Sunday School, September 19, 2021: The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost B proper 20

Sunday School, September 19, 2021: The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost  B proper 20

Themes

You might discuss the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

Wisdom is more than collecting facts and information, it is knowing what to do with facts and information so that you benefit your life and the lives of other.

Wisdom is learning how to think with one’s heart.  It is adding feeling, compassion and love and the sense of right and wrong to knowledge, information and facts.

With knowledge we can discover the use of atomic energy; with wisdom we can understand it is better to use atomic energy for the purposes of medicine and providing electrical energy rather than build bombs which can destroy.

With wisdom we can learn to ask God in our prayers for the good and right things for our lives and for the lives of others, rather than just asking for whatever we may desire.

The Gospel Lesson is a lesson about being great as taught by Jesus.

The disciples thought that Jesus was going to establish a kingdom on earth and that he would pick them to be the presidents and leaders of his kingdom.  They argued with each other about who Jesus should pick to be the greatest.

Jesus gave them a riddle: The first shall be last.  The last shall be first.  The one who serve is the greatest.  We should ask ourselves about what we really want to be great at and why we want to be great.  The goal of our lives should be to be great so that we can help other people.

Jesus used the example of a child.  Sometimes children are just ignored in the world of adults.  But Jesus told his disciples that if they wanted to be great, they should not neglect the children.  They should welcome children.  Being great means that we make the world safe for children.

Children’s Sermon

Today, we have heard some important words of Jesus.  The friends and disciples of Jesus were talking about who would have the best place in the kingdom of God. 

  So Jesus decided to teach them a lesson.  He brought a child to them and said, if you welcome a child then you are welcoming me.
  This is an important lesson for adults.  Sometimes we think that the most important things in life is having a more important job, or making more money and sometimes adults forget the really important things, like welcoming children, taking care of the people who need help until they grow up.
  Jesus loves children.  He said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to children.  He said that adults need to become child-like to understand the kingdom of heaven.
  Jesus loves children and adults.  So children and adults should be together.  That’s why we have this service on Sunday, because children and adults can be together to worship God.
  Children and adults need each.  Adults really need children.  Well, can’t adults take care of themselves?  Yes they can, but they need children.  Children do something special for adults.  We adults have forgotten most of what our lives were like when we were children.  And the only way we can recover memories is to see children in our lives.  That is why Jesus said that adults have to become like children to understand the kingdom of heaven.  Adults have to “be born again,” to become child-like again to have hope, faith, joy, wonder and curiosity to be alive in them.
  So we adults, need children.  But you children need adults too.  You need teachers.  You need people to drive you around.  You need people to provide you with food, clothing and home while you are young and can’t provide it for yourselves.
  So we need each other.  And that’s way it should be.
  We have this special family service on Sunday because we believe that children and adults should worship God together.  Today, I want to thank you children for all that you do for us adults.  And I want to thank you adults for what you do for the children in your lives.  I think that is what Jesus wants us to do.  But let us not forget that there are other children and adults who need our help too.  And let not forget to pray and work to help all of the children in the world.  That is what Christ would want us to do.  Amen.

 

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist
September 19, 2021: The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs:  Jesus Loves the Little Children, He’s Got the Whole World,  Let Us Break Bread Together, Seek Ye First

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.

Song: Jesus Loves the Little Children  (Christian Children’s Songbook,  # 140)

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.  Red and yellow, black and white all are precious in his sight.  Jesus loves the children of the world.

Jesus cares for all the children, all the children in the world.  Red and yellow, black and white all are precious in his sight.  Jesus cares for all the children in the world.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; 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 letter of James

You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 54

 Save me O God by your Name; * in your might defend my cause.

 Hear my prayer O God; * give ear to the words of my mouth.
 Behold God is my helper; * it is the Lord who sustains my life.

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 and his disciples went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon:  Fr. 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: He’s Got the Whole World  (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 90)

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

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

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

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

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.
Baptism is 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.

