Sunday School, February 27, 2022 Last Sunday after the Epiphany C

 Sunday School, February 27, 2022  Last Sunday after the Epiphany C

Themes:

The last Sunday before the Lenten fast from the word Alleluia.

Saving this special word of celebration for the Easter celebration.  During Lent we do not use this special word of celebration.

Event: Make a “mock” coffin and put the word “Alleluia” in it and put it in a “burial place” for Lent.

Other themes:

Mountain tops in the geography of the Bible.  Important things happened on the tops of mountains.

The Story of Moses:  He received the Law, the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai.  When he received the Law, he got so close to God that his face shone.  Mount Sinai was covered with clouds so that people could not see the presence of God.

Elijah had special experiences on top of mountains.  On Mount Carmel, he challenged the prophets of the god Baal.  And the God of Elijah sent down fire from heaven.  When Elijah was in a Mountain cave, he had a special experience of God speaking to him in a “still small voice.”

Moses and Elijah had special endings to their lives on earth.  Moses had an unwitnessed death and God buried Moses.   Elijah was carried away into heaven on the chariots of fire.  So Moses and Elijah were like “space men.”  They could travel back and forth from the heavenly space to the earthly space.  So Moses and Elijah met with Jesus and three of his disciple on the Mount of Transfiguration.  In this special event, the voice of God declared Jesus to be God’s chosen Son.  This declaration was witnessed by Moses, Elijah, Peter, James and John.

Mountains are the highest places on earth.  They symbolize the place where earth touches the sky.  They symbolize the event of the God experience of men and women.

Each of us has a “mountain top” within us where God meets us and shows us how important Jesus is to our lives.

Sermon

Today the Last Sunday of the Season of Epiphany.  And it is also called transfiguration Sunday.

  We have read the story about how the face of Jesus shone very bright.  And we have made some sunshine haloes to wear today to remember the transfiguration of Jesus.

  Do you think that you could ever make your face shine like a light bulb?

  Let’s try something.  Let us try to make our faces look real sad.  Can you do that?  And what if we walked around all of the time with sad faces?  Would you like that?  No, the world would seem dark, if we had to have sad faces all of the time.

  Okay, let switch.  Let make happy faces and faces of surprise and excitement.  Isn’t that better?  When we have faces of happiness, joy and gladness, doesn’t it make it seem as though our faces are shining?

  When do you have a happy face?  When good things happen to you.  When some one is kind and nice to you.  We smile and we get happy.  When we are happy our face is full of light.

  So we should learn to make our faces shine with happiness.  And we should learn how to make the faces of other people shine with joy and happiness.

  The word Gospel means good news.  To receive the good news about God’s love makes us happy.  It makes our faces shine.  And there are many people who help us to have good news in our lives.

  But getting good news and being happy is not enough.  We need to do something else.  We need to learn how to make the faces of other people shine with happiness.  How can we do that?

  By being kind.  By helping.  By loving.

  When you play nicely with your friends and brothers and sisters, you make them happy.  You make your parents happy when you help with house work.  You make your parent happy when you study hard.  And your parents love to make you happy by doing nice things for us.

  So remember today, the Transfiguration of Jesus when his face shone with a bright light.

  We too can have faces that shine with happiness and joy because of the good things in our life.  And also we can help the faces of other people shine with happiness and joy as we practice love and kindness.

  Okay let me see your best happy face!  Wow is room getting bright.  I’m going to have to put on my sun glasses. 

Intergeneration Family Service with Holy Eucharist

February 27, 2022: The Last Sunday after the Epiphany C

Gathering Songs: Climb up Sunshine Mountain; Shine, Jesus, Shine; You are My All in All; Awesome God

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: Climb, Climb up Sunshine Mountain (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 30)

Climb, climb up sunshine mountain heavenly breezes blow.  Climb, climb up sunshine mountain faces all aglow.  Turn, turn from sin and doubting, look to God on high.  Climb, climb up Sunshine Mountain, you and I.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, who before the passion of your only­ begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

Liturgist: A reading from the Book of Genesis

Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 99

The LORD is great in Zion; * he is high above all peoples.

Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; * he is the Holy One.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

About eight days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

Offertory Hymn: Shine, Jesus Shine (Renew! # 247)

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

Refrain: Shine Jesus Shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory.  Blaze, Spirit, blaze set our hearts on fire.  Flow, rivers, flow, fill the nations with thy grace and mercy.  Send forth your word, Lord, and let there be light.

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

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through

Jesus Christ our Lord.

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.  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: 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 Hymn: You are My All in All (WR#427)

You are my strength when I am weak, you are the Treasure that I seek, you are my All in All. Seeking you as a precious jewel, Lord, to give up I’d be a fool, you are my All in All! Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy is your name. Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy is your name.

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: Awesome God (Renew! # 245)

Our God is an awesome God, he reigns from heaven above, with wisdom, power and love.

(Sung three times)

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

If We Are the Empire, How Do We Live the Beatitudes?

7 Epiphany C February 20, 2022

Genesis 45:3-11, 15 Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42
1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50 Luke 6:27-38
Lectionary Link



You and I are language users, and what does this mean? It means that we make meanings. To have language is always to be at the task of coming to meanings of our lives.
One of the big questions of meaning has to do with our continuity. We notice so many endings, the endings like deaths, and we wonder about continuity.

And so, we create meaning as a way to preserve ourselves. We create our story to pass on to preserve ourselves in the world which survives us. And this is what it means to be biblical people. The people of the past received the great oral stories from the pre-historical times, and they began to weave them with the events which were happening to the people of Israel. And at some point they did not want the story to remain simply an oral story, because if people died the oral tradition would be broken, so the story came to writing and to text as a technology of memory. In the writings, people and community could continue to live into the future.

Jacob and Joseph are figures from the pre-history oral period of history. Jacob had his name changed to Israel, and his sons and Joseph’s son became the twelve tribes of Israel. The story of Jacob and Israel is a story of having land and being in exile from it, and keeping the story of community and land alive even when in exile.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came from Chaldean roots but were given Promised Land in their covenant with God. So, how was the land of Jacob lost and how did the people of Israel end up in Egypt to be prepared for the really big Exodus event?

This is explained in the story of Joseph. Joseph was the precocious, first son of Jacob and Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel. He was a dreamer and as daddy’s favorite, he was given a special coat many colors which he paraded in, in front of his brothers, while he told them his dreams about how all of them would someday bow down to him. They were not amused; they were tired of his boasting, so they arranged to fake his death by a wild animal. They smeared animal blood on Joseph’s cost and showed Jacob, who was left to grieve the apparent loss his son. Meanwhile, Joseph was taken by slave traders to Egypt, and through his cleverness and his ability to interpret dreams, Joseph rose to become the chief administrator of the Pharoah. He oversaw the entire agriculture economy during a severe famine. This widespread famine brought Joseph’s brothers to Egypt for grain, and Joseph knew who they were, and he manipulated to get them to bring Jacob and the entire family into Egypt to survive the famine. Joseph proclaimed his forgiveness, and he proclaimed the providence of God in all of the seeming misadventures caused by his jealous brothers. He said to them, “So it was not you who sent me here, but God…” The story of Joseph is a story of radical forgiveness and reconciliation that reveals the providence of God in the lives of God’s people.

The beatitudes from the Gospel of Luke are for people who did not have a Promised Land. The words of the beatitude arise for a people who lived after Jerusalem had been destroyed and the people who followed Jesus were scattered to live in the cities controlled by the Roman Emperor.

We cannot fully understand the beatitudes unless we understand the Promised Land of the early churches. What was their Promised Land.? It was heaven, an other-worldly place, that they would be ushered into when the day of the Lord was to arrive at any moment.

Why settle in if the Lord’s Day is soon? The beatitudes were the martial arts program of living for people who had no power in the Roman Empire and who waited in their temporary locations until they would be able to enter their promised land when the Lord’s Day would come.

