Sunday School, October 8, 2023 19 Pentecost, A proper 22

  Sunday School, October 8, 2023    19 Pentecost, A proper 22

Theme:

Laws and Rules

Why do we have them?

What kind of rules do we have?

For the Highway?  For our family?  At school?  In our games?

There are many rules.

What is the most popular set of rules called?  They are found in the Bible?

The 10 Commandments.

Do you like “no” words or “yes” words?

We like “yes” words because they are words of permission.

How can we say the 10 Commandments using, “Yes we can, instead of no you can’t?

Respect God as the very best.

Treat everything that God has made as good but not as you treat God.

Respect, honor and be courteous and polite about the Name of God.

Show God that you respect God by giving God special time on a Day of Prayer and at other times too.

Honor and respect the family, moms and dads, husbands and wives, and spouses and their promises.

Respect the importance of each person’s life

Enjoy what you have and respect the property of other people.

Honor and tell the truth; Be honest.

Be content with what you have as you honor and respect what other people have.

These are all “yes” rules.  They show what we can do if we honor God as most important in our lives.  When we honor God, we can find God’s power in us to give ability to do good things for all people in our lives.

Sermon:

The most famous list of rules in the Bible.  What is it called?  The 10 Commandments.  These are rules that start by saying that we need to make God the one whom we worship.  How do we do that?  We don’t let God have any competitors.  We give God special respect and  time of worship.  We don’t misuse God’s name.  If we make God most important in our lives, then this is what helps us live together well.  The 10 Commandments have rules that help us live together well.  How?  We respect parents and husband and wives. We respect families.   We respect the value of life.  We respect property of each other.  We tell the truth and are honest.  We learn to be content in our lives and not want the things of other.

Jesus told a parable about people who lived and used someone else’s property but they pretended that the property belonged to them.  They would not pay rent and they disrespected everyone who came to collect rent even the owner’s son.

Jesus told this story to show us what can happen to us when we don’t honor God as the owner of life.  We live selfishly toward God and each other when we don’t admit that everything in the world belongs to God.

Jesus was trying to tell people that God is generous and God’s shares everything with us.  Jesus was trying to say we can enjoy what we have and treat each other the best when we worship God as the owner of all life. 

Let us remember to respect God by learning the best rules.  This will help us be people who  treat each other well and who find real pleasure and enjoyment for the things that God has given to us.

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

October 8, 2023: Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Give Thanks, Lord of all Hopefulness, Glorify the Lord, Pass It On

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

People:            And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Seek Ye First  (Blue Hymnal, # 711)

1          Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you; Allelu, alleluia.  Refrain: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, allelu, alleluia.

2          Ask, and it shall be given unto you, seek, and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you; Allelu, alleluia!  Refrain

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.

First Litany of Praise: 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

Liturgist:  A reading from the Book of Exodus

Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.  Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work.  Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 19

The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul; * the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent.

8 The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart; * the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes.

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 Matthew

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, `They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, `This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:            And also with you.

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

Offertory Music Thy Word, (Renew! #94)

Refrain: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path

1          -When I feel afraid, think I’ve lost my way, still you’re right beside me.  And nothing will I fear as long as you are near.  Please be near me to the end.  Refrain.

2          -I will not forget your love for me, and yet my heart forever is wandering.  Jesus, be my guide and hold me to your side; and I will love you to the end.  Refrain

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

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

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

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

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Breaking of the Bread

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

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Hymn:  I Am the Bread of Life,   (blue hymnal  # 335)

I am the bread of life, they who come to me shall not hunger; they who believe in me shall not thirst.  No one can come to  me unless the Father draw them.  And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day.

I am the resurrection, I am the life, they who believe in me, even if they die, they shall live forever.  And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day.

Yes Lord we believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world. And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: I Want to Walk As a Child of the Light, (Renew # 152)

I want to walk as a child of the light; I want to follow Jesus.  God set the stars to bring light to the world; the star of my life is Jesus.  Refrain: In Him there is no darkness at all, the night and the day are both alike.  The Lamb is the light of the city of God: Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.