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,

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:  Let Us Break Bread Together (blue hymnal  # 325)

Let us break bread together on our knees.  Let us break bread together on our knees.  When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun, O Lord have mercy on me.

Let us drink wine together on our knees. Let us drink wine together on our knees.  When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, O Lord have mercy on me..

Let us praise God together on our knees.  Let us praise God together on our knees.  When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, O Lord have mercy on me.

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: Seek Ye First  (blue hymnal  # 711)

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.  And all these things will be added unto you, Allelu, Alleluia!

Refrain: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Allelu, Alleluia!

Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek, and ye shall find.  Knock and the door shall be open unto you, Allelu, Alleluia! Refrain

Dismissal:   

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

  

Half Messiah; Full Messiah

16 Pentecost Proper 19   September 12, 2021

Isaiah 50: 4-9a. Psalm 116:1-8

James 3:1-12    Mark 8:27-38

Lectionary Link

The great divide between the Jesus Movement and the dominant party of the synagogues was caused by a disagreement on the understanding of the Messiah.

The recounting of the famous confession of Peter and his misunderstanding which resulted in a rather severe rebuke from Jesus pinpoints this early controversy.

Remember that the Gospels are spiritual manuals which highlight the before and after life of a disciple, before the experience of knowing the presence of the risen Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The early church leaders are trying to come to grips with why many of their fellow Jews did not follow Jesus.  Well, even Peter once misunderstood the meaning of the Messiah, and so do lots of other people.

The Messiah of the early church was a suffering servant Messiah, not a king who would come with angelic armies to conquer Palestine and deliver the Jews from Roman rule.

Peter was rebuked for speaking with voice of Satan because of his human understanding of the Messiah.  And we can't be too critical of Peter, because we too are all too human as well.  We prefer to be with the great winners.  We prefer to be Empire Christianity, not suffering and persecuted Christianity.

And historically the church has made quite a shift.  Ironically, we as Empire Christianity have been more on the persecuting side than on the persecuted side.  Look at the history of slavery and the conquest of indigenous peoples done by Christian Empires.

The human truth is that we are like Peter, we don't really like a suffering servant Messiah.  We want to be the ones who have the absolute power to prevent our own suffering, and we are willing to let hurtful things be done by our group of people and country because of wanting to maintain our power position.  We have lots of Christians who want to remove the suffering Messiah identity from our current lives.  They may say that Jesus died and suffered so we don't have to.   Welcome to blessing and prosperity Christianity.  If anyone stands in the way of our blessing and prosperity they are persecuting us because God wants us to prosper and be the ones calling the shots.

This kind of Christianity is found in many places in our country today.  And many people cannot hear the Risen Christ say, "Get behind me Satan, you are seeing things from a selfish human comfort viewpoint."

It is easy for us to love butterflies and resurrection and try to avoid or forget the cocoon and death phases of life.

We cannot be true to the witness of the early Church, especially to St. Paul, if we try to eliminate the cross of the suffering servant Messiah from our faith.

St. Paul said that he gloried in the cross of Christ.  He said that he was crucified with Christ and that he suffered with Christ.

In the field of freedom, the very conditions of God as pure creativity, we have to learn to live with the full range of probabilities in life.  And this means we have to learn to integrate loss, death, change, and suffering into our life experience without it destroying us.

And this is where the suffering Messiah and a Cross-centered Christianity comes in; it helps us to be realistic about the conditions in life.  The suffering servant Messiah will not let us be naive or pollyannaish about life.  Faith is learning how to integrate all of the probabilities of life in a way that makes us better and stronger and in a way that helps us to be those who help the suffering people of the world, rather than be those who cause the suffering of people in this world.

The writer of James gives us a hint about how we can prevent suffering in this life.  The tongue is a small muscles but if it is not controlled by a greater inward loving self, it can cause great damage and suffering on a small scale or on a large scale.

On a large scale the tongue represents the worst kind of cruel propaganda against entire races and groups of people.  The propaganda of the tongue is what causes the persecution of other people and on a grand scale so that groups of people practice self-justification for their cruelty to others.