Beatitude living is how one impresses one’s oppressors, so that one doesn’t get killed by being filled with rage and resisting. We should be able to appreciate why Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., adopted the non-violent method of resistance of the beatitudes. For the early followers of Jesus, it was a matter of surviving until the rescue of the Day of the Lord. And so, live in such a way that one could attract other people to be ready for this Day of the Lord.

The earliest New Testament writing is St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. Members of the Thessalonian church were worried that some of their members had died before the day of the Lord, so they worried about their faithful departed who did not live to see that day. Paul comforted them with his understanding of resurrection lifestyle. In the Epistle that we’ve read today, Paul further tries to articulate the meaning of our future continuity as people in the new reality of the afterlife.

Can we appreciate how different our context is today as we read these writings which derived from such radically different experiences and different understandings of impending future life?

First of us, we are not oppressed people by the Empire. We are the Empire. We have called ourselves Christians and have ancestors who long held slaves. Our country was founded upon the major economy of holding slaves. The slaves were those who were required to live the practices of the beatitudes to survive. To survive they had to be graciously compliant slaves, to gain the favor of their masters and to avoid threats to their lives. We are also Christian peoples who conquered native peoples and drove them from their land. We called them enemies, and what does, “loving our enemies” mean if we made them enemies through our domination.

You and I live in the two thousand years of waiting for the Lord’s day, which has not happened. We’ve become very settled in for the very long haul.

So, how can you and I honestly appropriate the beatitudes and the writings of Paul about the resurrection?

First, we need to repent of our oppressive empire behaviors toward people who have borne the brunt of oppression and who have continued to suffer the lack of fully meaningful restoration of equal justice for their lives.

To be beatitude Christians today means that we must be those who are against any form of oppression. The beatitude behaviors of kindness are behaviors which seek to establish an equality in the distributions of the blessings of life to all people. And to this beatitude lifestyle we need to be committed.

And what about resurrection life? If the image of God upon our lives means that there is something incorruptible about us, then we need to live with hope that such incorruption will be able to reconstitute all of us in a future order which will allow us the chance to finally get our act together with God and with each other.

Let us seek to live beatitude ideals while we are alive; and let us hope that the time of the resurrection is on our side to finish what love asks of us in our lives. Amen.

Beatitudes as Christian Martial Arts

7 Epiphany C February 20, 2022

Genesis 45:3-11, 15 Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42

1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50 Luke 6:27-38

Lectionary Link

 

In the grand epic of the Hebrew Scriptures, from the period of the patriarchs, the story of Joseph stands as the irony of providence which led to the chance of forgiveness and reconciliation, and things being happy, not ever after, but for a short time.

 

We like stories with big emotional meaning and that is what the Joseph story is.  Joseph was as a boy, the favorite of his daddy Jacob, born of his daddy's favorite wife Rachel.  Joseph was a dreaming, precocious, boy, who sported a multi-colored coat in which he pranced like a model on a runway in front of his brothers.  He was flaunting his most favored status in front of his brothers, and telling them his dreams about how they would be bowing down to venerate him.  This was not a good way for him to impress his older brothers who were sons of Leah, the less favored wife of Jacob.   The brothers seized Joseph faked his death and threw him into a pit; told his dad that a wild beast had attacked him, killed him, and they showed him the coat of many colors with animal blood on it as proof of his death.

 

Joseph was taken as a slave into Egypt and with his cleverness, he rose to become a powerful administrator for the Pharaoh to oversee his drought management program with his predictions of seven bumper crop years to store up grain, and seven years of controlling the grain market during the drought,  And this drought brought his older brothers to Egypt for grain and supplies, and like a good play, Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.  He played a game with him to get them to fetch his younger brother and bring his dad Jacob into Egypt during the famine, and in Egypt they became the people of Israel.

 

At the moment of mutual recognition of Joseph and his brother, there was fear experienced by the brothers.  They feared that Joseph would exact revenge for leaving him in the pit.  And what did Joseph do?  He declared his forgiveness and he declared after many years of waiting, his life was the providence of God for the survival of his family.

 

When things work out for good, we declare providence.  It didn't seem like things were going right; but everything finally came to affirm the "rightness" of all that had happened.

