, strep throat and pink eye all in a month.

We get colds and we get the flu.

There are other kinds of sickness, like from an injury.  If we fall and get a sprain or a broken bone, we have to spend a longer time to recover.

We also have sickness that happen that not everyone can see.  We can be very sad and we can feel sick in our inside feelings.  If we don’t get enough to eat we can feel sick.  If we don’t get enough sleep, we can feel sick.  If we don’t drink enough water, we can feel sick.  We also can have allergies that sometimes make us feel sick.

So, we get sick and better many times in life.  And sometimes we have a sickness that stays with us for our entire lives like an allergy.

If we get sick and better many times in our lives, what is the meaning of health?

Jesus is known as a person who healed.  But the people who Jesus healed, still got sick again and again and eventually they died.

So, what does health and healing mean for Jesus?

Jesus healed the insides of people.  He healed their thoughts and their feelings and the deepest place inside of them, he healed their hearts and spirits.

And when your spirit is healed you have health, now and forever.  You have health even after you have died, because you have the promise that God is going to preserve and save your life.

Jesus also healed by starting a community of people who loved and cared for each other.  This is the greatest meaning of health.

Think about how you can health even when you can get sick many times in life?

Health is about how we care for each other and how God cares for us in this life and the next.    Health is knowing that God cares for us in this life and in the next and for now God gives us people who care for us and for the health of our hearts, souls, minds, feelings and our bodies.

Jesus is a healer because he showed us as persons and as a community to live in the most healthy way.

Sermon:

Today, we have read a story about how Jesus healed the mother-in-law of Simon Peter.  And if we read all  the stories about Jesus, we will read about how Jesus had the gift of healing.  He healed people with many, many problems.

  Jesus did have a special gift of healing.  To be able to help someone get well, is a very important gift to have.

  And even though you and I may never be able to heal people in the same way that Jesus did, we can learn to heal people in some very important ways.

  Did you know that an empty stomach is a great sickness?  Did you know that many men and women and children in our world do not have enough to eat?  So, if the people who have more than enough food help feed those who don’t have enough, then we are helping to heal the empty stomachs in our world.  People who don’t have enough to eat really feel sick.  And so we can help heal them.

  We can heal in other ways too.  When someone is hurt and crying, we can heal them by being kind to them.  When we make them feel better, we are helping to heal them.

  When people are fighting with each other, this too is like a sickness.  If we can help make peace and help to make people friendly with each other, then we can be healers, even though we are not doctors.

  When we can make people happy, give them joy and hope and faith, then we are helping to heal their lives.  Every person needs hope.  Hope means that we feel like we are going to live forever because we feel like God is inside of us in our hearts.

  And when we have this feeling that God is inside of us in our hearts, we call it salvation or health, or Good News.

  Jesus was a great healer because he was able to give people hope.  And when Jesus came back to life, he showed us that death isn’t the strongest thing in life.

  Today, we come here to celebrate the hope that Jesus has given to us.  And we also come here to remind each other that we are to help Jesus heal the people in this world who need to have hope and joy and faith.

  Jesus was a great healer and he was not even a doctor.  You and I can do many good things to help heal people as well.

  Can you help Jesus in healing this world?  You can by loving your neighbors and being kind to one another.  This is how we can help heal the many problems in our world.  Amen. 

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

February 7, 2021: The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs:  O Be Careful,  Alleluia, Give Thanks, Into My Heart, Do Lord 

Song: O Be Careful (Christian Children’s Songbook # 180)

O be careful little hands what you do.  O be careful little hands what you do.  There’s a father up above and he’s looking down in love so be careful little hands what you do.

O be careful little feet where you go. ……

O be careful little lips what you say….

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.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of 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

Liturgist:   A reading from the Prophet Isaiah

The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.  Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 147

Great is our LORD and mighty in power; * there is no limit to his wisdom.

The LORD lifts up the lowly, *  but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; * make music to our God upon the harp.

  

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 Mark

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus left the synagogue at Capernaum, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 God.”

