Sunday School, April 18, 2021 3 Easter B

 Sunday School, April 18, 2021   3 Easter B

Theme

Jesus eats again with his disciples

Before Jesus died, Jesus had a meal with his disciples.  And he told them to continue to gather in this special meal when they gathered together.  And he promised that he would be present with them when they gathered for the meal that we call the Eucharist.

A meal is a time of not just sharing food; during the meal we talk with each other and we share our stories and our friendship.  When we eat together and share friendship we experience the very best of our relationship.

When Jesus died, he was gone, and he could not be seen.  But he promised his friends that they would see him again.

In the Easter stories, we read stories about how the friends of Jesus saw him again and he ate with them again to prove to them that he was really present with them.

He did this for his friends, so that they could tell the entire world that Jesus was still alive and that he promised to be present with us always.

Jesus ate with his friends after he was raised from the dead.

We eat with each other on Sunday and when we do we celebrate and we recognize how Christ is present with us, because we believe the promise of Christ to be with us always.

The Risen Christ is inside of us and we become the replacement for Jesus in this world.  Jesus, when he was alive could only be in one place at a time.  After Jesus rose again and sent his Spirit to be in us, Jesus can be in us and be present everywhere in the world.

Jesus ate with his friends after he rose again to prove to his friends that he lived after dying, and because he lived, we too will live again after we die.

Sermon

  How many of you have a body?  Do you know what a body is?  Your body is wonderful because it is made up of many parts.   Head, eyes, nose, ears, tummy, arms, legs, feet, hands, muscles and tiny things that you cannot see nerves and blood veins and vessels.  And each part of my body is me, but it is not my entire body.

  In our words we use body in another way.

  We often say that a group of people is like a body.  Why would we say that?

  Have you heard of the Army, the Navy and the Marine Corps?  They are the soldiers, sailors and marines who protect our country.  What does Corps?  It is spelled differently than we pronounce it.  C O R P S…looks like Corpse and we know what a corpse is; but we say “cor” because it is the Latin word that means “body.”  A large company is called a “corporation” and so it too is a body.

  Did you know what “we” are called in the church?  We are called the “Body of Christ.”  Why would we be called the body of Christ?

  Can we see Jesus?  Can we touch him and talk to him?  Is Jesus here on earth now to see?  No, he isn’t.

  When Jesus lived he could only be in one place at a time.  And there was so much good work to be done and so he had to leave and give his work to other people to do.

  When Jesus left, he gave his work to other people to do so that his good work could be done in places all over the world.

  And since Jesus only had two hands, he said to his disciples, “I want to use your hands to do good. I want to use your voice to tell people good news.  I want to use your feet, your mind and your eyes and ears to do the good work that I want to do in this world.”

  And since Jesus is using our lives to do his work, we are called the body of Christ.

  And even though Jesus is not here, we are here, and we are the body of Christ because we are doing what Jesus would do if he were here.  And what would Jesus do?  He would love his neighbor.  He would help.  He would tell people good news.

  So when you think about your body today, think about another body.  The body of Christ.  You and I are the body of Christ because we are to do the things that Jesus would do if he were here.

  Raise your hand.  Say this is my hand.  Say, “But this hand is the hand of Christ, as I use it to help others.”

  To remind us that we are to become the body of Christ, Jesus gave us a special meal…It is call Holy Eucharist, Communion, The Mass.

  And at our Holy Eucharist, I will give you some bread and what will I say to you, “The body of Christ, the bread of heaven.”  When you receive the bread, it goes into you and becomes a part of you, reminding you that Christ is very near to you.  It also reminds us that we are the body of Christ, now that Jesus is no longer seen.  Can you remember that you are a part of the body of Christ?

Interegenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

April 18, 2021: The Third Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah; I’ve Got Peace; Amazing Grace; When the Saints

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.

People: The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia.

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: Hallelu, Hallelujah (Christian Children Songbook, # 84)

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, praise ye the Lord. 

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, praise ye the Lord. 

Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah.  Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah. 