 

But can everything seeming to turn out right, really justify the injustice and the cruelty that was part of the story?  Does the resurrection actually make right what happened to Jesus on the Cross?  Providence cannot make cruelty right and acceptable or even reconciled.

 

Probably the biggest wish of hope is that everything will and can be reconciled in a marvelous way, but such a wish may seem to cancel out as meaningless all the suffering.

 

Joseph was left alone as a kid in a big hole.  He was captured by slave traders and became a slave in Egypt.  He was able to rise as high as any slave could rise in Egypt because of his cleverness.

 

In the time of the early churches, how could the early Christians believe that it was God's will for them and the world to live under the oppression of the Roman Empire?  How could they live their lives outwardly without harm, and yet still maintain the values of their inward mystical experience?  How could they live this mystical experience in a way that would make people curious about why they were the way that they were?

 

Amish people can drive their buggies while the rest of us drive on superhighways and ride on the information highway at breakneck speed.  Some people might want to get off the modern highway for the permanent Amish retreat.   The early Christians could not live as Amish; they had to be seen by Roman authorities and other Roman citizens.  How could they live winsomely and not ask for basic citizenship justice for themselves?

 

This is where the beatitude martial arts program comes in.  It is not natural to love one's enemies. It is not natural to bless those who hate you.  It is not natural to give your coat and shirt away to one who has neither.  It is not natural to give to every beggar, and allow a borrower to keep what they've taken.  

 

Do you and I want to be loved by our enemies?  Do we want those who hate us to bless us?  Do we want to beg and receive?  Do we want to borrow and not return what we've borrowed? 

 

When oppression is the normal state from which there is no easy freedom without having one's life end, how does one live?

 

One dreams about how one would like to be treated, and instead of demanding such, one treats other people the way that one wants to be treated.  This is the golden rule.  This is the categorical imperative of the philosopher Immanuel Kant

 

We hope for ideal behaviors in the middle of everything being far from ideal.  And if the oppressor is the cause of things not being ideal, what are we supposed to do?  We are not supposed to stand with the oppressor, we are to act in accordance with the ideal because that is the resistance to the evil of oppression.  Gandhi knew this, Martin Luther King Jr. knew this, and this is the martial arts teaching of the words of Jesus for people who had to live under oppressing conditions.

 

When we are faced with oppressors, do not join them.  Resist them by living the ideals of goodness.   But this is not easy.  It takes our entire lives and an afterlife to attain a 10th degree black belt status in the martial arts of Christ-like living.

 

The sad thing today is that the Christian lifestyle has been used to uphold the lifestyles of the oppressors in direct contradictions to these difficult martial arts of Christ-like living.  We have lived too long on the side of the oppressing empires to see how we have forced people of color and native peoples to live the martial arts of Christ-like living so as not to rise up and revolt against the rule of the wealthy and powerful.

 

The Gospel for us today is to live with the hope that forgiveness and reconciliation can always be attained in degrees on an individual scale, but also on grand scale.  Even as Joseph's ill-fated trip to Egypt ended up saving his family; it also became the place of the slavery of the people of Israel, from which they needed to be delivered.

 

And what does this tell us?  That oppression and slavery are ongoing forces that can be defeated in temporary victories like the end of Apartheid and the declaration of emancipation, but we can never rest in the temporary moments of forgiveness and reconciliation, for time and human nature, and the temptations of having absolute power lead to further situations of oppression.

 

The tasks for us as Christians who have had freedom from oppression, is to convert our positions of privilege, wealth, and power to serve the overthrow of oppression.  For Christians in America to live the beatitudes, means that we must be those who liberate people from systematic poverty, racism and any condition that is not worthy of the dignity of the image of God upon our lives.

 

The beatitudes of Jesus ask us to convert the power, wealth and privilege of our lives for the salvation health of all people and our environment.  Let us commit ourselves to the profound martial arts of the beatitudes today, which means nothing less than being Christ-like.  Amen.