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.  And sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbors.

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

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

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death 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: Into My Heart  (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 126)

Into my heart, into my heart, come into my heart Lord Jesus.  Come in today, come in to stay.  Come into my heart Lord Jesus.

Into our church, into our church, come into our church Lord Jesus.  Come in today, come in to stay.  Come into our church Lord Jesus.

Into our homes….

Into our work…

Into our lives…

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: Do Lord (Christian Children’s Songbook,  # 42)

I’ve got a home in glory land that outshine the sun.  I’ve got a home in glory land that outshines the sun. I’ve got a home in glory land that outshines the sun, way beyond the blue. 

Refrain: Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me.  Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me.  Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me, ‘way beyond the Blue..

I took Jesus as my savior, you take him too.  I took Jesus as my savior, you take him too.  I took Jesus as my savior, you take him too, ‘way beyond the blue.  Refrain

Dismissal   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

    

Yogi Berra Spirituality: Life is 90% mental and spiritual; the other half is physical

4 Epiphany B  January 28, 2018
Deut. 18:15-20  Ps. 111
1 Corinthians 8:1-13   Mark 1:21-28

Lectionary Link

One of the Cosmic themes of the Bible is the battle of good versus evil, and the protagonists are God versus the Devil.  This battle is waged and recorded in the salvation history of the Bible.  It is expanded to tell about Lucifer as a prideful fallen angel, who then is able to become the serpent in the Garden of Eden.  He tricks Adam and Eve to take two small bites for a man and a woman but one giant leap for all of humanity in the eviction from Paradise forever for them and for all of us.

And so disharmony ensued within the conditions of freedom as evil seemed to reign and the devilish forces continuously disrupted harmony from being the rule of the diverse orchestra of everything in creation.

Adam and Eve were not the champion heroes against the serpent; who would be that hero?  Patriarchs, Moses, David, the prophets, and other leaders arose to teach and promote order for a world that suffered from disharmony.  How could harmony be restored?

The general failure at achieving harmony through all of the godly manifestations of ministry in Israel created the longing for a hybrid hero; someone like David but greater than David.  When God's people spent so many years in exile and under occupation, the intensity of the expectation for this Messianic hero grew.

And how did the early church understand Jesus of Nazareth to be such a Messianic hero?

St. Paul wrote that struggle was not with flesh and blood.   It was not a matter of having armies and weapons of war.  St. Paul said the struggle was with the principalities and powers of darkness in high places.  In other words, the battle was an interior one.  Life begins with winning the battle in spirit and in the mind.

Do you remember the mathematics of the famous Yankee player and manager Yogi Berra?  He said, "Baseball is 90 percent mental; the other half is physical."

What Yogi was trying to say with his funny math is that it is mind over body; it is learning how to be interiorly at peace and in order so that one can with self control and finesse make one's bodily life perform what needs to be performed.

How did the Gospel writer relate the ministry of Jesus to this belief that life is 90 percent psychological and spiritual?

The exorcism accounts indicates that an encounter with the Risen Christ through power of the Holy Spirit is an inside job.  The deep prayer of the Psalmist is the deep prayer of everyone and not just of the severely disturbed: "Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me."  

The stories of exorcisms are accounts of Jesus as a people whisperer, whispering people to having a clean and renewed heart and spirit.

What a terrible designation to have, to be said to have an "unclean spirit."  That's saying you are rotten to the core and not worthy to be among people.

Jesus is the Mr. Clean of the spirit.  He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.  He is the anointed one, because he is the one who anoints us with Holy Spirit to clean our inner lives and allow us the freedom of self control.

And with self control we can practice the love of God and the true practice of fellowship in loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Let us seek Jesus, the people whisperer today.  Let us allow him to baptize us with God's spirit to help us win the interior battle against all of those principalities and powers of selfish darkness.

And let us be commissioned by the People Whisperer, to go forth and whisper people living in fear and anxiety into the peace and calm of Christ.  Amen.