Praise ye the Lord, hallelujah.  Praise ye the Lord.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

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 First Letter of John

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 4

You have put gladness in my heart, * more than when grain and wine and oil increase.

I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; * for only you, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

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 Luke

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

While the disciples were telling how they had seen Jesus risen from the dead, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."

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

Song: I’ve Got Peace Like a River, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 122)

I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.  I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.

I’ve got love like a river….

I’ve got joy like a river….

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.

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

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Amazing Grace, (Blue Hymnal, # 671)

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures; he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; ‘tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.

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: When the Saints (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 248).

O when the saints, go marching in.  O when the saints go marching in.  Lord, I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.

O when the girls go marching in…

O when the boys go marching in….

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Words about Word That Can Evoke Presence and Belief

2 Easter B April 11, 2021
Acts 4:32-35 Psalm 133
1 John 1:1-2:2 John 20:19-31

Lectionary Link

How many of you can remember the good ol' days of handwritten letters?  When I lived overseas for six years, I used to write and receive Aerogrammes.  They were cheaper to send but I remember how special it used to be to get a handwritten letter from home.

And if you had a special love relationship with the sender or were in the near pathological state of courtship love, those written letters could make your loved one seem so near, almost seeming like a palpable presence.  Fast-forward to when you married your loved one and live with them and sometimes presence is so taken for granted it seems like an absence, or like the proverbial two ships passing in the night.  And so to use the poetry of contradiction: Absence can be presence and Presence can be absence.

I would submit to you that the Doubting Thomas story, is actually about the presence of Christ in his absence.  And the way in which the presence of Christ can be known when Jesus is gone, is through reading the Gospel words about him and coming to belief in the presence of Christ within one's life.

The Doubting Thomas story is in fact, only a set up for the writer of John's Gospel to promote the witness of his written words.  How so?

The punchline of the Doubting Thomas story is this: "these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name."

Can we appreciate the contrast presented in the Doubting Thomas Story?

Thomas is the example of everyone who says, "seeing is believing."  Only those people who got to walk and talk with Jesus in his lifetime, really have valid proof and valid reasons for believing in him.

Poor me, I live after Jesus is long gone.  My belief would be strong if I had been fortunate enough to be a contemporary of Jesus.

We know this isn't true, because lots of people lived and saw Jesus but never believed in him.

So, this Gospel story is dealing with the "inferiority" complex of the members of the early churches, who did not have the privilege of being contemporary with Jesus of Nazareth.  "Don't blame me for not believing John; I did not have the privilege like you to see either Jesus of Nazareth or his special post-resurrections appearances."

And what is John's Gospel saying: Dear members of the church.  Your spiritual experience of the Risen Christ is not inferior.  In fact, it is more faithful than Thomas's experience.  You are blessed because you believe without seeing.

So how can we know that we have a valid experience of the presence of Christ?

And the criteria are hidden within the Doubting Thomas story. 1-The experience of the Peace of Christ in your midst.  This is why we pass the peace at the Mass.  To evoke the evidence of Christ by living reconciled, peaceful lives in community.  2-The Holy Spirit has been breathed into our lives, as evidence that the life of God which was interior to Jesus is also interior to us.  3-The practice of the forgiveness of sins; Christ is not present when people retain the sins of each other.  Forgiveness, which is sometimes a very difficult practice, is proof of the presence of Christ.

The Doubting Thomas story today, reiterates some important truths.  Many of the best experiences in our lives have come because of what we have read.  Insights through the written word have changed our lives.  John's Gospel writer wrote that Word was in the beginning with God and Word was God.  And John writes that his words are written that we might come to belief.  His written words can evoke belief.

Let us not feel inferior in our experience of the Risen Christ.  We have the insights of the written word which have moved us to belief.  We have the interior presence of the Holy Spirit.  We have the practice of the peace of Christ.  And we have experience mutual forgiveness of each other in community.

All of these are proofs of the real presence of the Risen Christ.  Amen

Sunday School, April 11, 2021 2 Easter B

 Sunday School, April 11, 2021             2 Easter B

Theme

How can we believe without seeing?

