Sunday School, February 28, 2021 2 Lent B

 Sunday School, February 28, 2021   2 Lent B

Themes

Knowing but not understanding

Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah but he did not understand what that meant.

We know what it means to be a good student, baseball player, a good dancer, gymnast or soccer player, but we don’t always understand it what it means to be a good student, baseball player, dancer gymnast or soccer player.

Knowing and understanding

We can watch Olympic athletes win gold medals and know about greatness.  But we don’t understand greatness until we try to do it.

We can become good, smart or great without practice.  And practice means doing lots of things that are not fun.  To pass tests at school, we have to read and study and memorize.   To become a good soccer player we have to practice many, many hours.  To be a good dancer or gymnast we have to practice many hours.  And we make mistakes.  We fall and might even hurt ourselves.  But we have to keep trying over and over again.  And sometimes we quit because we say, “I’m not good at this and I’ll never be good, so I’m going to quit.”

Peter knew that Jesus was great and he knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but he did not understand what it would mean for Jesus to be the Messiah.  He did not understand that the Messiah would have to suffer and die and over come death.

Peter wanted only a triumphant king Messiah.  But Jesus is God with us.  If God is with us, God has to be with us in the best times and the worst times.  And pain and death are sad times in human life and if Jesus was really the Messiah, he had to be with us in the bad and sad time too.  So, Jesus suffered and he died.  And because he died, he really was with us in everything that we as people have to go through.

Peter only wanted a “half” Messiah.  He wanted a Messiah who did not suffer and not have to face the things that all human beings had to face.

Jesus said to Peter, “Peter, you know about the Messiah, but you do not understand the Messiah.”  The Messiah is one who will suffer and die because the Messiah is proof that God is with us in everything in life, including our death.

Jesus went through death and resurrected; he came back to life to show us that we have an afterlife.

Let us both know and understand Jesus as the Messiah.  Let us know that Jesus is the Messiah because he was strong enough to be with us in our suffering; he will be with us in our death; and he will be with us in our afterlife.

  

Sermon

What is a riddle?  A riddle is a word puzzle to solve.  There many kinds of riddles.  Like, where is the ocean the deepest?  On the bottom of course.   Or why do potatoes make good dectectives?  Because they have so many eyes.  A riddle often includes a word pun.  And what is word pun.  A word pun is when you use the wrong meaning for the word that sounds the same.

  The words of Jesus often sound like riddles too.  Sometimes you have to think about them for a long time to understand them. 

  We have read one of the riddles today.  Jesus said, “If save your life, you will lose it.  If you lose your life you will save it.”  Now that is quite a riddle, isn’t it?  What is solution to this riddle?

  Have you heard about some difference sciences?  Have you heard about biology?  The study of life.  Psychology is the science that studies human behaviors.  Zoology is the science of studying animal life.  The names of these sciences come from Greek words and all of these Greek word mean life.  Bios, pseuche, and zoe.

  So when Jesus said we need to lose our life to save our lives, what meaning of life do you think he was referring to?

  Was he referring to our physical life?  Well, maybe.  Sometimes heroes lose their lives to save people right?  Like when a fireman goes into a dangerous fire to rescue someone trapped in a building.

  But the Greek word for life that Jesus used was pseuche.  And that refers to our behavior.  He is saying that we must lose certain behavior for us to save ourselves.  How can we understand this?  Losing life to save it?

  Did you know that when you read a book and learn something you are losing your life?  You used to know only this much…but now you know this much.  So you lost your old understanding and have received new understanding.

  How else do you lose your life and save it?  Let’s say that you are sitting down to watch the TV, and your mother asks you to do something to help.  You really want to watch TV….but you decide to obey your mother and help.  You lost your life of watching TV but you gained your life of obeying and helping your mother.  And you have made yourself better and you have made your family better by helping.

  Now do you understand this riddle of Jesus, of how we lose our life and save our life?

  We also call this a sacrifice.  A sacrifice is when we say no to something that we really want to do, and do something to help others.

  Our family, our society and our church happen only because people sacrifice.  People say no to being selfish, and they say yes to helping others.  This is what losing our lives and saving our lives means.

  During the season of Lent we practice the life of sacrifice; saying no to some our favorite things, so that we can say yes to helping make our world a better place.

  Do you understand the riddle of Jesus now?  Good.

