Sunday School, June 13, 2021 3 Pentecost, B proper 6

 Sunday School, June 13, 2021   3 Pentecost, B proper 6

Lesson:

Parables of the kingdom of God

Jesus tried to translate the life of God and God’s concerns into the language and story of people.

He told stories to try to get people to understand how they were living in God’s kingdom because all of creation is God’s kingdom because God is the creator.

Understanding that we live in the kingdom of God and letting us know how God is close to us was the Good News that Jesus came to tell us.

Parables are stories and in them Jesus used comparisons to teach about the Kingdom of God.

Comparisons use what we call metaphors and similes.

If I say, “He is a bear.”  I am comparing a person directly with an big animal who is not bear but that person may behave or look like a bear in some ways.

If someone says, “He eats like a pig” this is not saying that he is a pig but the way in which he slurps his food reminds a person of the way in which a pig eats.

Have everyone think of some well known comparisons.

He’s fast as a..

He’s slow as a

His neck is long as a

So Jesus said, The kingdom of God is like….and what is it like?

It is like seeds which grow become a plant and then has flowers and blossoms and fruits.

The kingdom of God is also our natural created world; and we should recognize that God’s kingdom is creation and it is as common and ordinary and as close as any garden which grows.

The kingdom of God is like a very tiny mustard seed.  From this tiny seed a great plant grows and spreads and takes over the entire field or meadow and the birds, bees and insects have plenty of food and a place for their rest and bird nests.

By this Jesus means that big things happen because of the collection of little acts of practice that we do every day.

If you study every day, what happens?  Your knowledge collects and some day you do something very big like graduate.  But remember you won’t ever graduate unless you study and learn every day.

In sport, you practice do all of the little exercises over and over again so that when the big game comes you can do your very best.

In dance, you go to practice each week and you practice at home so that when the performance and recital comes you are ready.

Jesus came to show us that God’s life of love and fairness could be known and understood and that is why he told us the parables about the kingdom of God.  He showed us that we can live better lives if we understand that we live in God’s kingdom.

Sermon:

What is put on the head of the king when he becomes a king?  A crown, right.

  Today we have read about the selection of the king of Israel.  There was a famous judge named Samuel.  And God told Samuel to choose the new king of Israel.  And God told him to go see Jesse, because Jesse had 8 sons.  So Samuel went to Jesse house and Jesse brought the 7 oldest sons to see Samuel.  These seven sons were big and strong and Samuel thought that one of them would make a good king.  But God said, None of these seven is God’s chosen king for Israel.  Do you have another son?  Jesse said, “Yes, there is little David but he’s just a shepherd, surely you don’t think that he could be king.”  And when David came to Samuel.  God said to Samuel, “He is to be king.”  Do you think that Samuel put a crown on David’s head?  No, he took a horn that was filled with olive oil and he poured it upon David’s head.  Would you rather have a crown or oil poured on your head, if you were made king.  When you pour oil on someone’s head…he is called the Meshiach… or the Anointed…that means he is chosen by God.  In English we don’t say Meshiach, we say Messiah.  And how do we say Meshiach in the Greek language?  We say Christos or Christ.  Jesus is called the Christ or the messiah because he was chosen by God to be a king?  But just like the shepherd boy David, Jesus did not always look like a king.  But Jesus told stories about the kingdom of God.  And he said that it might look like the Caesar and the other kings are in charge, but this world is really the kingdom of God.  And Jesus taught us how to see this world as the kingdom of God.

   He said that a very tiny mustard seed grows into a large bush.  And he said the kingdom of God is like that?  What did he mean?  Do you want to graduate from school some day?  Yes, but you can only graduate from school if you do each and every small homework assignment each day.  When all of the little things that you do are added up they begin big and important things.

   Jesus taught us that it is all of the little deeds of love and kindness that really make this world keep going.  Sometimes we think it is only the famous people who do important things.  No so; Jesus said that you can find the kingdom of God in all  the really small deeds of love and kindness.

  So remember each little thing that you do each is very important: doing your homework, cleaning your room, exercising your muscles, eating good food, being kind….all of these little things add up to make your future life even more special.

  Little boy David didn’t look like a king; Jesus did not look like the great Caesar in Rome, but they were God’s chosen kings because they let all of the small deeds of their lives add up to be a great example for us today.