I want to see the brightness of God; I want to look at Jesus.  Clear Sun of righteousness, shine on my path, and show me the way to the Father.     Refrain

Dismissal:   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Christ As A Study in Authority and Power

18 Pentecost, a p 21, October 1, 2023
Exodus 17:1-7 Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Philippians 2:1-13 Matthew 21:23-32

Lectionary Link

The Christian presentation of God is ironically about the voluntary weakness of God.  And this might seem oxymoronic since the definitional essence of God would mean that God has no rival in power and authority.

Our common notion of power and authority involve persons or entities which are able to dominate, suppress, oppress, intervene anywhere at will and enforce their willful desires upon anyone.  This means our common notion of power means being able to be an individual or a corporate tyrant.

Certainly Machiavelli tried to dress up the ugliness of a tyrant's power with appearances of power diplomacy but the common political meaning of power, is how to get one's power goals by any means possible.

God in Christ in the presentation of his life is a very counter notion of power and authority.

The Gospel interlocutors asked Jesus by what authority he was doing what he did, in his teaching and in his healing, and in his new presentation of what God wants of us.  How Jesus answered was by implying that the authority healing is in effect upon the person healed and the authority of teaching in the enlightening effect upon the learners life.  He did this by asking them about the authority of John the Baptist.  The ministry of John the Baptist had gained a crowd and the success of baptism and repentance in the lives of people was a legitimizing authority and it was so significant that the interlocutors of Jesus did not want to question the authority of John's success.

Where then does authority come from?  It comes from doing the will of God.  Not saying that we will do the right things, but actually doing what is right.  The parable of Jesus indicates that there were people who could not get their words and deeds to line up.  Some said that they would do right but didn't, others initially said they would not do what is right, but then became converted to do what was right.  There is an authority which comes in doing what is right.

The location of where authority is found is in will to act.  What is the crucial feature of authority?  The freedom to act.

And this brings us to the ironic authority and power of God in Christ as it is expressed the famous hymn found in the letter to the Philippians.   The authority of the divine is seen in being emptied into the experience of the human person Jesus.  This bespeaks the voluntary weakness of God in being submitted to the free conditions of living within an incredible field of probabilities.  And one probability was the God-human being completely emptied into the experience of death, the seeming state of having no authority, no power, in the state of lifelessness.  The weakness of God is the power of a totally free Being, God, sharing a degree of freedom with everyone and everything and submitting to those very conditions of freedom.  This is what accounts for moral significance, the honoring of the true conditions of freedom in this life.  This is what makes human choices truly worth something.

And now we are called to the same ironic power of God in Christ.  Where we have power, knowledge, and wealth, we are not suppose to grasp equality with these symbols of power as our identity; rather we are to empty the power, knowledge, and wealth into service on behalf of those who don't have enough.  The witness of Christ to power is to equalize the spread of dignity among the people of the world through knowledge, sharing of wealth, and the empowerment of the value of their lives for the well being of the community.

Just as the power of Christ seemed to be nothing compared with the Caesar and the agents of the Roman Empire, today we have the same situation for those who advocate Christly power.  The tyrants and the hoarding greedy wealthy and fame hounds seem to define what power and authority mean today.  Meanwhile in myriads of ways countless numbers of people are using their power to empower other people through plain everyday ordinary service.  It may not be flashy or noticed but every child who gets tended to exemplifies the kind of power of the humility of Christ who always, everywhere inspires sacrificial service.

We live in this weakness of God, which is known as the sacrificial power of service to others to equalize the spread of manifold gifts which are present within this world.  This sacrificial power is known and manifested in the freedom to do the will God, which is the promotion of love and justice in this world.  Let us discover this emptying grace which gives us the power over selfishness and impels us to serve those in need.  Amen.

Aphorism of the Day, September 2023

Aphorism of the Day, September 30, 2023

In the time of Jesus, what kind of authority did Jesus have?  Caesar had authority through his soldiers and agents, the authority of power to coerce and oppress.  The authority of Jesus was seen in his charismatic winsomeness, but winsomeness in itself can be horrendous mob authority.  The success to comprise a mob is the dark side of charismatic authority.  Winsomeness as ability to unite people is a kind of self evidential authority of a cohesive group.  It can be a dark and violent authority.  The Christ-like authority has the standard of peace, justice, love, kindness offered to all.  What is rightful authority has to be continuously judged by the standard of justice outcomes.