On the small scale in our families and micro-communities, an uncontrolled tongue can spew hatred and lies and in subtle ways, not so subtle ways cause havoc in human community.

As much as the writer of James feels compelled to share the horrendous effects of how public communication destroys, we should also work to present what good, loving, just, comforting, instructive, and kind communication can do.

Because the spoken word is so powerful, we should take special care to value the words which we chose publish with our spoken words and with the body language of our lives.

And how can we best use our published words today?  With the message of the Gospel of the Messiah.  Not a half or partial Messiah.  The full Messiah is the suffering servant Messiah who provides us a refuge of identity to integrate the suffering and the death that will surely come to us all in various ways.  But the full Messiah is also the Risen Christ, who assures us that death and suffering are not the final events.  The Risen Christ is the Gospel of the surpassing experience of life which includes the faith to integrate in hope everything that can and will happen in God's great field of freedom.

And if we haven't accepted the fact that we're in quite an adventure of varied probabilities in this life, let us do so today, and know that we've taken up our cross and are following Jesus in the path of the continual renewal of our lives.  Amen.

Sunday School, September 12, 2021 16 Pentecost, B proper 19

 Sunday School, September 12, 2021       16 Pentecost, B proper 19

Sunday School Themes

The reading from Proverbs calls Wisdom the way in which we can discover that God is everywhere.  The Psalm states that the heavens declare the glory of God.  People who look in the sky and also observe the way in which things are made are fascinated and so they confess the presence and existence of something greater and anything that we can do or make as human beings.  But since we see this greatness and if greatness is greater than us as persons, then the greatness of God must also have a Great Personality and so we come to believe that we have a personal relationship with the Wise Great Being og God whose works we can observe everywhere.

The Epistle of James is about the small muscle of the tongue and how destructive can be.  Everyone needs a lesson in learning self control in what we say.  The things we say can harm and do hurt to each other.  But the nice and kind things which we say can also do some lovely and wonderful things to build relationships.

Since September 14 is Holy Cross Day, the Gospel lesson gives us a lesson on the cross.  Peter did not want to accept the fact that Jesus would suffer and die.  He wanted Jesus to be just a Messiah superhero.  Jesus told Peter that he was wrong in his thinking about who the messiah was.  The messiah would suffer and die and know fully all of the hardships of human suffering.  Jesus as the suffering messiah was proof that God has and is and will suffer with us.

You can instruct about the notions of life in the riddle of Jesus about losing and gaining our lives.  The life that Jesus told us to lose is psueche or soul life which is the life of our minds, emotions and choosing power.  Education means that we lose the ignorant states of mind and we gain wisdom and education.  This is how we lose and gain our lives.    In the church, taking up the cross and following Jesus means that we learn to give up our selfish selves as we make room to help others through love and kindness.

Gospel Puppet Show: What kind of Messiah Is Jesus?

Puppet dialogue between Roary the Lion and Interviewer

Roary the Lion (holding a soccer ball and sobbing): Wah…Wah….Wah….Wah….

Interviewer: What’s wrong Roary, why are you crying?  Have you been playing soccer?

Roary the Lion:  Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah…

Interviewer:  Roary, I think you need a hug… Calm down now and talk to me.  Can you tell me what’s wrong?  Did you have soccer game?

Roary the Lion: Wah, Wah, Wah, Wah……

Interviewer: Roary,  I’m here to help you.   Let try to help you.  May be I can help you get your happy roar back.  Will you let me try?

Roary the Lion:  Wah…Wah….okay but I’m not too happy.

Interviewer:  What happened to make you so sad?  I’ve never heard a lion cry so loudly?

Roary the Lion:  Well, I played soccer today and our team lost the game, 4 to zero.  And I was the leading scorer.

Interviewer: Well that’s good isn’t it?

Roary the Lion: No..no…no…I scored two goals for the other team.   Wah…Wah And I’m so embarrassed.  Why did that happen to me?  And why did my team lose?

Interviewer:  Well, let’s see if we can learn something from you and your soccer game?  All of us will be winners if we can learn from you and your soccer game?  Will you help us all?