 

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

June 13, 2021: The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs:

Sing a New Song; Lord, I Want to Be a Christian; Jesus, Stand Among Us; Hosanna

Song: Sing a New Song (Renew! # 21)

Refrain: Sing a new song unto the lord; let your song be sung from mountains high.  Sing a new song unto the lord, singing, “Alleluia.”

Yahweh’s people dance for joy; O come before the Lord.  And play for him on glad tambourines, and let your trumpet sound.  Refrain

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the First Book of Samuel

Samuel, the judge went to the sons of Jesse to anoint a new King of Israel.  When the sons of Jesse came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord." But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 92

It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD, * and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;

To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning * and of your faithfulness in the night season;

On the psaltery, and on the lyre, * and to the melody of the harp.

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.

Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come."  He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."  With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

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.

Song: Lord, I Want to be a Christian  (Renew! # 145)

Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart, Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart.  In my heart, in my heart, Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart.

Lord, I want to be more loving in heart, in heart, Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart.  In my heart, in my heart.  Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart.

Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart, in my heart.  Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart.  In my heart, in my heart.  Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart.

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 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.

Children may gather around the altar

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

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

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Jesus Stand Among Us, Renew! #17

Jesus stand among us, at the meeting of our lives, be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

So to You we’re gathering out of each and every land.  Christ the love between us at the joining of our hand; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

Jesus stand among us, the breaking of the bread, join us as one body as we worship Your, our Head.  O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

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: Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest! (Renew! # 71)

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

2          Glory, Glory, glory to the King of kings! Glory, Glory, glory to the King of kings! Lord we lift up your name with hearts full of praise; Be exalted oh Lord my God! Glory to the King of kings!

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Unforgivable Sin and the Family of Christ

2 Pentecost  Cycle B  proper 5 June 6, 2021 
1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15) Psalm 138
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1   Mark 3:20-35

Lectionary Link

What is the difference between forgiveness and a pardon?  They may be used as synonyms but there may be some significant nuances of differences.  When a person is pardoned, it does not mean that the person acknowledges guilt or promises amendment of life or reparation of harms caused.  The notion of forgiveness implies a recognition of a wrong with a confession of the same, a request for mercy along with the promise of repentance and amendment of life.

Just as all laws are not equal in importance, so too, we might say that not all sins and wrongs are of equal magnitude of devastating horror.

What sins might be on the list of being unforgivable or unpardonable?  The six million killed in the holocaust?  Stalin's slaughters?  Pol Pot's genocides?  Armenian genocide?  The enslavement people with oppressing violence.  The slaughter of people in unjust wars or for the sheer motive of profit and land.  These are social or group unforgivable sins, which our ancestors were involved in perpetrating.  What about more individual and personal unforgivable sins?  Abuse and cruelty to children?

Certainly the magnitude of sins in how they devastate individuals or groups of people challenges the limits of possible forgiveness.

Can forgiveness happen even when people don't want it?  We are told that from the cross, Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing?"  So can ignorance, not knowing, or the sickness of social pathologies be reason for forgiving of others?

Before Jesus died upon the cross, he had some serious opposition.  And some of his opposition came from family members who did not understand him.  They had perhaps become targets because of his public deeds and ministry.  He had this public ministry of people of exorcisms, where he whispered deeply disordered people to calmness and peace.  His ministerial style and successes were questioned by the major religious leaders in Israel. 

Perhaps the religious leaders had gone to the family members of Jesus and said, "What's wrong with Jesus?  Has he gone mad?  You know he's breaking all of the rules of being a proper rabbi.  Spitting and making a mud pack to heal a blind person?  What kind of nut would do this?  Why would he even allow himself to be in the same room as a demon possessed person?  Does he know that they are impure and unclean?

"You family members of Jesus, you need to confront Jesus.  Rein him in.  You need to do an intervention."

So, Jesus was opposed by some of family members.  He was said to be mad.  He was said to have made a pact with the devil so as to be able to cast the demons from people.

Jesus explained the total stupidity of such a contradiction, by saying the devil does not work against himself.

And in fact it is unforgivable to imply that the good force of the Holy Spirit who cleanses the hearts of the people whom Jesus whispered, is a devilish force.  This is unforgivable.  To be so warped as to declare the good health which comes to a tortured souls as being done by the prince of evil, is to live in an unforgivable state, the state of not being able to come to repentance and amendment of life.

"But Jesus, your family are here.  You need to regard them and quit embarrassing them.  You are getting them in trouble with the religious authorities and their neighbors."