Aphorism of the Day, September 29, 2023

Kenosis refers to the emptying of the divine into Jesus even as he became emptied of his life in death.  The incarnation evokes the insight of the always already continuum between everything thing and every occasion which ironically expresses the fullness of the divine in everything.  God's emptied Self into omnipresence is the filling of all things with the divine presence.

Aphorism of the Day, September 28, 2023

The interrelationship of all beings and all occasions is so vast the cumulative effects on one is hard to know precisely and in the great field of probability we confess the mystery of the great Negligible.  We rightly engage in what most can be gained for effective actions through statistical approximation even while being baffled that a member of the family had a cancer that has never been in the family tree.  Probability theory still must honor the negligible.

Aphorism of the Day, September 27, 2023

The incarnation is a phase on the continuum of the General and the Particular.  Any moment on the continuum only has meaning because the entire continuum is always the dynamic between individual and the synchronic Whole in time becoming.

Aphorism of the Day, September 26, 2023

Saying what we are going to do for future good and doing what we said we would do is to bring congruence between one's words and deeds.  This agreement between speaking what is just and loving and doing what is just and loving is goal of recovering hypocrites who are committed to strive for the ideals, while bemoaning failures to do so, and maintaining the high standards of the ideals to establish the direction for moral improvement.

Aphorism of the Day, September 25, 2023

"Kenosis" or emptying was the Pauline way of saying the particular cannot be erased without erasing the whole.  There is an equality of identity between the particular and the whole because if one assumes the whole, one assume the particulars, and if one assumes the particulars, they are assumed only within and in identity with the whole.  The incarnation is the nuanced identity insight between particular manifestation of divinity and Plenitude.

Aphorism of the Day, September 24, 2023

Justice can seem unfair, even as forgiveness might seem like it is not justice. Justice is the adaptation of what is appropriate to the situation of the person.  So, not all justice looks equal.  We don't let ten year old lawfully drive on the road.

Aphorism of the Day, September 23, 2023

Knowing the realm of God in life means promoting the equal dignity of all in the middle of the messiness of differences.  It means not tolerating injustice.

 Aphorism of the Day, September 22, 2023

The latest is always the first in currency.  Since we cannot but only "be" in the "now," the now is always the latest and that makes "we in the now primary."  The question is how we use our "now" for a better future, for those who need to be "first" in dignity which they don't have now.

Aphorism of the Day, September 21, 2023

The kingdom of heaven is always already access that we have to justice known as the equality of equalizing dignity offered to persons whose resumes are not so long and whose experience and skillsets and talent and wellness status do not determine their inherent worth or lovability.

Aphorism of the Day, September 20, 2023

In interpretation, the latest has the "first" place.  The latest interpreter of all that is former has the ability to designate all that has been in order to serve what is now from one's own point of view.  The last shall be first is true, until the next "latest" arrives.  Time means that one can only be "last" for limited time because we are all succeeded.

Aphorism of the Day, September 19, 2023

The message of Paul is that Christ suffered, meaning that God suffers, and he wrote that this privilege of suffering with Christ is given to his followers.  Suffering is valorized by giving it a cosmic meaning of suffering with God on behalf of the world.  Solidarity in suffering is the identity of the oppressed who are forced to live a Christ-martial arts to survive.  The alternatives to suffering is to live ignoring the suffering of others or to be part of the group which causes suffering for others through lifestyle choices.  And most of us have intermittent loss and suffering while living the other alternatives to suffering.

Aphorism of the Day, September 18, 2023

Why is justice so difficult?  Justice is the wise negotiation within infinite differences.  When it is said that all are equal such equality cannot mean negating manifold differences among people in their DNA, their abilities, and the environments of their upbringing.  It is our perpetual spiritual art to discern what justice means in specific cases.  Laws, customs, traditions and the body of precedence helps prepare us for the new moment of discerning and applying justice in the new situation.

Aphorism of the Day, September 17, 2023

Everlastingness is the evidence of continual forgiveness.  All that is, is allowed to become again in time, but differently only bearing traces of all that was.  The crucial part for creatures with higher volition is whether we will choose to become better in response to the continual forgiveness of having been sustained.