Roary the Lion:  Okay but I don’t know how my losing a soccer game can help others.

Interviewer: Was anyone happy after your soccer game ended?

Roary the Lion:  The winning team were happy, of course.

Interviewer:  When it rains really hard the farmer is happy to get rain for his corn and his wheat.  But if the same rain comes in the middle of the baseball game, the teams are sad because they have to stop playing baseball.  You see the same rain made some people happy and made some people sad.

Roary the Lion:  So that’s like every soccer game; if one team wins the other team loses.

Interviewer:  Yes and life is like that some times there are things that make us happy and there are things that make us sad.

Roary the Lion: I don’t like to be sad.  What good is sadness?

Interviewer:  It is not fun to be sad but being sad can turn out to be good?

Roary the Lion: How can being sad turn out to be good?

Interviewer:  Well, let us remember the Gospel story today.  Peter was upset at Jesus.  Peter only wanted Jesus to be a strong King.  Peter did not want Jesus to ever suffer.  He did not want Jesus to ever feel sad.

Roary the Lion:  That’s right!  Jesus told Peter that some very sad things were going to happen to Jesus.  He told Peter that he was going to suffer and even die.

Interviewer:  And Jesus said that Peter had to understand life better.  He said that Peter needed to understand that life is made up of wins and losses.  Life is made up of sickness and health.  Life is made up of happiness and sadness.

Roary the Lion:  So to learn how to live is to learn how to live with both.  But I prefer to win.  I would rather be happy.  I don’t ever want to be sick.

Interviewer:  I know Roary,  but what good can come from sadness, loss and sickness?

Roary the Lion:  I don’t know Interviewer.  It would take a great magician to turn sickness into health, happiness into sadness and losing into winning.

Interviewer:  Well, Jesus is better than the greatest magician.  And he showed us how to do one of his greatest tricks.

Roary the Lion:  I like magic.  What is the greatest trick?

Interviewer:  Roary, the next time you play a soccer game and when you win the game, what are you going to say to the little boy who lost the game to your team?

Roary the Lion:  Well, I’m going try to make him feel better.  I’m going to tell him that I lost a game too and it was very sad.  I going to tell him that he played a good game.   And I’m going to tell him that is more important that we have fun playing the game than if we win.

Interviewer:  Why would you say those nice things to him Roary?

Roary the Lion:  Well, because I know what it is to lose and be sad.  So I want to help someone else when they are sad.

Interviewer:  And Roary, that is the magic of Jesus.  Because you were sad, you knew how to help a boy who also was sad.  And that was the message that Jesus was trying to teach Peter.

Roary the Lion:  So God can help us better because God gave his Son Jesus to suffer too.  And so we can know that God is with us when we are sad.

Interviewer:  Bingo!  Now do you see how your loss and your sadness can turn out to be winning.  You always win when you are able to help others.

Roary the Lion:  Interviewer do you think that the boys and girls can learn this too.  I’m shy, could you ask them?

interviewer:  Boys and Girls, do you see how Jesus taught us the meaning of suffering and sadness?  We can turn our sadness into happiness and winning because what really makes us happy in life is to be able to help someone else.  Have you learned the lesson from the Gospel today.  Can you say, Amen?  Amen.  Can you say bye, bye to Roary?

A Sermon for Children about the Cross of Christ

What is the most important sign of the Christian religion?  When you look around the church, you see this sign.  Some people wear a necklace and they have this Christian sign done in gold or silver.

  The sign I am talking about is the cross. 

  Why is the cross the sign of Christianity?  Was it a pleasant or happy sign?  It was not a happy sign, because it was used to put Jesus to death.  The only reason that it is a happy sign for us today, because Jesus came back to life and showed us how we can have hope and happiness in our world that has sadness and death.

  So the cross is an important sign for our Christian faith.  And we use this sign in many ways.  We use it as our Christian brand.  Do you know what a brand is for cows?  The cowboys will burn a mark on a cow, with the sign of their ranch, so that if the cow wanders away, they will be able to tell who the lost cow belongs to.