And this when we get a statement of Jesus about God's family?  "Who is my family?" asked Jesus.  "My family are those who are like me in doing the will of the Father." 

These are ones who are praying, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

We live in a world today where the American family is divided.  We need to avoid living in the "state of the unforgivable."  And what is unforgivable?  It is to be in the condition of saying what is good is evil and what is evil is good.  Having lies being regarded as truth, and the truth being regarded as lies; this is an unforgivable over-turning of the meaningful values inspired by the Holy Spirit.

We need to discern the will of God, and live it and promote it.  And what is the will of God?  It is love, it is justice and mercy.  It is honoring the freedom of democracy among people.

Let us pray today that we will avoid ignorance, bigotry and bias which may place us in the unforgivable state of calling good, evil.  And let us humbly seek God's will which will confirm our membership in the family of Christ and our membership in the family of Christ will be known by our love of others.  Amen.

Sunday School, June 6, 2021 2 Pentecost, B Proper 5

Sunday School, June 6, 2021 2 Pentecost, B Proper 5


While the Gospel lesson contains some rather enigmatic sayings of Jesus about his “family” values for children, it might be good to stress an understanding of our baptismal family. The Gospel lesson contrast the flesh and blood family of Jesus with another family, namely the family of people who do the will of God.


The Sunday School lessons can center around one of the things which baptism means. It means that we live our lives trying to understand the will of God.


Ask the children, what is the will of God? What is it that God wants us to do in our lives?


The answers are the answers of the baptismal covenant. To love God, to seek Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as our selves.


Contrast our two families: the natural families of our birth and our baptismal family. With our baptismal family we join with other people who are committed to seek and do the will of God.


Remember the Gospel Lesson: Jesus said that he had two families, his brothers and sisters and mother and father with whom he was raised in the village of Nazareth, but he also had a greater family, the family of all people who want to do the will of God.


Let us celebrate our family relationship with all people who seek to do the will of God.


Sermon:


Sometimes we call a church’s building God’s house or God’s home. And one of the reason why we do this is because this building is a home for God’s family. And we are part of God’s family.
We were taught to pray by Jesus, who is called the Son of God. And when Jesus taught his friends to pray, he told them to say, “Our Father who art in heaven.”
If Jesus taught us to say to God, “Our Father,” what does that make you and me? Who calls a person their father? Children call a person their father; sons and daughters call a person their father.
And so Jesus taught us that we have a very small family and we also have a very big family.
Our small family is the family of our moms and dads. We because a part of our families by birth or adoption.
But when we were born into our families, our family was not the only family in the world. There are many families in the world.
So, when we were born we were born into our own families with our moms and dads and brothers and sisters. And we were born into the world with many, many families. And so we were also born into the family of God, because God is the creator and maker of the world. God is the maker of all families.
Today in the Gospel reading Jesus taught us about these two families. People said, “Jesus, your family is here to see you. Your mom and dad and brother and sister.” And then Jesus told a riddle: He said, “Who is my family? Everyone is my family who does the will of God.” So Jesus was teaching us about the family of God.
When we sing the Prayer, “Our Father” we sing, “Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.”
So, what is the will of God the Father that God wants to be done on earth? God wants us to love God and to love each other and to practice kindness in our lives. This is how we prove that we belong to the family of God. This is how we do the will of God the Father on earth.
As children, we want our parents to happy and proud of us. We want to do their will (most of the time, even if it means cleaning our bedrooms). As children of God the Father, we want to please Him; we want to do what he wants us to do. And God does not ask us to do things that are bad. He asks us to love Him and each other and practice kindness. And if we do that we show that we belong to the family of God.
Today, remember that Jesus came to remind us that we belong in the family of God. So, let me teach you a word that means Daddy…. Can you say, “Abba?” And God wants you to get to know him so well that you can call him, Daddy, or Abba. Amen.



Intergeneration Family Service with Holy Eucharist
June 6, 2021: The Second Sunday after Pentecost


Gathering Songs: Peace before us, Seek Ye First, I am the Bread of Life, May the Lord

Song: Peace Before Us (Wonder, Love and Praise, # 791)
1 Peace before us. Peace behind us. Peace under our feet. Peace within us. Peace over us. Let all around us be Peace.
2 Love,
3 Light,
4 Christ


Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever. Amen.

Liturgist: Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.
And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.
Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Liturgist: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.

