Sunday School, September 29, 2024, The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, B proper 21

 Sunday School, September 29, 2024, The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, B proper 21

Sunday School Themes:

One could unify the themes of the Bible readings under the topic of what is healthy for each person and for our families and community.

It is healthy to have heroes like Esther who lived in a minority community that was targeted for persecution.  She used her favor with the king to make an appeal to him to save her people.  Healthy communities need heroes who will serve those who are threatened.

From the book of Numbers:  Community health comes when the various work of the community is spread among many people.  Moses was happy to share the leadership with many people who had God’s spirit with them to help lead the community.  In the baptism of each person, we believe God affirms the gifts of each person to help them make the community better through their gifts and their work.  So ask God to help us each to find our gifts so we can use them to make our home, family and church better communities.

In the letter of James, we are told that health is about learning how to share our illnesses with each other in our community so that the community can pray for those who are sick.  People who know that their family and friends are praying for them get better more quickly.  Health also means we learn to correct each other in love and care so that we don’t get destroyed by our mistakes.

In the Gospel, we know that health is to avoid jealousy about the good works of other people.  Health is being thankful for all people who are doing good, even if they are doing it just a bit different than we are.

Health is also about fasting or learning to stop doing things that are harmful so that we can change and do healthy things.  Jesus used his riddles: If you use your eyes wrongly, take them out.  If you use your hand for bad things, then cut it off.  Jesus was saying that sometimes fasting or quitting something entirely is the only way to stop a bad behavior and begin to take on a good behaviors.  Health can be inspired by thinking about bad consequences.  What happens if we refuse to exercise something?  We lose the function of it.  We waste.  Jesus showed us that hell is wasting our lives.  And we can live healthy lives if we avoid wasting our lives through laziness or bad behaviors.  Gehenna or the word for hell was the “garbage” dump for Jerusalem, a place where the carcasses of dead animals were burned.

Jesus said that we should be like salt.  Salt makes food taste better.  We should be people in this life that makes life seem to “taste” better for everyone.  Christians should be “spicy” people because we should make this life better for everyone.  To be healthy in life we need to be “spicy.”

The last thing for the health of the community is to be at peace with one another.  Living in peace is one of the most healthy things of all for our families and communities.  We can live better when life is peaceful.

A Children’s sermon on “fasting” and “hell”

 

  One of the things that my father often said to me when I was doing something wrong was: Cut it out, Phil.

  What does cut it out, mean?  It doesn’t mean that I have to get a knife or some scissors and start cutting.  It is a very shocking way to say: Stop it!  Stop it!  Right now!

  Jesus used some very shocking language too.  Remember that he often spoke in riddles.  And we have read some of the shocking language of Jesus today.

  He said if your hand is doing something bad, cut it off.  If your feet are taking you to a bad place, then cut them off.  If your eyes are looking at bad things, then tear it out.   That really sounds shocking, doesn’t it?

  But it was really just like my dad saying, cut it out.  It is a very strong way of saying Stop, the bad thing that you are doing.

  And now I am going to tell about another word that Jesus used.  And it is a shocking word too.  It’s so shocking you do not have permission to use this word by your parents or teachers.  It’s the word, “hell.”

  Now most of think that hell is the bad place that bad people go to after they have died.

  But what did hell mean for Jesus?  For Jesus, hell referred to the garbage dump outside of Jerusalem.  It was place where they took the bodies of dead animals to burn them.  It was the place they took human waste.

  So for Jesus, what did hell mean?  It meant waste.

  And Jesus did not want anyone to waste their lives.  If our hands are doing bad things, then we are wasting our lives.  If our feet are taking us to bad places, we are wasting our lives.  If we use our eyes only to look at bad things, then we are wasting our lives.

  And so Jesus uses some very strong language to remind us, not to waste our lives.  If we are wasting our lives, Jesus says, stop it.  Change your direction, do something good; not something bad.

  So let us be thankful that Jesus uses very strong language to warn us not to waste our lives.   Why should you study hard in school?  So you don’t waste your mind.  Why should you learn to do house work?  So you will not be lazy and learn to do things for yourself.  Why should you exercise? So that you can be healthy.  Why should you eat good food and take care of your bodies?  So you can live healthy lives as long as possible.  Why should you be careful about what you watch on TV?  Why should you be careful about what you say?  You don’t want to waste any ability that you have.  Jesus wanted to save his friends from wasting their lives, because he knew how much good they could do with their lives.

  And Jesus does not want us to waste our lives either.  So that is why we work hard to train our hands and feet and mind to do good things and to think good things.

A family Eucharistic Liturgy

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

September 29, 2024: The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah, Peace Before Us, Father I Adore You, I Want to Walk

Song: Hallelu, Hallelujah   (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 84)

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.

Liturgist: 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, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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

A reading from the Letter of James

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.  My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

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.