  Did you know that the cross is like our Christian brand?  Do you know what happens after we are baptized?  The priest dips his thumb into some special oil called chrism and then draws a cross on the forehead of the person who has been baptized and the priest says: You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptized and marked as Christ own forever.  Can you trace that sign on your forehead now and remember that you belong to Christ.

  We make the sign of the cross on our selves and over things, to remember that we belong to Christ and that we dedicate our lives and the things of our lives to God.  We make the sign of the cross in our worship as a way of punctuating the words that we say: like before the Gospel or before receiving communion.

  Today is the Sunday before a special feast day, the feast of the Holy Cross.  This was a day that celebrates the building of a famous church in Jerusalem when they believed a piece of cross of Jesus was found, many years after he had died.

  Jesus said something in a riddle.  He said that we had to take up our cross.  He said that we had to lose our lives in order to gain our lives.  What does that mean?  The life that we have to lose is not our physical life where our heart stops beating.  It is the life of our soul, our psychological life that we must lose in order to gain it.  When we learn something at school we are losing our old life of ignorance and gaining a life of knowledge.  Whenever we want to change our lives and make them better, we have to lose something of our former lives in order to make them better. 

  And we are asked to take up our cross, not because Jesus wants us to die.  The cross of Jesus is a sign of sacrifice.  Sacrifice is the most important principle in life.  Sacrifice is needed for family and community to survive.  If people only did selfish things for themselves, then we would not be able to survive.  The Cross of Christ is a most important sign to us, because it is a reminder that we need to say no to our selfishness in order to learn and in order to help other people. 

  So today we celebrate the cross of Christ as an important sign of our lives.  Repeat after me: I am seal with the Holy Spirit, and I am marked as Christ’s own forever.  Amen.

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist
September 12, 2021: The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs:  There Is a Redeemer;   Lord, Be Glorified; Lift High the Cross;

Song: There Is a Redeemer  (Renew! # 232)

There is a Redeemer, Jesus, God own Son, precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One.

Refrain:  Thank you, O my Father, for giving us your Son; and leaving your Spirit ‘til the work on earth is done.

Jesus, my Redeemer, name above all names, precious Lamb of God, Messiah, hope for sinners slain. 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

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, 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 letter of James

For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 116

Then I called upon the Name of the LORD: * "O LORD, I pray you, save my life."

Gracious is the LORD and righteous; * our God is full of compassion.
The LORD watches over the innocent; * I was brought very low, and he helped me.

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

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon:  Fr. 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 Lift Your Name on High,   Renew! #4

Lord, I lift your name on high; Lord, I love to sing Your praises.  I’m so glad you’re in my life.  I’m so glad you came to save us.  You came from heaven to earth to show the way, from the earth to the cross, my debt to pay.  From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky; Lord, I lift your name on high!

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.

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,

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:  Lord, Be Glorified (Renew!  # 172)

In our hearts, Lord, be glorified, be glorified.  In our hearts, Lord, be glorified today.

In our homes, Lord, be glorified, be glorified, in our homes, Lord, be glorified today.

In your church, Lord, be glorified, be glorified, in your church, Lord, be glorified today.

In your world, Lord, be glorified, be glorified, in your world, Lord, be glorified today.

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: Song: Lift High the Cross  (blue hymnal  # 473)

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

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

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

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Having Favorites Without Favortism

15 Pentecost P.18 September 5, 2021
Is. 35: 4-7,  Ps. 146
James 1:17-27 Mark 7:31-37
Lectionary Link

Performing good works through faith is one of the messages of the Epistle of James, a book that was not fully appreciated by Martin Luther because he thought that it contradicted St. Paul's emphasis: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast."

One of the weaknesses of Martin Luther and many people who call themselves evangelical is that they are "too much pro-eternal life, and not enough pro-this life."  If one is willing to accept grace to get into heaven, then one should also accept grace to get one's act together here and now and do what is good.

I believe that our readings today encourage to have the kind of faith which knows how to distinguish between having favorites and being slaves to favoritism.