Liturgist: Let us pray
O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great! Alleluia
O God, you have made us! Alleluia
O God, you have made yourself known to us! Alleluia
O God, you have provided us with us a Savior! Alleluia
O God, you have given us a Christian family! Alleluia
O God, you have forgiven our sins! Alleluia
O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead! Alleluia

A reading from the Second Letter to the Corinthians
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 130

2 If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss, *O Lord, who could stand?
3 For there is forgiveness with you; * therefore you shall be feared.
4 I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him; * in his word is my hope.


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 his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."
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.

Song: Seek Ye First (Blue Hymnal, # 711)
1 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you; Allelu, alleluia. Refrain: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, allelu, alleluia.
2 Ask, and it shall be given unto you, seek, and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you; Allelu, alleluia! 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 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: Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
People: Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia!


Words of Administration

Communion Song I Am the Bread of Life, Hymn # 335
1 I am the bread of life, they who come to me shall not hunger; they who believe in me shall not thirst. No one can come to me unless the Father draw them. And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day.
2 I am the resurrection, I am the life, they who believe in me, even if they die, they shall live forever. And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day.
3 Yes Lord we believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world. And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day


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: May the Lord (Sung to the tune of Eidelweiss)
May the Lord, Mighty God, Bless and keep you forever, Grant you peace, perfect peace, Courage in every endeavor. Lift up your eyes and seek His face, Trust His grace forever. May the Lord, Mighty God Bless and keep you for ever.

Dismissal:
Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God!

Aphorism of the Day, May 2021

Aphorism of the Day, May 31, 2021

The Gospel records some accusations against Jesus.  He was a glutton and winebibber and ate with sinners.  He was mad.  He sold out to the devil and did his exorcisms and wonder works with the help of Beelzebul.  Jesus responded by saying that it was logically inconsistent for the devil to work against himself by casting out his own loyal demons.  The attribution of good deeds as being demonic is the epitome of those who were so jealous that they denigrated the good by mischaracterizing the source of the goodness as being evil.  Jealous people will often overturn values to criticize the one who is the brunt of their jealousy.

Aphorism of the Day, May 30, 2021

The articulation of the Holy Trinity by Councils of the church was in part the attempt to translate the Gospel words of Jesus about his relationship to his Father and to the Advocate Spirit into words of Greek philosophical thinking.  It is unavoidable for a popular movement to resist mixing and assimilating and converting and modes of articulation familiar to those who are converted.  The articulation of the Trinity was the evangelical success indicating the process of Christianization of all things.  Is it being conformed to the "image" of the world, or is this the baptizing of all things human in the name of Christ?  The success of Christianization for the Emperor Constantine has resulted in people of Christian persuasion to reside in Christian Empires which have not always done completely Christ-like things, e.g., slavery and subjugation of women, persecution of minority, and justifying genocide (native Americans for one).  As we revisit the pivotal moment in the articulation of the Trinity in conjunction with Empire Christianity, we may need to actually return to words of Jesus about his relationship to the Father and the Spirit as a rebuke to what Christianity became in many of its "empire" behaviors.

Aphorism of the Day, May 29, 2021

With language, we are perpetually trying to signify what seems to be extra-linguistic or that which is not language as if everything which we purport to signify could have knowable existence or reality outside the use of language (impossible as that would be).  Once we're reconciled to our language prison, we can realistically begin to accept our calling to use language in the best possible ways, and what can define best?  The theophanies of the divine coming to language users and in the case of the Christian tradition, God coming to the purview of language users as a Trinity of Persons.  What could be the function of Trinity of Persons as being best?  The highest value is dynamic relational One Fellowship as a source for inspiring the best way to living as diverse members of human community in dynamic personal fellowship.  If addicted idolatrous individuals need a grace encounter with a Higher Power for interdiction and sobriety, the oft warring human communities need a grace encounter with the Higher Power of Personal Relational Fellowship, which has come to our language in the naming of the Trinity.

Aphorism of the Day, May 28, 2021

How is the Trinity unavoidable?  God is a Fathering plenitude from whom all beings come.  Jesus the Christ as the eternal Word.  Word is the unavoidable reality of human existence without which nothing is known.  Anthropomorphism, using human analogy about God, is really anthropo-linguistic performance and Christ the eternal world is the accounting for why it is valid to use language to speak about human language users and their relationship to God as ultimate language user.  Spirit is the mysterious way we account for the fullness of all environment, an omnipresence which is the ground of all mutual recognition.  The above might be insights on how Trinitarian God-reveal is unavoidable for those who use human language.