Aphorism of the Day, September 16, 2023

The words of Jesus asks his followers to practice forgiveness in a world of oppression.  Slaves were enslaved, women were subjugated, and the Empire had the legal right of terror against any rivals.  It's as though the words of Jesus are asking church members to practice the act of reconciliation known as forgiveness in hopes for a moral osmosis into the world outside their micro-community.

Aphorism of Day, September 15, 2023

The writers of the Bible called sin or evil what we probably call acts of psychopathology or social pathology today.  The practice of forgiveness was recommended assuming that members of the church were not psychopaths or sociopaths but sometimes inclined to be in conflict with hurtful behaviors.

Aphorism of the Day, September 14, 2023

The notion of forgiveness and unconditional love can be romantically promulgated basic upon an assumptions of "normal" mental health.  What does forgiveness mean when dealing with sociopaths or psychopaths?  Does forgiveness require that two parties actually understand the concept?

Aphorism of the Day, September 13, 2023

We are not supposed to judge one another and we are supposed to forgive one another.  How do we live with our versions of each other?  Our versions of each other are the assessments we have of each other and one's version of another is probably not the one intended by the other.  Each person is inescapably at the center of one's own perceptual universe at the motherboard of incoming data.  Forgiveness, in part, begins by recognizing that each of us have megalomaniacal potential by being "prisoner" masters of our own perceptual universes.  Each is trying to cope with the incoming data through assessments learned from our previous experience.  Forgiveness begins by acknowledging that each of us is a "coping" being.

Aphorism of the Day, September 12, 2023

Can forgiveness be endless?  Is forgiveness conditional?  If you confess and admit your wrong deed, clean up your act, do penance, and promise amendment of life, then forgiveness can happen?  Is forgiveness only possible with punishment and reparations for what has been done wrong?  Can forgiveness happen for the people whom one loathes?  Is the result of forgiveness a forced tolerance of each other?  Forgiveness is a mystery which the early followers of Jesus quoted him on as a requirement for them to exist as a community.  Forgiveness is not so easy to be precise about except to say that when it has occurred, the offender and the offended have the grace of sensing the meaning and significance of it.

Aphorism of the Day, September 11, 2023

One of the alternatives to forgiveness today is what is called "ghosting."  The offense, the disillusionment, the perceived negative impingement of a person on one's existence results is an avoidance and a pretending that the other person no longer exists.  People "ghost" the church because forgiveness does not happen.  When our versions of each other are not favorable, ghosting can be an alternative to forgiveness.  Forgiveness can happen without equating love with "like."

Aphorism of the Day, September 10, 2023

Our group provides us with language context to constitute our life meanings.  It is difficult to see our life meanings which we take for granted until we see other contrasted meanings for comparison.  Education in time is the constant contrasting of meanings so that we can make better choices in flooding the inner word reservoir from which we act out the meanings of our lives.

Aphorism of the Day, September 9, 2023

One is not just geographically located; one is located within a group and a group provides identity and context for value constitution.  The formation of a new group with successful institutional presence is a mystery.  The early Christians believed that church was successful because in the early days of member disagreement they believed that loyalties to the values of Jesus allowed them to experience him as another presence when they gathered.  That presence provided the practical group wisdom to resolve conflict.

Aphorism of the Day, September 8, 2023

Can the mob energy be sanctified?  Does absolute power within a mob corrupt absolutely?  Do actions as a result of mob energy absolve the individual of wrong doing because one is doing it for the group?  The notion of the church and Spirit within Church is based upon the belief that corporate good can amplify and expand over what any individual can do.  But corporate power can result in corporate leaders acting out wrongly.  Ironically, the phrase "two or three gathered in my name and the presence of Christ," actually contextually refers to the group body realizing the presence of Christ in the practice of disciplining or censuring of a member.  One should always be mindful about the potential blindnesses of one's group and what is done on behalf of the group.

Aphorism of the Day, September 7, 2023

Deconstruction as negation.  "Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."  One person is not a gathering, does that mean Christ is not with the individual when the individual is alone?  This might be a hint at the presence which occurs because of what Weber called "collective effervescence."   We personify in language group wisdom, and in the early church the absent Risen Christ was another kind of corporate presence which enhanced the strength in numbers phenomenon.  Mob numbers can strengthen evil; how can the mob mentality be sanctified to render Christly good?