Can we see Jesus?  Can we hear him talk to us?  Can we touch him?

Can we see God?  Can we hear God?  Can we touch God?

Do we believe in God and Jesus without being able to see, hear or touch them?

How do we believe in God and Jesus without seeing, hearing or touching?

If we believe in God and Jesus without seeing, hearing or touching them is our belief not as good as the early disciples who walked with Jesus, talked with him, saw him and touched him?

All of these questions are answered by the story about the Doubting Thomas.  After Jesus appeared again after his death to his disciple, Thomas was not with the other disciples.  The other disciples told Thomas that Jesus appeared to them.  Thomas did not believe that Jesus was alive.  The next time Jesus appeared Thomas was with them.  When he saw and touched and heard Jesus, he believed.

Jesus said that Thomas was blessed and fortunate to see him.  Jesus said that other people did not see him and they too were blessed because they believed, just from hearing about Jesus.

The writer of the Gospel of John said that he wrote his Gospel so people might believe in Jesus Christ.

Face to face visit with Jesus, hearing about Jesus, and reading about Jesus.  These are all ways that we can come to believe and Jesus said all of these ways are blessed.

You and I do not live at the same time that Jesus lived but the disciples who lived with Jesus told others about him and many believed.  The disciples who walked with Jesus told about him and these stories were written down and we have the Gospels in the Bible to read and come to believe about Jesus.

All of these ways of believing are equally blessed by God.  Why?  Many people saw Jesus and did not believe.  Many people have heard about Jesus and not believed?  Many people have read about Jesus and not believed in him.

What makes seeing, hearing and reading about Jesus blessed and all equal?  The Holy Spirit is God’s unseen presence inside of us, in our hearts, and when are hearts are in love with God, then we can believe in Jesus through seeing, hearing and reading about him.  It is the presence of God’s Spirit within us that helps us come to believe in Jesus in a way that changes our life to follow the example of Jesus.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, even though I do not see you, I believe in you because I have heard about you and I have read about you and I have seen how you have changed the lives of people in my life.  Thank you for giving me the Holy Spirit inside of me to help me understand how the Risen Christ is still close within me.  Amen.

Today we read a story about a man named Thomas.  And Thomas has a nickname.  Do you know what his nickname is?  He’s called “doubting Thomas.”  What does that mean?  Well, it means that he would only believe that Jesus was alive, if he could see him, hear him, and touch him.

  Do any of us see, hear and touch Jesus today?  Do we believe that Jesus is alive?

  Do we only believe things that we can see, touch and hear?  No.  In fact some of the greatest things that we believe, cannot be seen, touched or heard.

  When you are not in the same room as your mom and dad, do they still love you?  Do your parents still love you when you can’t see them, touch them or hear them?  Of course they still love you.  And you can believe in that love.  So when you are at school, do your parents still love you?  Of course they do.

  I had a very special grandmother when I was young.  I just loved to be with her.  She was so much fun and she gave a nice birthday partyand she always fixed special favorite food for us.  And she told wonderful stories and she sang songs with us.  And I knew that she loved me.  And my grandmother got old and she died, and it is very sad that I could not hear her, see her or talk to her anymore in the way I used to.  But you know what?  I still feel her love for me.  I still believe in her love, even though I don’t see her, hear her or talk to her.  I still believe in her love.

  After the resurrection of Christ, the disciples could not see, hear or touch Jesus in the same way.  But they continued to know that Jesus loved them.  They still continued to believe that Jesus was still with them in very special ways.  And how could they tell that Jesus was still with them?

   They were used to arguing with each other; but when they live in peace with each other they knew that this peace was because Christ was still with them.  They used to hold grudges against each; but when they forgave each other, they knew that Christ was still with them.

  When I look at you, I can see you, I can hear you and I can touch you.  And you are wonderful to look at.  But you know what?  I can’t really see the very best part of you?  I can’t see what is inside of you. 