Aphorism of the Day, May 27, 2021

God, by definition would be before human history, but God has a human history in that God has come to the language of people who purported to have theophanies or experiences of the sublime such that the beyond human designation of God became the fitting superlative.  Christianity is in the biblical tradition regarding the "history" of God and Jesus in how his words explained his relationship with God as Father and God as Advocate Spirit provided the inspiration for knowing God as a Trinity of Persons in unity.  The relational perspective of God as presented by Jesus was seen to be well within the Hebrew Scripture tradition which included explication of the divine with many personal names for God based upon God's attributes.  When the relational notion of the Trinity was "translated" into Greek philosophical language, one might cite this as one of the reasons that Jews could come to think that Christianity has left an "authentic/pure" monotheism.

Aphorism of the Day, May 26, 2021

What is prior, the Trinity or the field of language through which the Trinity has come to be revealed or known?  Anything that can be known, is known because we assume the priority of Language.  Even though language refers to that which is not language, it uses language to do so.  So when one says, the Trinity was before "language and language users," one has to use language to make the case.  The Trinity is an articulation within language users who accept the presentation of the words of Jesus as they have been transmitted in the writings of the church regarding the relationship between Jesus, his Father and the Advocate whom he was sending in his absence.  We tend to merge Father, Son and Holy Spirit in that we regard each to be omnipresent.  What is the difference between the indwelling Risen Christ and the indwelling Spirit within the human person?  Please discuss and get back to me with exact and authoritative precision(whose authority will you accept).  Or can poetry ever be reduced to "empirical precision?"

Aphorism of the Day, May 25, 2021

We can treat the Trinity as "church administration to legislate unity regarding the the Christian understanding of God," or we can understand it as it came to us in the presentation of the particular way in which Jesus was in relationship to the divine.  Church doctrine or personal relationship?  Relationships leave the question of mystery open.

Aphorism of the Day, May 24, 2021

How do deity receive personality?  Anything which comes to language has "personality" since personality is an attribute of a language user.  The understanding of God as a Trinity of Person is to confess that life is about relationship and relationship needs the model of highest relationship for guidance.  

Aphorism of the Day, May 23, 2021

How can the unseen Spirit be known?  In the gifts, the fruits and the manifestation of virtue in one's life.  The gifts of the Spirit are the general ones associated with baptism and listed in Isaiah 11 as qualities of a "utopian" person.  Wisdom, knowledge, counsel, understanding, fortitude, piety and the fear of God.  In the church, gifts are the empowerment for specific ministries.  And the fruits of the Spirit overlap with the gifts and the cardinal and theological virtues: Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.  The long and short of it is that Spirit is known in how people live best with each other and toward God.  How does Spirit as Word of God totally script one's life in thought, word and deed?

Aphorism of the Day, May 22, 2021

How does the word "Spirit" work for you as an effective metaphor?  Breath or wind are invisible energy showing outward effects but can such metaphors attain a "personality?"  Does Great Person of Mystery ever present work?  Or is 

Spirit an inward constellation of "words" as in the words of Jesus:  "My words are Spirit and they are life."  Is Spirit the mysterious constellation of inner Words which evoke the impression that our lives are God-touched, or touched by the Sublime?  How can Spirit be personal?  Everything that comes to language is personal since having language is what defines the essence of human personhood.

Aphorism of the Day, May 21, 2021

In the world of diversity, what is the point of speaking about "oneness" or "unity?"  Universe means one from the combination of many.  The universe is "one" community of many members.  Oneness might be a way of speaking, in that we can say that there is a community of languages within the one human feature of "having language."  Pentecost was the day of many languages and what did this prove? It proved the Oneness of the Eternal Word from the beginning.  Not matter what one says or does with any language or within any human culture, all are unified by the fact that they "have Language."

Aphorism of the Day, May 20, 2021

How far can the metaphor "Spirit" reach in meaningful insights?  Spirit is breath; Spirit is wind.  Wind is not seen but its effects are seen.  Breath is not seen but its effects are known.  Therefore these metaphor seem to be fit for God as Spirit who is unseen but whose effects include "breathing evidence of life," and a hidden engine in the world making the branches of life's tree move back and forth.  Spirit is the mystery of  of what we do not control with our knowledge.  A meaningful way for me to understand the Spirit is to designate Spirit as the Ground of mutual experience that everything in life has with everything else, and for us as sentient beings, it means realizing that we are not alone.