Sunday School, February 20, 2022, 7 Epiphany C

 

Sunday School, February 20, 2022,  7 Epiphany C

Themes

Our country is sometimes called the “melting pot.”   Why, because we are a country made up of people who have come here from many other places in the world, people who look different and who have spoken different languages and have different religions and belong to different Christian churches.

Why do we like our country?  Because we have this great ideal.  We want to grow toward life, liberty and happiness and justice for all. 

Jesus started this great ideal a long time ago.  He said to love our enemies.  He said we should treat other people in the same way that we want them to treat us.

The early church was a new community of people learning how to live together in love.  Jews, Gentiles from all parts of the Roman Empire, rich and poor people, all were learning how to love each other and live together.

How do we learn to live together in love?  We learn to forgive each other.  We don't practice pay back. 

When someone does something to hurt us, one of the first responses is to want to “pay them back.”

Did you ever watch a football game or hockey game and see a player get angry and hit another player?  And the player who got hit, hits back.  And the referee calls a penalty on the person who hit back.  Why?  The referee did not see the first hit.  The referee only saw the  pay back and so the second player received a penalty.  And it is not fair, but it shows that if we always want to “pay back” people who hurt us, then we usually get in more trouble than the person who hurt us.

Family members are close and share many nice things, but family members still often fight with each other.  Why?  Because we still have disagreements. 

Jesus said that we have to learn how to live with each other and learn how to be different and how to disagree without being disagreeable or hurtful.

Why should I forgive other people?  Well, I will find out that I am not perfect and that I will need to be forgiven by others too.  So, we need to obey Jesus and adopt forgiveness as the rule of our community.

Why do the rules of Jesus seem difficult?  Because it is difficult to live with people who are different from us.  But it is very important that we value our relationships with each other, because we all need other people.

The rules of Jesus seem difficult because living in a community can sometimes be very difficult.  This is why we need God and we need to ask God for forgiveness and then we need to forgive each other.

Jesus Christ came to say that God belongs to everyone.  And if God belongs to everyone, everyone needs to learn how to live together, even if people seem to be so different as to be called enemies.   We still have to share this life with other people, even those who are different from us so Jesus founded a way to live together and this way of living together became called the church or a fellowship.

The church is a group of different people learning to live together and practice forgiveness because we have been called by Jesus to live a life of forgiveness.

Sermon

The story of Joseph is a story of forgiveness.  Joseph had many brothers.  His father was named Jacob.  The brothers of Joseph were jealous of Joseph because they thought their dad Jacob favored Joseph.  Jacob gave a special rainbow-colored coat to Joseph.  Joseph was a dreamer and he used to kind of brag in front of his brothers about his dreams.  His brothers became angry and to get rid of him, they sold him into slavery and took his coat and put some animal blood on it and showed the coat to their dad and they said that a wild animal had killed Joseph.  Jacob thought Joseph was dead and he was sad.  But Joseph went to Egypt as a slave, but he was so clever he became the chief minister for the Pharaoh.  When a bad drought came, the brothers of Joseph came to Egypt to get food and supplies, and Joseph saw them but they did not recognize Joseph because he had grown up and he looked like an Egyptian.  When the brothers of Joseph discovered who Joseph was, they thought that Joseph would punish them for selling him into slavery.  But Joseph forgave them.  He said God had helped him to become successful so that he could help his brothers and his father Jacob survive a very hard time of drought.

Forgiveness is never easy.  That is why we ask God to help us forgive.  And we believe that forgiveness helps heal relationships.  Forgiveness is like a band aid on wound.  Forgiveness is what heals hurt in our families and our communities.

Amen.

  

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

February 20, 2022  The Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, Jesus Bids Us Shine, Spirit of the Living God,

May the Lord

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: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus (All the Best Songs for Kids #130)

I have decided to follow Jesus, (3x) No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me (3x) No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow (3x) No turning back, no turning back.

Will you decide now, to follow Jesus? (3x) No turning back, no turning back.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

Liturgist: A reading from Genesis.

Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him because they were so upset to see him. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life from famine. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there, since there are five more years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.'" And Joseph kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 37

1          Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; * do not be jealous of those who do wrong.