And what is inside of you is your spirit.  It is your spirit that makes you a wonderful mystery to enjoy.  And that spirit of yours is always going to be young and new and fresh.  Even though I can’t see your spirit, I know it is most important part of you that makes you special.

  The friends of Jesus did not see the Spirit of Jesus; but it was his best part too.  And when they could no longer see his body; they could still feel his Spirit with them.  And we can feel the Spirit of Jesus with us today.  We can feel it when we have peace and when we forgive each other.

  So remember today; we can believe in things that we don’t see.  The spirit of Christ is with us today.  And that is meaning of the resurrection of Christ.  Amen.

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

April 11, 2021: The Second Sunday of Easter 

Gathering Songs: Glory Be to God On High;  Now the Green Blade Rises, He is Lord, He Lives!

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.

People: The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia.

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: Glory Be to God on High (Christian Children Songbook, # 70)

Glory be to God on high, alleluia.  Glory be to God on high, alleluia.

Praise the Father, Spirit, Son, alleluia.  Praise the Godhead, Three in one, alleluia.

Sing we praises unto Thee, alleluia, for the truth that sets us free. Alleluia.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

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 First Letter of Peter

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 16

I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel; * my heart teaches me, night after night.

I have set the LORD always before me; * because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.

My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; * my body also shall rest in hope.

For you will not abandon me to the grave, * nor let your holy one see the Pit.

You will show me the path of life; *in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

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 John

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."  A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

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

Song:  Now the Green Blade Riseth,  (# 204 in the blue hymnal)

1-Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain, wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain; love lives again, that with the dead has been; Refrain: Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.

2-In the grave they laid him, Love whom hate had slain, thinking that never he would wake again, laid in the earth like grain sleeps unseen. Refrain

3-Forth he came at Easter, like the risen grain, he that for three days in the grave had lain, quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen: Refrain.

4-When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain, thy touch can call us back to life again, fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:  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 to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All  may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  

Words of Administration

Communion Anthem: He Is Lord (Renew!,  # 29)

1-He is Lord.  He is Lord.  He is risen from the dead and He is Lord.  Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

2-He is King.  He is King.  He will draw all nations to him, He is king.  And the time shall be when the world shall sing that Jesus Christ is King.

3-He is Love.  He is Love.  He has shown us by his life that He is Love.  All his people sing with one voice of joy that Jesus Christ is Love.

4-He is Life.  He is Life.  He has died to set us free and he is Life.  And he calls us now to live evermore, for Jesus Christ is Life.

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: He Lives (Lift Every Voice and Sing # 42).

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world to today; I know that He is living, whatever others say;  I see his hand of mercy, I hear his voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him He’s always near.

Refrain: He lives.  He lives.  Christ Jesus lives today.  He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.  He lives, He lives salvation to impart!  You ask me how I know He lives.  He lives within my heart.

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christians, lift up your voice and sing.  Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King!  The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find, None other is so loving, so good and kind.  Refrain

Dismissal:    

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

God, Can We Have a Mulligan?

Easter Sunday April 4, 2021
Acts 10:34-43 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Mark 16:1-8

Lectionary Link

If God were a really generous golfing friend, most of us would now ask our Divine Duffer, "Gracious God, could we have a Mulligan, for this entire last year?  Could we just do it over?"

Don't we wish we could do over this past year or so with the knowledge that we have learned about Covid-19?  We would behave much better.  We would have traced Covid-19 and shut it down with better leadership to interdict.

But Time means that we don't get Mulligans.  The best Mulligans we can get are learning from our failures and improving our "swing" at living well.

And if we can learn from our mistakes and perform better in the future, then we can chalk up the "mistakes" as necessary stages toward better performance.

In a golfer's appraisal of the resurrection, did Jesus get a "Mulligan" from his Father when he rose from the dead?  Well yes and no.

In the resurrection, Jesus did get to live again, but in living again, it did not negate the fact that he died a terrible death on the cross.