Aphorism of the Day, May 19, 2021

It is good to ponder the One Expanding Container of the incredible diversity which exists within that great Expanding Container.  Can that great container be called One if the One surpasses the One in future states?  We say a person is the same "one" as a baby and as an adult in have identity over time, and yet being incredibly different in the various temporal states of being "one" person.  Oneness in time for human beings and for the Divine is a mystery of identity and we invoke the word Spirit to account for the play between unity of identity within the plurality of temporal states of becoming.

Aphorism of the Day, May 18, 2021

The Bible is evidence that revelation does not cease because new times uncovers new meaningful truth that was not publicly evident in the past.  To try to pretend that revelation has ceased while new discoveries arise from the cumulative knowledge of everything in every field is to try to be an "arbitrary" stop on knowledge and the pragmatics of knowledge, in an almost Amish way.  People live as a result of science and then in the biblical mindset climb into a "compartmentalized" biblical mindset to co-exists with everything that has happened in the cumulative world knowledge.  This disjunction causes the confusion in the social and political order today.

Aphorism of the Day, May 17, 2021

In the mystery of life, the exploration for what drives it has become so microscopic that Spirit has been the sub-nano explanation for the driving force of omnipresent life and the ground which conducts the mutual experience that each being can have with the others.  But of course, Spirit is a word in the field of language and without language and consciousness of being language users, there could be no articulation of Spirit or anything else.

Aphorism of the Day, May 16, 2021

What is the relationship between what has always been the case and the realization by people of what has always been the case?  The articulation of the law of gravity does not suddenly make gravity true since its truth has always been; it only makes it meaningfully true in the life of the one who through discovery articulates the law because it is relevant to the articulator contextual "worldview."  Salvation history unfolded in realization of some things which had always been true.

Aphorism of the Day, May 15, 2021

Does the realization of a meaningful truth in a later time "cause" the truth to have always been true, or only unrealized or undiscovered or lost or inaccessible in the past?  Newton's realization about gravity did not "cause" gravity to be true; it had always been true.  If Jesus prayed for the mystical unity of people with God as the church believed that he did; was this only the realized truth of what had actually been true from the beginning of humanity, namely, that humanity is made to be united with God by virtue of bearing the divine image?

Aphorism of the Day, May 14, 2021

The Ascension departure is prefaced with words of Jesus, "lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  God as creator originator was trying to saying "Lo I have been with you since the beginning of the human age."  When did the human age begin?  Since humanity had words/language and knew they had the same.  Christ as eternal Word, knew that Language would not leave humans because when there is no longer language or language users, then the age ends, because the knowing of there even being existence would pass away.

Aphorism of the Day, May 13, 2021

Holy Scripture purports to be revealing or an unveiling.  And what is unveiled?  The obvious, namely that God, a name for the friendly originator of everything, is in fact IN everything.  So God's omnipresence is what is unveiled.  But too many manifestations of omnipresence come in the guise of what is harsh, painful and evil and human history shows that humanity is alienated from the favor and blessing of God's omnipresence.  Salvation history, culminating in Jesus, is an attempt to unveil a right relationship with God's friendly omnipresence in apparent ways to lure us to love, justice, joy and an integrative Good News which can incorporate even pain, evil and death.

Aphorism of the Day, May 12, 2021

Inter-spatial biblical travelers or those who did not have a regular transition to the afterlife were Enoch and Elijah, perhaps Moses, and the latest one in Catholic tradition was the Virgin Mary.  Such people were "taken" or Assumed into heaven having been found worthy to avoid a "normal" death.  These "taken" people seem to have "re-entry" abilities in that Enoch, Elijah and Moses were apocalyptic figures, with Elijah and Moses re-appearing on the Mount of Transfiguration.  The Virgin Mary has reappeared in significant "apparitions" in places which have become shrines of the same.  The Ascension of Jesus is regarded to be distinctively different from the "Assumptions," but also contains the tradition of a re-entry or return of Jesus with more than apparitional implications in biblical tradition.

Aphorism of the Day, May 11, 2021

The prayer of Jesus has an ambiguous meaning: "That they be one and you and I are one."  This could refer to the individual souls union with God or it could refer to unity among the followers of Jesus.  It could mean both, but it would seem contextually to refer to the individual as child of God coming into the oneness experience with God.