It is impossible to live and not have favorites.  How can your home team not be your favorite?  To live and be located in environments with familiar people, places and life activities means that one has personal affinities.  

You might like chocolate ice cream better than strawberry or vice versa.  You might like rap music better than classical music or vice versa.  We cannot help but have personal affinities in our lives.  We have favorites.   And even mom and dad might strategically use the trope of favoritism.  "Phil, you are my favorite child."  And what does that mean?  It means that in the very moment that I was alone with them, I was their favorite in that moment.

It is a mystery of how we come to have favorite, except to say that our favorites in some way pleasure us, make us feel good, and provide us with some satisfying identity.  Your favorite team may always lose, but still one gets some sort of special identity even from a losing team.

How is favoritism deconstructed?  I think favoritism is deconstructed by tapping into God's favoritism.  God's deconstructs favoritism by saying "I love and favor all of you equally, because each of you is a different child made in the divine image."

This sense of being God's favorite is what true esteem is built upon.  If we can know such esteem from God, then we won't be so hurt or elated by the fickle favoritism of other people toward us.

How do we abuse the favoritism of God?  By assuming that God favors me more than God favors you or other people, especially those who live in a different country, or who look completely different than I do.

One might say that Jesus appeared in this world to correct some abuse of the "most favored status" that many Jewish people thought that they had.

God loves us more than God loves Gentiles and we have all of this history in our beloved sacred writings to prove it.

By assuming God's special favoritism toward us, we feel justified to practice segregation from other people who obviously don't have the same favor of God.  And what happens in religious communities?  They become segregated communities which highlight their different identities rather than their common humanity which is about bearing the image of God.

In our practice of favoritism we betray the image of God which resides equally upon all people.

How do we remain loyal to the gifts of God which make us good and at the same time recognized and appreciate that God works in different ways and shares different gifts with other people which fit into their life circumstances?

We have some hints on how not to be be slaves to our personal affinities from our readings from today's appointed Scriptures.

First, we need to go out of our way to people people who are different from us.  As people we can get very clannish and clubbish and not socialize outside our immediate circle, both out of pride and out of fear.

Jesus went outside of his familiar territory with his disciples to encounter a foreigner, the woman from Tyre who had a sick daughter.

Let us go out of our comfort zones to meet people who are different than us.

Next is to highlight things which are common to humanity.  What do we all like?  We all are in favor of good health.  What do we hate?  We all hate illness  and sickness, and especially the sickness of one's child.  Sometimes disasters bring people together who normally stay separated, because a big need requires greater unified actions.   But we shouldn't just need disasters to bring us together; healthy things like general blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should also bring us together.

Jesus employed a challenge to the common prejudice to highlight that faith is the way to overcome favoritism and prejudice.  The foreign woman said, "Jesus, make my daughter well. "  Jesus replies, "But what about the common bias of separation regarding things being exclusively for Jews and foreigners having their own special practice."  The woman replies, "Okay but even the crumbs of blessing are better than no blessing at all.  Throw me a crumb Jesus; my daughter's health is more important than separation between our ethnic groups."

And Jesus said, "Bingo, your faith has made it happen."  And this rhetorical device is a teaching for the church in the Gospels.  The health and blessing of God belongs to all and to have faith is to receive it and to share it.

The writer of James exposes the sheer silliness of dividing faith and works.  If someone is hungry do serve them a sandwich of faith or a drink of faith or do you actual give them a sandwich which is your active faith and a cup of water which is your active faith?  I will pray that you have faith to deal with your poverty...bye, bye.  That is the hypocrisy of dividing faith from works.

We overcome our favoritism by not dividing faith from the work of faith; by keeping them intricately connected.

So, let us enjoy our favorite things today, even our favorite people, but let not our favorite things or people make us believe that our favorites are God's exclusive favorites.  For us, let our faith mean the growing of our hearts toward the largesse of God's love so that the love does not stay inside of us but mobilizes our actions of care and love for others.  This is Gospel faith of Jesus Christ.  Amen.