And when Jesus rose again, he did not live again in the same way in which he did as Jesus of Nazareth.  He received a "super-duper" spiritual body that allowed him to go "poof" on the road to Emmaus and he could be in Jerusalem and Galilee at the speed of light.

The Risen Christ is not a "do over" of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.  The life of the Risen Christ was completely different than the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

The life of the Risen Christ, according to the Gospels only included but a few "earthly sightings, appearances, apparitions" in the forty days after he died.

But the Risen Christ made the most of those appearances; he gave his friends the sure confidence that he was with them in a different way but one that was even more profound.  He was not going to have space-time limitations anymore.  The body of the Risen Christ was a completely different body.

In his resurrection and ascension, the historical Jesus, became the Risen Christ who by the Holy Spirit could be anywhere and everywhere at the same time.  And he can be in anyone of any age, race, or nation.  The Risen Christ truly became the universal person.

And so what has the church often done?  We have liked to make the Risen Christ, "white like me," or "Black like me," or "Asian like me," "gay like me," or "straight like me" or even "American like me."  The Risen Christ is such a protean and chameleon like adaptable universal person, that we are endeared to the fact that Christ can reach us because the Risen Christ can be accessible to us in our intimate and familiar ways of being ourselves in our particular settings.  The mistake that followers who have known the Risen Christ have made is to think that "Christ is only like me," or "only like we are."

The Risen Christ, is a complete do-over of Jesus of Nazareth, because the Risen Christ is the universal representation of God in human experience.

And what should we learn in the metamorphosis of Jesus of Nazareth going to his death and becoming the Risen Christ?  We learn that God is both known in a very particular way tailored to your experience and mine; but God is also known as the universal Risen Christ to everyone else too.  And we should avoid the pitfall of making our own experience of the Risen Christ as definitive for everyone else.  Why?  Because God as love is always leading us to appreciate the universal presence of the Risen Christ in all people, or as we are asked in the baptismal vows:  Will you seek Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.

On this Easter, we have to accept that there are no Mulligans, no do-overs, because the past is fixed and done.  But what Easter offers to us is the revision of the meanings of our past lives.  The resurrection of Christ revised the meaning of the death of Jesus on the cross.

Easter hope through the resurrection is the promise that we can always be at work in coming to revised meanings for what has happened to us and the world.  And we can do this without changing either the agony or the ecstasy of what actually happened.

Let us be thankful that the resurrection of Christ allows us what I would now call a "Faith Mulligan, a Faith Do-over".   And what is a Faith Mulligan?  It is the ability with subsequent events in our lives to come to new meanings, liveable meanings with all that has happened to us, without denying the truth of what happened.

How many of us want to have an Easter Faith Mulligan?  I sure do, and so with joyful hope I shout, Alleluia, Christ is Risen.  The Lord is Risen indeed.  Alleluia.

Resurrection as the Revisionary History of Meaning

Easter Sunday April 4, 2021

Acts 10:34-43 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Mark 16:1-8

Lectionary Link

After more than a year of living under the restrictions of the pandemic protocols, I think that we are ready for the afterlife, that is, the life after the pandemic living conditions.  For more than a half million Americans, who died because of the corona virus, they entered their afterlives and their families have had to adjust to them being gone from normal accessibility,  not for just three days, but forever.

I think that most of us are ready to begin a hopeful season as we get to universal vaccinations, and learn how to respond to the new strains, and get back to what used to be "normal" life.  Imagine "normal" life being the very definition of hope for us.  And the contrast of what we lost should help to appreciate the hopefulness of the normal.

How are we going to characterize what we have gone through in the future?  The pain of the pandemic has been uneven in how people have suffered.  What is our afterlife going to be like after the Covid-19 era?

Many may have to work on losing the so-called Quarantine-19, the nineteen pounds which were put on because we needed comfort food more often and had less activity because we were so homebound.  We are still in the throes Covid-19 to be able to fully appreciate the changes which this has caused in our lives.  And will be ever be able to write a "revisionary" history of what happened to us ending in some good outcomes?  Are perpetual Zoom meetings the good outcome of Covid-19?