Aphorism of the Day, May 10, 2021

In the long prayer of Jesus in John's Gospel, it reveals a "confused" time, when Jesus says, "while I was with them."  This is indicative of it being an "ascended Christ" prayer channeled through the writing of John's Gospel.  Having the mind of Christ and speaking in Jesus' Name was how the channeling mode of communication of the oracle of Christ within the early Christ communities was portrayed.  The early channelers of the words of the Ascended Christ believed those words were the words of Jesus and could become worthy of "red letters" in latter day print editions.  How many "presumptuous" preachers preface their sermons with "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit?"  Are all sermons prefaced with these words worthy of being considered the words of Jesus Himself?  Certainly the words of such preacher have different "canonical" status worldwide even though one hopes that they have "inspired appropriateness" for the particular occasion.

Aphorism of the Day, May 9, 2021

The followers of Jesus were called disciples, apostles and children of God.  Perhaps their highest status was to be called by Jesus, friends.  Friendship is perhaps the epitome of human relationship and if one can be a friend of Jesus and God the Father, one knows oneself in a different way.  Luke-Acts are books written to someone or anyone named Theophilus, meaning friend/lover of God.  It is a mystical moment to discover oneself as a "friend of God."

Aphorism of the Day, May 8, 2021

On Julian of Norwich Day, it is good to remember how patriarchalism had squeezed the feminine as being equally metaphorically representative of God and all things in life.  If we didn't allow the feminine to be equally representative of reality, we are truly impoverished in how men and women are formed by the speech acts of humanity.  We need to be in the age of correction and Julian's Mothering theology is a good place for inspiration.

Aphorism of the Day, May 7, 2021

"If you love me you will keep my commandments."  This seems like Jesus being presented as a "new" Moses who is issuing commandments.  But the main commandment was to love as Jesus loved his disciples.  This is in agreement with what Paul wrote, "love is the fulfillment of the law."  Love is about the art of living well with God and people and as a "art" it can not be reduced to matters of law and jurisprudence, though, love would include living lawfully for the common good.

Aphorism of the Day, May 6, 2021

John's Gospel is built around Jesus as the one who reveals a special relationship with God as his Father.  He called this relationship love which was not just in theory but in honoring the "commandments" of his Father.  This love between Father and Son, was to spill forth by God's Spirit and be the essence of the relationship between Christ and his followers, who like Jesus, would keep the "commandments" of Christ as proof of their love.

Aphorism of the Day, May 5, 2021

There is a threat by aggressive people: "I'm going to live inside your head."  And the truth is that the people live inside of each other; we can't help but take each other in, with various regard on a continuum of positive adoration to the opposite end of loathing.  Jesus recommended a way way to live inside of each other: "Abide in me and I in you."  How so?  With mutual love.  Mutual love is the best way that we can inhabit each other.

Aphorism of the Day, May 4, 2021

"If you love me, keep my commandments."  In reducing love to "mushy" feelings, it is hard to associate commandments and love.  If love is a "compelling feeling," why would I need to be told to keep some rules?  Perhaps this is not about rules, it is about a check up on how one is living?  Is what I say and do worthy of Christ? If so, then my life can be an indicator of my love relationship with Christ.  It is a check against hypocrisy, of being publicly associated with Christ, but having words and deeds which are not worthy of him.

Aphorism of the Day, May 3, 2021

Love is one of those divine equivalency words, as in "God is Love."  "God is Love" is quite a cosmic statement, without any seeming particular event unless it is seen as omni-active in the relational sustaining of everything that is, in a very unconditional way, meaning that God's sustaining love in a contradictory way sustains even the unloving events which occur in human relations.  This would mean that God as Love means the total adjustment to the conditions of freedom.

Aphorism of the Day, May 2, 2021

God has appeared in human language use;  in fact God appeared in human language use which referred to Word as being God.

Aphorism of the Day, May 1, 2021 

The "classical" Greeks had "four loves," eros, storge, phile, and agape.  They had various gods and goddesses who mythologically represented "aspects" of human love.  Eros was an Olympian god of love as was Aphrodite. Agape was marital love or love of one's profession.  Agape through use in the Septuagint morphed to become the "greatest love" to be identified with God in the New Testament.  God is agape.  Sacrificial and unconditional nurture is implied in "agape."  Compared with the virtues of faith and hope, Paul said that agape was the greatest.   If we take human relationship at its very best, it would be be "agape," and God analogically is the superlative case of "agape."