February 28, 2021: The Second Sunday In Lent

Intergenerational family liturgy with Holy Eucharist

Gathering Songs:  Precious Lord, Take My Hand; He’s Got the Whole World, Break Thou the Bread of Life; Lift High the Cross

Liturgist: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins.

People: God’s mercy endures 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.

Opening Song : Take My Hand Precious Lord, (LEVAS #106)

1.         Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.

2.         When my way grows drear, precious Lord, linger near, when my life is almost gone; Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand, lest I fall, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Praise the Lord

O God, you are Great!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have made us! Praise the Lord

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Praise the Lord

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

Liturgist: A Reading from the Book of Genesis

God said to Abram, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous." Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you."

The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 22

Praise the LORD, you that fear him; * stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory.

For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; *
but when they cry to him he hears them.

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

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Then Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."  He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

Offertory Song: He’s Got the Whole World (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 90)

1          He’s got the whole world; in his hands he’s got the whole wide world in his hands.  He’s got the whole world in his hands; he’s got the whole world in his hands.

2          Little tiny babies.  3    Brother and the sisters   4       Mothers and the fathers

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 the celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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 by thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration.

Communion Hymn: Break Thou the Bread of Life (LEVAS # 146)

Bread thou the bread of life, dear Lord to me, as thou didst break the loaves beside the sea; beyond the sacred page I seek thee, Lord; my spirit pants for thee, O living word.

(Repeat during communion)

  

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: Lift High the Cross, (Blue Hymnal # 473)

Refrain: Lift High the cross, the love of Christ proclaim.  Till all the world adore, his sacred name.

Led on their way in this triumphant sign, the hosts of God in conquering ranks combine. Refrain

Each newborn servant of the Crucified- bears on the brow the seal of him who died.  Refrain

O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree, as thou hast promised, draw the world to thee.  Refrain

So shall our song of triumph ever be: praise to the crucified for victory.  Refrain

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

The Nuances of Temptations and Trials

1 Lent B      February 21, 2021
Gen. 9:8-17           Ps    25:1-9  
1 Peter 3:18-22         Mark 1:9-13

Lectionary Link

The first Sunday of Lent introduces to us the temptation of Jesus Christ for forty days in the wilderness.  I think that it useful to consider the symbolic importance of this for the New Testament writers, and also how the later church came to assign forty days to the season of Lent.

What did Paul say about temptation?  No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

In the Epistles of Hebrews it is written: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.

The New Testament writers believed that Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us.  And God was with us authentically because he was tested as we are, and yet he remained completely faithful to his Father.

St. Paul calls Jesus the second Adam.  Adam got blamed for the human fate of sin because in his naivete, he and Eve got tricked by the manifestation of Satan in the Garden of Eden, the wily serpent.

The second Adam, Jesus arrived in the state of humanity being evicted from the Garden of Eden.  Jesus did not have a perfect environment to deal with the trickster; he was summoned by the Spirit of God after his baptism into the lonely wilderness with the wild beasts.  He fasted for 40 days and his inner life was made completely vulnerable to the accusing and persuasive powers of this very slick crooked lawyer, the devil, a parasite that could form upon the inner life of Jesus, and all people.

The Gospel writers believed that Jesus was a hero in his time of trial so that he provided for all who followed him, the example, but also the one who as the Risen Christ would be the higher power accessible to all people in their time of trial.

We may be forgiven if we are confused about the notions of temptation and trial.  In the traditional "Our Father," we say, "And lead us not into temptation."  And in the contemporary translation of the "Our Father," we say, "Save us from the time of trial."  The one Greek word is translated by two different English words, temptation and trial, and these words have different nuances in English.

Temptation seems to mean that we can easily be tricked into coveting, or wrongly focusing and acting out upon wrongly directed desire.  We know that moral life involves learning delayed gratification and impulse control.  Laws exist to teach us what the practice of delayed gratification and impulse control.

So what does temptation involve?  It involves mistiming.  Sin is essentially, doing something at the wrong time or for the wrong number of times.  The other Gospel accounts of the temptation of Jesus indicate that Satan tried to get Jesus to mistime his obedience to God regarding food or physical need, fame or glory and how he would die.  "Throw yourself off the pinnacle of the temple;the angels will catch you."  Temptation in our English language refers to human ability to handle impulse control and that involves human choice.

The word trial has a different meaning.  Trial means tests or ordeals which face us over which we have no choice.  The pandemic is a trial.  The current severe cold weather in Texas and the South is a trial.  