Aphorism of the Day, September 6, 2023

Ponder the body of Christ.  It would refer to the physical body of Jesus of Nazareth.  It was used by Paul as a metaphor for the church.  It is the Eucharistic bread.  It represents the transference of the substantial physical presence of the body to Jesus to another kind of presence of the Risen Christ within the members who claimed to know such a mystical experience of presence.  The New Testament writers use physicality to denoted that something is "really real" or substantial.  The body of Christ highlights the substantial experience which occurs in the event of social fellowship.

Aphorism of the Day, September 5, 2023

Since we are language users and we can call language personal, then we cannot help but personalize our universe and God whom we name as All.

Aphorism of the Day, September 4, 2023

St. Paul's "body of Christ," represented the mystification of the social reality of the church.  Christ as all and in all, was particular all and in all members of the church as the infleshment of the Risen Christ.  In Matthew, it is represented as "two or three gathered in the name of Christ" verifies the presence of Christ.

Aphorism of the Day, September 3, 2023

What most Christians in Western Christianity today have not really grasped is that the New Testament is basically written from and for people who were oppressed and did not have much political or economic power in their world.

Aphorism of the Day, September 2, 2023

Our lives are full of lots of "wishful thinking."  We want favor and goodness, safety and protection, the bad guys to be restrained and punished, and we want to live forever in some way.  Wishful thinking is true; it's empirically true that people are wishful thinkers.  So why might we be offended if the Bible among all kinds of literature includes much wishful thinking.  All of the scenarios of wishful thinking do not actually occur.  Why would we demand that all wishful thinking in biblical wishful thinking actually occur?  Why should we be embarrassed about humanity being wishful thinkers, people of hope who spin scenarios of hope even if they don't actually occur?  Wishful thinkers, people of hope create scenarios which have no proven empirical reality, except the reality of being hopeful.  This is only a problem for people who don't accept the human discursive practices that don't involve the requirement that everything be empirically provable to have legitimate human hopeful meanings.

Aphorism of the Day, September 1, 2023

Much of the biblical writings do not seem to apply to most Bible readers today, especially to those who know the comfort of power, wealth, and privilege.  It is quite fascinating to watch Christians of privilege try to fit their square peg of privilege into the round hole of the Gospel writing to and for oppressed people.  Clue to resolving the poor fit: work tirelessly on behalf of the poor and underprivileged.  And there is that embarrassing word of Jesus, "Sell all you have and give to the poor and follow me."

Quiz of the Day, September 2023

Quiz of the Day, September 30, 2023

The archangel Michael is listed in which books of the Bible?

a. Daniel

b. Daniel and Jude

c. Jude and Revelations

d. Daniel, Jude and Revelations

Quiz of the Day, September 29, 2023

"kenosis" refers to

a. omniscience of God

b. Jesus being emptied of divine equality in his earthly life

c. the exaltation of Christ

d. the fullness of time

Quiz of the Day, September 28, 2023

The Greek word from which the word "hypocrite" is derived means

a. fraud

b. phony

c. actor

d. liar

Quiz of the Day, September 27, 2023

What prophet made an axe head float to the surface of the Jordan River?

a. Elisha

b. Elijah

c. Jeremiah

d. Ezekiel

Quiz of the Day, September 26, 2023

Who was the general editor of the Authorized Version of the Bible?

a. King James

b. Lancelot Andrewes

c. John Wycliffe

d. William Tyndale

Quiz of the Day, September 25, 2023

Of the following, who did not experience leprosy?

a. Moses

b. A Pharaoh

c. Gehazi

d. Uzziah

e. Naaman

f.  Job

Quiz of the Day, September 24, 2023

Who in the Bible might have done mouth to mouth resuscitation?

a. Adam

b. Jacob

c. Elisha

d. Paul

Quiz of the Day, September 23, 2023

What was the last request of Elisha for Elijah?

a. for his mantle

b. for a double portion of his spirit

c. to be relieved of his prophetic role

d. to be able to part water

Quiz of the Day, September 22, 2023

Who was the prophet who called down fire from heaven?