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 Mark

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. "  If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

Song: Peace Before Us (Wonder, Love and Praise,  # 791)

1          Peace before us.  Peace behind us.  Peace under our feet.  Peace within us.  Peace over us.  Let all around us be Peace.

2 Love,

3 Light,

4 Christ

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 Hymn:  Father, I Adore You (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 56)

1          Father, I adore you, lay my life before you, how I love you.

2          Jesus….

3          Spirit…

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)

1          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.

2          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! 

Christly Leadership: Welcoming Children

19 Pentecost Cycle b Proper 20 September 22, 2024
Proverb 31:10-31  Ps. 54
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a Mark 9:30-37

Lectionary Link

One might safely say that the child motif of the Gospels, especially the synoptic Gospels is significant.

What is the chief message of the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke?  Welcome the presence of God in your midst as an infant.  That is what Merry Christmas means.

You want to be profound in your theism, then welcome God as an infant incognito among us.

This encapsulates the counter logic of the words of Jesus; the first shall be last and the last, first.

Who is last in the world?  Those who have newly arrived.  A newborn infant is the last in the world and young children are the latest to be in this world.  And what does Jesus say?  Make them first in importance and care.

Is not not ironic that Jesus is using a child to say to his male disciples who are jealous for power in his earthly administration and he's saying, "Guys, you're going to have to be more like women, like mothers, like child-care givers."

In the history of patriarchy, the role of women has been hidden in the privacy of the home and they have been designated as the primary child-care givers.  Indeed their nursing bodies seem to better fit them for significant relevance to the lives of their children in the time of their infancy.  Too long children, and women have been regarded by men as Dad's trophy children and wives at best, labor force for the family, and disgraces if they don't please their fathers and husbands in the right way.  The reading from the book of Proverb extols the virtues of a "good wife," one of which relates to the care children such that,  "Her children rise up and call her happy;

her husband too, and he praises her:"

The teaching found in the appointed lesson from the Epistle of James touts gentleness and not being jealous or envious with the highly desirable trait of wisdom: "Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy."

This teaching from James is the attitude which Jesus both demonstrated and taught to his disciples. Being a disciple of Christ means undergoing a counter programming in the way in which men have been taught to be adults.

What are adults taught?  We are taught to be selfish, ambitious, competitive, biased, prejudiced, and judgmental.

The spirituality of Jesus Christ involves being deprogrammed from selfishness, ambition, competitive, judgmental, and biased.  And how do we know that the spiritual reprogramming has been effective?  When we can welcome the child with gentleness and care.  When we can tend to the vulnerable within our world as the very sign of our wise leadership among people.

The Gospel of Jesus is this: Take care of children and the vulnerable as proof of your vocation in life.  This may first involve a healing of one's own child aspect of personality in being able to return to the original joy of having been born before one may have received harmful conditioning by imperfect adults in one's life.

The Gospel of Christ is to know the presence of the Holy Spirit as the recovery of the original blessing of our birth, and as we cherish all that is gentle and tender within ourselves, we go forth to minister to those who need the gentle and tender hospitality of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Sunday School, September 12, 2024: The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost B proper 20

 Sunday School, September 12, 2024: The Nineteenth 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 22, 2024: The Nineteenth 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! 

  

We Still Live in the Era of the Suffering Servant Messiah

 17 Pentecost Proper 19   September 15, 2024
Isaiah 50: 4-9a. Psalm 116:1-8
James 3:1-12    Mark 8:27-38

Lectionary Link

What are some of our misreading habits of the Gospels?  We commit chronology mistakes.  We assume that because Jesus lived before Paul was converted to the Risen Christ, that the Gospel stories were written before the writings of Paul. To correct this misreading we need to appreciate that the theological themes of Paul and others are hidden in the narrative presentations of the life of Jesus as they are found in the Gospels.

Another mistake is that we can think that the Gospel writers wrote with the full knowledge that their writings would be eventually included in a book called the Bible.  We falsely assume that the writings had the respect of infallible authority and finality for the people to whom they were writing.  Because of this misreading, some people get all worried at contradictions between the presentations found in the various Gospels.  It is more accurate to read the Gospels as the developing practices and understandings of the growing Jesus Movement in different locations with people who had access to different strains of oral tradition.  While some people try to elevate the presence of Holy Scripture above community traditions, such a view misses the obvious point that there had to be people in community in a tradition to generate the holy writings which later become definitive of the beliefs and teaching of the future community.

Another misreading of the Gospel is to assume that the Gospels are the source of invention of the topics and traditions which are found within the Gospels.

Today's appointed Gospel topic is one such topic.  And the topic is the Messiah.  The traditions of Messiah predated the Gospel writings.  They are found within Hebrew Scripture and derive from the language used to speak about how God's will is specifically manifest, anointed, within human experience.