I think the way trial and temptation get conflated is that we can understand the entire human condition of living in the imperfect conditions of sin which is experienced in the significant events of social and natural disharmony as being the big trial of life itself.

The state of sinful conditions is the trial of living and within this state of disharmony, we can be willfully out of control, but also events in nature can be totally out of our control and force us to lose our faith in God who is good and well-disposed towards us.

We have fires, earthquakes, hurricane, freezing cold, the pandemic, people living in poverty, racial injustice and Noah experienced the flood.  Noah went through the trial and in the end received the gift of a rainbow which essentially was saying, "I, God do not personally destroy through nature but I share freedom with everyone and everything which accounts for the conditions of harmony and disharmony."

God lays out the conditions of freedom to allow all manner of wonderful harmonies and terrible disharmonies.  The condition of freedom is the big test.  And we have to learn how to prevail in the varieties of little tests which face us in the specific circumstances of our lives.  We have the freedom of self-control so as not to mistime what we do and say in our lives.

And we have the promise that God in Christ has gone through the biggest human test of all, the test of death.  In fact, the Epistle of Peter states that Jesus became an evangelist to the spirits in the grave, so that Jesus used the experience of death itself to let God's salvation be known.

The temptation and trial of Jesus is presented to us because the Gospel is that God is with us completely in everything, including death itself.  Death itself and our deaths will be only another occasion for the salvation God.

Let us look to Jesus as we can know him now to be the higher power of the Risen Christ to give us impulse control to regulate the timing of the words and deeds of our lives.  And let us know that Jesus has gone to death and back to identify fully with the trial of human experience.

As we pray, deliver us from temptation and save us from the time of trial, let us know that it does not mean being exempt from temptation or trials; what it means is that we can always come out of temptation and out of the trial into a fuller experience of salvation.  Why, because we are simply following Jesus who leads us through everything.  Amen.

Sunday School, February 21, 2021 1 Lent B

 Sunday School, February 21, 2021   1 Lent B

Themes:

The temptation of Jesus

What is temptation?

Temptation is about being tricked into doing things at the wrong time.

If you see a piece of chocolate cake in the kitchen and it is only an hour before dinner, you may want to eat the lovely piece of cake.  But you also know that your mom wants you to wait until it is time for dessert after you eat a good healthy meal.

But you really want to eat the chocolate cake right now.  And so you do and when it comes supper time, you are not hungry to eat good food.  And your mom wants to know about the missing cake.

We are tempted all the time.  We are tempted to have lots of mis-timing in life.  We desire things, right now and we don’t want to wait, even though by not waiting we get into trouble.

So we need to practice doing the right things at the right time.  The church has an entire season for learning how to practice doing things at the right time.  We fast.  That is, we say no to certain foods and things so that we can develop our muscles of choice to be strong enough to do the right things at the right time.

We don’t like to say “no” to ourselves.  But we need to learn how to practice self-control.  The season of Lent is a season to build our muscles of self control.  How do we do this?  One way is to say no to some of our favorite pleasures and to use our time and our money to share with people who do not have as much as we do.  We do more community service.  We take on projects to help others because we are using the energy that we used to use for ourselves for others.

The season of Lent helps us to learn self control so that we can practice good timing in our lives, do the right things at the right time.

Exercise:

Think about things that you really like to do but that may not be good for you if you do too much or do them at the wrong time.

Then develop a strategy, a plan during Lent to practice self control so that you can learn the very best timing for doing everything in your life.

Sermon

What season of the Church are we in now?  Lent.  And what is the color for Lent?  For the season of Lent we make some changes.  We change colors.  You noticed that we changed candle holders on the altar.  We have changed our collection plates from silver to basket.  We have change our wine cup and bread plate from silver to pottery.  And we have dropped a very, very happy word that means “yeah God” out of the service.  And we won’t say it during Lent, at least not on purpose.

  Why do we do all of this?  Because the season of Lent is not a season of celebration.  It is a season of hard work and preparation.  And it lasts 40 days, not including Sundays.   And when does it end?  It ends on the biggest celebration of the year, on Easter Sunday.

  Why do we have Lent?  Why does a baseball team have spring training?  Why does a football team have training camp?