The term "revisionary history" is in historical scholarship, a negative appraisal of how someone has recounted a previous event.  It means "unreliable to what actually happened."  To be called a brilliant "revisionary" historian is not a scholarly compliment.

Why?  Past events are absolute; they happened.  One cannot change the fact that something happened.

There is a problem though.  We cannot get to events without the human recollection of what actually happened.  And this means that we cannot avoid human versions of what happened.  We see that even when we have video evidence of an event that people have different explanations and interpretations of what is seen to have happened.

When can "revisionary history" be meaningfully true?  An event which happened in the past can take on new meanings as it is coupled with subsequent events.  We can say that the future can alter the meaning of a previous event without changing the fact of what happened.

On this Easter Sunday, I would like to confess on behalf of the Gospel writers that they had been totally affected by the "revisionary" meaning for the events of what we have been commemorating in Holy Week and today on Easter Sunday.

In the lives of people of faith, the meaning of future redemption and future reconciliation is important.  Why?  Because some bad things happen to people.  And in faith, we try not to let a few bad things come to characterize life itself.  And because we are not exempt from bad things happening in life, we need to frame and contextualize bad things with some surpassing good things and so be able to confess the general goodness of life.

The "post resurrection appearances" of Jesus, which we celebrate today, brought revisionary meanings to many events.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ resulted in the revision of the meaning of his death.  One of the meanings meant that the death and resurrection of Jesus would be paired together forever.  They will always go together as completely mutually related and dependent on the other event.

They are so paired together forever, that we cannot even pretend their separation.  By being paired together, the early Christians believed that God's answer to death was resurrection life.  And why is this answer important?  It is important because it indicates that God's time is on our side.  Why do we need God's time on our side?  Because the life in one's body does not allow us to fulfill everything which hope has shown to us.  We want and aspire for much more than we can ever attain.  Like peace on earth, like friendships being more complete, like coming to forgiveness and reconciliation with everyone.  We, have hoped for the impossible and know that we don't have enough time.  And we want to know that God's time is on our side.

What do we need to know about revisionary meanings regarding the past?  First, they don't not alter the facts of what happened or how people experienced them in real time.  Revisionary meanings happened because people have survived to be able to reassess what has happened, and filter them through the hindsight of what has happened since the original events.

Today, I hope that you and I are being inspired to come to new and revisionary meanings of what has happened in our lives.  We need not revise meanings in our lives to deny the harshness of the past, or over value something; we revise meanings in our understanding of the past so that we can live better lives now.

One of the chief meanings we can take from the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is that we can always have new revisionary meanings about our lives.  These meanings need not alter what happened in our lives, but with resurrection hope, we look to use such words as redemption, reconciliation, thanksgiving, appreciation, penance, empathic ministry, and forgiveness as words that might characterize our relationship with the past.

No matter how many revisionary insights and meanings which we come to in our lives before we die, there will be new meanings which outlive our lives.  God and those who outlive us will also come to new meanings for our lives.

The promise of eternal life through the witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the hope for us that further revisionary meanings and insight will never cease.  It is the promise of being able to come into better relationships with God and everyone else.  And it also means we will come into better relationship with ourselves regarding the meaning and purpose of our lives.  The resurrected life gives us the hope that we will significantly surpass ourselves in a future state.

I submit to you today that our lives should be continuously revisionary in the meanings of our lives; and this can be done without changing the truth of what actually happened.

The resurrection of Jesus, revised the meaning of his death.  And so we build our faith upon continual revisionary meanings toward fuller meanings of hope for us and for the people of world.

And so today, we ride on the coattails of the resurrection of Jesus Christ into the eternal life of hope.  And may this hope provide for you and me and our world today, the ability to revise the meaning of our lives, consistent with living in God's time, everlasting life.  

Alleluia, Christ is Risen.  The Lord is Risen indeed.  Alleluia.  The Risen Christ, revised the meaning of his death on the cross.  The Risen Christ can help you and me revise the meaning of our lives toward hope. Amen.