2          For they shall soon wither like the grass, * and like the green grass fade away.

3          Put your trust in the Lord and do good; * dwell in the land and feed on its riches.

4          Take delight in the Lord, * and he shall give you your heart's desire.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, "I say to you, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us  

     by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:                       And also with you.

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

Offertory Hymn: Jesus Bids Us Shine, (The Christian Children Songbook, #132)

Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light, Like a little candle burning in the night; In this world of darkness, we must shine, You in your small corner and I in mine.

Jesus bids us shine first of all for Him, Well he sees and knows it if our light is dim; He looks down from heaven, sees us shine.  You in your small corner and I in mine.

Jesus bids us shine as we work for Him, bring those that wander from the paths of sin; He will ever help us if we shine, You in your small corner and I in mine.

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: 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 Hymn: Spirit of the Living God, (Renew # 90)

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me. Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me.

Spirit of the living God move among us all; Spirit of the living God, make us one in love.

Humble, caring, selfless, sharing; Spirit of the living God, fill our lives with love.

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

     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 Edelweiss)

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! 

Beatitude and Woe-itude

6 Epiphany C, February 13, 2022

Jeremiah 17:5-10 Psalm 1
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Luke 6:17-26

Lectionary Link

We have read the version of the beatitudes from Luke's Gospel today.  This version differs in distinctive ways from the version found in Matthew's Gospel as exemplified in the contrast between "Bless are the poor in spirit..."  And Blessed are the poor....."  Luke seems to be more interested in the actual condition poverty and this is consistent with the themes throughout this Gospel which pertain to the outcast, the foreigner, women, and people of dire circumstances.

It is also contrasted with what I would coin as the Woe-attitudes.

We might look at communication purposes for the presentation of the counter-logic of the beatitudes and the woe-itudes.  Blessed are the poor...woe to the rich.  Blessed are the hungry...woe to those who have their fill of food.  Blessed are you who weep...Woe are you who are laughing.  Blessed are you when people hate you...woe are you when people speak well of you.

What are we to make of this shock speech and counter-logic?  What is the wisdom and teaching purpose of using speech this way?  If taken literally, it might seem to reinforce the habit of machochism, and we don't need that in our world.  So, what is going on here.

I think that the purpose of is to challenge some of the common stereotypes in life in our thinking.  Like money makes us happy.  If you don't have money you can't be happy.  All flattery from other people is good and genuine and to be believed.  If people hate you, you must be doing something wrong.  People who eat well and to excess are really healthy people.  People who don't have enough to eat are unhealthy people.  People who laugh give indication of good emotional intelligence.   People who weep are just the unhealthy chronically depressed.

All of these common logic assumptions are not necessarily true.  The words of Jesus in his extreme beatitudes and woe-ititudes challenge the common logic that one's faith and spiritual life is totally determined by the good or bad things which are happening in one's material conditions and social interaction at any given time.

The Gospel for the people in the church of the writer of St. Luke is this: you and I can have a faith in God and in Jesus Christ which will accompany us and be consistent with our eternal spiritual well-being no matter what our life circumstances.

But God, what about when people hate us?  What about when we have financial need?  What about when we are hungry?  What about when we weep with the losses of life?   What about when we have the self-disillusionment like Jeremiah and discover the deviousness and perversity of the heart?  What when we are tempted to believe in death without resurrection as St. Paul wrote about?  Can all of these situation still be the occasion for us to be integrated with the sense of oneness with God's love and plan and care for our lives?  The Gospel answer is yes we can.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

Let us get with the higher logic of the Gospel of Christ who integrates us with the well-being the love of God in every life situation.

And then what do we do?  We go forth being beatitude people and not woe-itude people.  We seek ways for people to have enough.  We seek to bless people with enough to eat.  We seek to minister comfort and care to people who are faced with the many losses in life?  We seek to be those who bless with words of kindness and esteem forsaking all false flattery and persecuting words.

Let us become beatitude people, blessing people with good news of God in Christ, and let us forsake and resist the woe-itudes of life.  Amen.