a. Nathan

b. Isaiah

c. Jeremiah

d. Elijah

Quiz of the Day, September 21, 2023

What was the evening food of the people of Israel in the wilderness?

a. Manna

b. locusts

c. quail

d. lamb

Quiz of the Day, September 20, 2023

"What is it?" is the name for what biblical food?

a. the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden

b. grapes in the Promised Land

c. Manna in the wilderness

d. Quail in the wilderness

Quiz of the Day, September 19, 2023

What king of Israel pouted when someone refused to sell him their vineyard?

a. Solomon

b. David

c. Ahab

d. Josiah

Quiz of the Day, September 18, 2023

A "Puseyite" might be considered to be

a. Low Church Anglican

b. Evangelical Anglican

c. Latitudinarian

d. High Church Anglican

e. Non-conformist

Quiz of the Day, September 17, 2023

The mantle is not

a. a vestment of succession metaphor

b. what Elijah gave to Elisha before ascending to heaven

c. symbol of the Mosaic office

d. symbol of the prophetic office

Quiz of the Day, September 16, 2023

Who sought to kill Elijah?

a. Ahab

b. Jezebel

c. The king of Judah

d. The king of Syria

e. The prophets of Baal

Quiz of the Day, September 15, 2023

What King of Israel assembled the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel to challenge the prophet Elijah?

a. Ahab

b. Jeroboam

c. Omri

d. Nadab

Quiz of the Day, September 14, 2023

The serpent as a medical symbol derives from

a. Moses and the bronze serpent for healing

b. ancient Greek myth of Asclepius

c. ancient Hittite symbol of healing

d. ancient Summerian  symbol of healing

Quiz of the Day, September 13, 2023

What prophet was fed by birds?

a. Jeremiah

b. Amos

c. Obadiah

d. Elijah

e. Ezekiel

f. Hosea

Quiz of the Day, September 12, 2023

In the Bible, Israel does not mean

a. the name of Jacob

b. the Northern Kingdom of ten tribes

c. a people who escaped from Egypt

d. an appropriated name for the church

e. the place where any Jews resided

Quiz of the Day, September 11, 2023 

Who wrote that "only the weak eat vegetables?"

a. Peter

b. James

c. Paul

d. The Psalmist

e. The writer of the Proverbs

Quiz of the Day, September 10, 2023

What King of Israel made golden calves to worship?

a. Solomon

b. Jeroboam

c. Saul

d. Rehoboam

Quiz of the Day, September 9, 2023

What is the name of the Jewish New Year?

a. Sukkoth

b. Rosh Hashanah

c. Yom Kippur

d. Pesach

Quiz of the Day, September 8, 2023

What King of Israel had to flee to Egypt for protection from King Solomon?

a. Jeroboam

b. Rehoboam

c. Asa

d. Josiah

Quiz of the Day, September 7, 2023

What was blamed for leading the wisest man in the world astray?

a. foreign gods

b. wealth

c. pacts with foreign kings

d. his many foreign wives

Quiz of the Day, September 6, 2023

Of the gifts of the Queen of Sheba given to King Solomon, which gift set a quantity record?

a. quantity of gold

b. quantity of precious stones

c. quantity of spices

d. quantity of frankincense

Quiz of the Day, September 5, 2023

Which of the following biblical book most clearly connects the works of one's life with having faith?

a. Romans

b. Galatians

c. James

d. 1 Corinthians

Quiz of the Day, September 4, 2023

Which is not true about the dedication oration of Solomon for the first Temple?

a. foreigners were not welcome the temple

b. the temple would establish the prayer direction for those not at Temple

c. warriors in battle were to pray toward the Temple

d. people in exile should pray toward the Temple

Quiz of the Day, September 3, 2023

In which Gospel does it identify Peter as the one who used a sword to cut off the ear of the temple police arresting Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane?

a. Matthew

b. Mark

c. Luke

d. John

Quiz of the Day, September 2, 2023

The City of David might be

a. Zion

b. Jerusalem

c. Bethlehem

d. all of the above

Quiz of the Day, September 1, 2023

What lumber from Lebanon was used to build the first Temple?

a. Cedar and acacia

b. Cypress and acacia

c. Cedar and cypress

d. Cedar and gopher wood