  To get ready for the real games.  What are the baseball players doing right now?  They are in spring training.  They are do lots of exercises.  They are practicing fielding and throwing the ball.  They are practicing making double plays.  Over and over again.  Why?  So, their team can be ready when the real games start.  And why do they want to be ready?  Because they want to win as many games as they can and go to the most important game of all, the World Series.

  Lent is a Season of Practice.  And there are lots of things that we need to take time to practice.  We need to practice taking care of our health and our bodies.  So, we try to practice something new in health and safety.  Eating good food.

  We practice helping other people.  We might do something to help people in our world who are in need.

  We practice loving God.  How do we do this?  We learn how to pray a little bit more.  We spend more time talking to God.  And we learn more about the Bible and we learn more about God.  Why do we do this?  Because, we need to have faith.  Why do we need to practice our faith?  Because there are things in life that are hard and difficult.  There are things that might make us afraid.  Things that might make us worry.  And so we have to build our faith to help us be prepared for some of the difficult things that we might have to do.

  During Lent, we try to spend more time together.  We are a church family.  We are like a team.  And if we are going to be a good team, then we have to spend some time together, getting to know each other so that we can work together.

  So we have the season of Lent as a season of training and preparation to become better Christian.  Sometimes practice is hard work and sometimes it is not fun.  Most baseball players would rather play games than practice.  But if we want to do well in the game, we must practice.  So, too, if we want to be better Christians, and a better parish team, we need to practice.  In the season of Lent, we work on practicing our Christian faith.   Are you ready for practice?  I hope you and your family can find some things to practice during the season of Lent.  Amen.

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

February 21, 2021: First Sunday In Lent

Gathering Songs: Yield Not to Temptation, Change My Heart, O God, Eat This Bread, Peace Before Us

Liturgist: Blessed the Lord who forgives all our sins.

People: God’s mercy endures 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.

Opening Song: Yield Not to Temptation (LEVAS # 170)

Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin, each victory will help you some other to win.  Fight pressing onward, dark passion subdue.  Look ever to Jesus, he will carry you through. 

Refrain: Ask the Savior to help you. Comfort, strengthen and keep you.  He is will to aid you.  He will carry you through.

Shun evil companions, bad companions disdain.  God’s name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain.  Be thoughtful and earnest, kind-hearted and true.  Look ever to Jesus, he will carry you through.  Refrain

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany phrase: Praise the Lord (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have made us! Praise the Lord

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Praise the Lord

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Praise the Lord

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

A Reading from the Book of Genesis

God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 25

Show me your ways, O LORD, *and teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, * for you are the God of my salvation;

in you have I trusted all the day long.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy (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 Anthem: Change My Heart O God,   (Renew! # 143, gray paperback hymnal)

Change my heart, O God.  Make it every true.  Change my heart, O God, may I be like you.  You are the Potter, I am the clay; Mold me and make me, this is what I pray.  Change my heart, O God, make it ever true; change my heart, O God, may it be like you.

(Repeat)

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 to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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 by thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.   

Words of Administration.

Communion  Song: Eat This Bread, (Renew! # 228)  

    Eat this bread, drink this cup, come to me and never be hungry.  Eat this bread, drink this cup.

    Trust   in me and you will not thirst.

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, (Wonder, Love and Praise # 791) 

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! 

Ash Wednesday for Children

 

Are You in Spiritual Metamorphosis?

 Last Epiphany B      February 11, 2018
1 Kg 19:9-18      Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9
Lectionary Link

Have you ever said or heard some one say, "I'm high as a kite?"  I'm not asking anyone to confess their hippie pasts.  What I am trying to elicit is how we use elevation as a metaphor of what we might call unique and sublime experiences.

Before we had space travel and before we had air travel, what would be the available metaphors for height?  Bird flight.  Biblical writers spoke of mounting up on wings of an eagle as a poetic way of speaking about attaining panoramic view of the world below.

But in biblical geography, high and holy events happen on the highest places in the landscape, on mountains.  Mountains are metaphors for the places where the earth meets the heavens.  It no surprise about the metaphorical status of mountains in biblical "God events."  Mount Sinai, Mt. Carmel, The Mount of Olives, Mount Zion, the holiest place in Jerusalem, Mount Nebo, Mt. Gerazim for the Samaritans, The unnamed mount where the famous beatitudes of Jesus took place, and Mt. Tabor, the assumed Mount of the Transfiguration.