In the witness of Hebrew Scriptures, God is known through chosen agents and the results of the contract between the One God and the human community. This  special contract is designated as a covenant because of the attributed character of God as the originator of that covenant.  The covenant came through designated people like the Patriarchs, Moses, and his brother Aaron the first High Priest, and it reached a particular climax in the revealing of the Law. The Law or Torah includes specific recommended behaviors and community ritual practice for the perpetuation and inculcations of those divinely recommended behaviors, or best practices for human living for the time.

Before Israel had kings, the Torah, the law was the anointed, the God's designated will of God in community and the law was taught and mediated through Moses, Joshua, the priests and judges.

In Saul and David, the practice of the divine right of kings came to Israel and in the divine right ritual, the chosen king was anointed as God's chosen.  The very name Messiah derives from the investiture ritual of the pouring of oil on the head of the chosen one.

The kingly lineage or messiahs of Israel did not last that long, and certainly not with the perpetuity of the promise to David regarding future off-spring.  The kings of Israel had various success and they often did not model Torah living in their lives.  A crucial failure of the kings of Israel and the divided kingdom of Judah was their inability to defend their country from more powerful kingdoms.  In succession, the kingdoms were the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greek Empires deriving from Alexander and his Generals, and the Roman Empire.  The history of the kings of Israel is over-shadowed by the powerful kings whose armies overran Israel and carried the people of Israel into the lands of their captors. 

In the lands of the captors, a poignant factor to retain the identity of the people of Israel was to use writings, teaching, ritual practice, and gatherings to retain and perpetuate the unique identity of the people to resist assimilation into the cultures of their captors.  Part of the literature which grew was fueled by the nostalgia of being in their homeland with a king who was expressive of what the divine right of kingship could mean.  Out of this profound nostalgia and a strong belief in the One and greatest God, there arose the projection of a future anointed one like King David who was the most successful king of Israel.

The aspirations for superheroes is a very human aspiration, especially for peoples who are long suffering.  One can say that the topic of the messiah as the aspiration of the Jewish people was one that had a currency during the first century and the many, many, years before.  It was born out of reflections in the Hebrew Scriptures but also in many extra-Scriptural writings which the learned teachers had access to.

The Gospels are proof that the discussions about the meaning of the Messiah was still a fluid topic within the people who were likely participants in the Jesus Movement.  The fluidity regarding the topic of the Messiah is seen in the disagreements and and such disagreement is instantiated in the Messianic confession of Peter followed by a severe rebuke by Jesus regarding his misunderstanding about the one whom he confessed.  So severe was his misunderstanding that we have the words, "Get behind me Satan!"  These words indicate that the teachers in early Jesus Movement were trying assert that the limitation of the notion of the Messiah to a military conquering king was not adequate.  The Messiah for the Jesus Movement was to be understood to also be a suffering servant Messiah such as was written about in the Prophet Isaiah.

But that then raises the issue, how then is Jesus a Messiah like King David?  And this is where we must appreciate the fluidity in the understanding of Jesus as the Messiah.  How is Jesus a Messiah like David?  First, his post resurrection appearances are indications of a kingly uniqueness in a way that David could not match so that Jesus had a spiritual origin quite different from David.  But what about being a Messiah who can restore the territorial integrity of the promises to the Patriarchs and Israel?  How is Jesus is that kind of Messiah when it is so obvious that the Roman Empire dominated the world?

The answer lies in the continuing notion of the apocalyptic and future Messiah.  The Second Coming of the Messiah becomes the words about the future being a hopeful one.  At anytime all things could be harmonized and reconciled by a future Messianic manifestation.

We today still live in this fluid and developing notion of Jesus as the Messiah.  Like people of old we still aspire, dream, and imagine about cosmic harmony and reconciliation in a way perceived as being completely human community friendly in giving us the sense of belonging in a promised homeland.

We need to realize that we still are in the suffering servant phase of Jesus as the Messiah.  We are still as it were, "filling up what is lacking in the afflictions" of Christ.  We are caught in the tangle of the probabilities of everything that can happen, and it is not all favorable to us in our lives and in the life of our world.

Today, we need to receive the rebuke of Jesus to Peter if we are denying the validity of the predominance of the suffering servant Messiah in our world today.  And while we accept that the freedom of life often finds us in harms ways, we don't succumb to a passive fatalism about the victory of pain and suffering; rather we accept and invite hope and goodness to help us weave a contrasting healing of the sickness in our world.  We accept that true freedom validates the worth of morality and spirituality.

We have Jesus as the suffering servant and the one risen beyond death to inspire us with the kind of hope which we need to live realistically with how human experience actually is.

May the Risen Christ help us to live as suffering servant agents of the suffering servant Messiah, but not for the exaltation of suffering, but for constant and hopeful work of healing.  From our many woundings, let us arise as healers.  Amen.