The Mount of the Transfiguration is presented as an update on the events on Mount Sinai and Mount Carmel.  On Mount Sinai, the Torah was given by God to Moses and the face of Moses shone.  On Mount Carmel,  Elijah called down fire from heaven to challenge the priests of Baal with the might act of the God of Israel. Elijah also was directly assumed into heaven on the chariot of fire.  And on the Mountain of Transfiguration, a new living Torah in the person of Jesus was being revealed to his followers.  And the inner space time travelers ,Moses and Elijah appeared to witness as they affirmed the surpassing greatness of Jesus.  And the voice of God declared the identity of Jesus as God's beloved Son who was to be listened to.  You might say that the disciples Peter, James and John were high as a kite in this event of the Transfiguration.

The word transfiguration in the Greek language is the word from which we get the English word metamorphosis.    One could say that Gospel writers presented the life of Jesus as a process of metamorphosis.  Not as the cycles of the life of a butterfly, but a very special metamorphosis.

God as Word was made flesh; became a baby, was known to be a prodigy child, conformed to the rite of baptism by John, ministered with wisdom, whispered people from the grips of dark inner forces, healed and brought the ostracized back to community,  went to extreme suffering and death on the Cross, and in the butterfly of butterflies moment, he rose from the dead.

Jesus lived the profound spiritually transformative life of transfiguration and metamorphosis.  Jesus instituted metamorphosis as the spiritual process for his movement; and for you and me.

The Mount of the Transfiguration event was a butterfly moment in the metamorphosis of the life of Jesus.  It was a pre-figuring of the eventual resurrection, ascension and glorification of Christ.

And do you know what?  Jesus left with his followers the process of spiritual metamorphosis to be the continuing spiral of spiritual advance both in us as individuals and in the churches as communities of the spiritual metamorphosis of the continuing life of the Risen Christ.

What do the phases of the metamorphosis present?  They present contrasts.  Eggs are tiny, larva immobile, caterpillars can be fuzzy and cute pests on plants, cocoons seem lifeless, but then the glorious butterfly is born.  But the butterfly eventually dies after laying eggs to begin the cycle again.

Perhaps all of us prefer the butterfly phase, and even wish that there should only be the butterfly phase.  In spiritual topography,  we all would like to live in mountaintop experiences forever, being perpetually high as a kite.  We perhaps wish our spiritual life could be the life of being perpetually in the butterfly phase.

What does transfiguration and metamorphosis that derived of the life of Jesus teach us?  It teaches that we live a life of spiritual metamorphosis.  We spiral upward going through the various phases, even phases of doubt and dark nights of the soul, but each phase is only a prelude to the next phase, the next advance.

Peter, James and John witnessed the spiritual mountaintop experience of the Transfiguration.  And then they witnessed the horrifying events of the trial, the flogging, and the crucifixion of the previously transfigured Jesus.  What was real for them?  Was the glowing Son of God real for them?  Or was the dying man on the Cross real for them?  Well, both.  But the post-resurrection appearances of Christ and the experience of the Holy Spirit showed them the purpose of the cycle of metamorphosis of the life of Christ.

And Peter, James and John went forth to tell all their listeners about this wonderful spiritual and transformative metamorphosis which was given to us by Jesus Christ.

You and I are invited today to continue within this process of spiritual metamorphosis.  We are to called to trust the creative advance of this spiritual process.  And if your experience seems to be like nearly invisible tiny eggs; hold on, there's a larva coming.  And if your experience seems so undeveloped and immature; hold on, there's a curious fuzzy little caterpillar phase coming, a phase when you might wear yourself out with growth, even to the point of needing a long phase of "rest."  A cocoon phase, when it might even seem like a hibernation with no end; but hold on, there is a glorious butterfly waiting to be born.  The long trip from the valley to the summit can suddenly pay off with a new incredible view in seeing things in completely new ways.

The life of Jesus was a life of unique spiritual metamorphosis.  And the Risen Christ has left the Holy Spirit life process of metamorphosis for us to live out in our lives today.

Today, no matter where we are in our life experience, can you and I embrace our lives as being proof of the spiritual metamorphosis, the spiritual transfiguration of the Risen Christ in our lives.

Let us today, allow the face of the transfigured Christ shine again through us as we are animated by the same Holy Spirit that animated the life of Jesus Christ.

My friends, let us on this Transfiguration Sunday, accept our lives in the continual process of spiritual metamorphosis, because the Spirit of God who was in Jesus, is the Spirit of God in us.  Amen