Sunday School, December 29, 2024 1 Christmas C

   Sunday School, December 29, 2024   1 Christmas C

Theme:

A different kind of Christmas Story

If we say that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, that means he has always been.  So, where was Jesus the eternal Son of God, before he was born to Mary in Bethlehem?

The Gospel of John gives us the answer to this question.  In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The Word was made flesh…the Word was found to be in the baby Jesus who grew to be a grown adult man.  So, the Word, which created everything, lived with us in the person of Jesus.

The Gospel of John tells us about Jesus, the Christ, before he was born in Bethlehem.

Word is a very good metaphor for Christ and for God.  Why?

Word is the most distinguishing thing about being human.  People have and use words in a way that no other creatures do.  Words make us human.  The only way that we can know that we know anything at all is by having and using words.

Why is it important that Jesus as WORD AND GOD?  To be the very best human beings, we have to learn how to use words in the very best way.  We have to learn to use words to be wise, to know as much as we can, to speak with love and kindness, but we have to remember our body language too.  We have to have our body perform deeds of love and kindness.  Jesus is the Word made Flesh and though the life of Jesus, God showed us how we can create our lives in the very best way through the ways in which we use words, with our speaking and with our writng and with our body language.

As we begin the new year, let us make a resolution to improve our word use, in our speaking, in our learning new things, in our writing and in our body language.

Remember God as Word is everywhere, inside of us and outside of us because God as Word is Life and Light.

My Word to You:  Happy New Year and God bless you in how you use your words in 2022

Sermon

  Let’s pretend for just a minute.  Let us pretend that we cannot see.  Let us pretend that we cannot hear.  Let us pretend that we cannot speak.

  It is hard to pretend this.  Because if we had never learned the word pretend, we wouldn’t know what pretend.

  Maybe we should think about a little baby who is crying.  Do we know why a baby cries?  Can the baby tell us why exactly he or she is crying?  No, but we try to guess.  Do we need to change a diaper, or give the baby some milk, or give the baby some medicine?  Do we need to burp the baby?  Does the baby have a tummy ache?  Or is the baby cold?  Or is the baby too hot?  Or is the baby lonely?

  We try to guess why a baby is crying, but we cannot be sure why a baby is crying.  Why?  Because a baby does not yet know how to speak or to use language.  And when a baby begins to use language, a baby starts to become more like a grown-up.  Why?  Because the baby can now talk to mom and dad and to brothers and sisters and Grandmothers and grandfathers.  And so we always celebrate when a baby says the first words, because we know that the baby is becoming able to tell us how she feels.

  There once was little girl named Helen Keller.  When she was a baby she had a sickness and she lost her ability to see, to talk and to hear.  Because she could not see, talk or hear, she had no way to learn how to talk.  Can you imagine what her life was like?  She was not happy and she was very hard to care for, because she had no way to talk with her parents.   Her parents hired a teacher to try to teach her.  And it is very hard to teach someone who cannot see, hear or talk.  But the teacher used her hands to make letters in her hand.  But she did not even know the letters, until one day when water was pouring over her hand, the teacher spelled “w-a-t-e-r” into the hand of Hellen Keller.  And Helen suddenly understood what words meant.  And she was so excited she wanted to know the name of everything that she could touch.  And when she could use words, her life was suddenly new, because she could now talk with her parents using her hands.  Helen Keller grew up to be a famous and well-educated person, and she helped and inspired people who did have the ability to see, hear or speak.

  Jesus Christ is called the Word of God.  And from the life of Helen Keller, you and I can understand how important Words are for us.  Everything in our world is created with Word, because we don’t know what anything is if we don’t have words.

  Let us be thankful today that we have words.  With words we don’t have to live alone and be lonely, because with words we can talk with the important people in our lives.  And let us be thankful that God our creator made us special because we were made to use words.  And so today we use our words to thank God who made us to have words in our lives.  And we should be very careful about how we use the words of our lives.  Our words can create love and kindness; or our word can cause war and fighting.  Let remember when we use words; they are special gifts to us that God gave us to use. Amen.

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 29, 2024: The First Sunday after Christmas

Gathering Songs: What Child Is This?;   Go Tell It On the Mountain; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

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.

What Child Is This  (Blue Hymnal # 115)

What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?  Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?

Chorus: This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing;

   haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary.

Why lies he in such mean estate where ox and ass are feeding?  Good Christian fear: for sinners here the silent Word is pleading.  Chorus

So bring him incense, gold and myrrh, come, peasant, king, to own him; the King of kings salvation brings, let loving hearts enthrone him.  Chorus

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of 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

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God..

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 147

Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God! * how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!

Great is our LORD and mighty in power; * there is no limit to his wisdom.

The LORD lifts up the lowly, * but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; * make music to our God upon the harp.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

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: Go Tell It On the Mountain, (Blue Hymnal, # 99)

Chorus: Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere; go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born!

While shepherds kept their watching o’er silent flocks by night, behold, throughout the heavens there shone a holy light. Chorus

The shepherds feared and trembled when lo above the earth rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior’s birth.  Chorus

Down in a lowly manger the humble Christ was born, and God sent us salvation that blessed Christmas morn.  Chorus

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 God.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

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

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

All  may gather around the altar

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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 :  

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: God Rest You Merry Gentlemen (Blue Hymnal # 105)

God rest you merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay; remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day, to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.  Chorus: O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy; O tiding of comfort and joy!

From god our heavenly Father a blessed angel came and unto certain shepherds brought tiding of the same: how that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name.  Chorus

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Christmas Evangelized and Evangelizes the World

 Christmas Eve C  December 24, 2024
Isaiah 9:2-7 Psalm 96
 Titus 2:11-14  Luke 2:1-14

Lectionary Link

There are Christians today who are angry about how Christmas has evangelized our world. The collateral effects of Christmas has reached almost everywhere in our world and some Christians are angry that there is even a Christmas, because biblical literalists remind us that there is no exact date of birth given for Jesus in the Gospels. So if we don't have an exact Gospel birth date for Jesus, why are we observing it on December 25th, or January 6th in some Eastern Orthodox churches? And why have we let it become such a crass commercial season? And why have we let an obscure bishop of Myra morph into the portly mythical Santa Claus of the North Pole who delivers gifts in one night in a sleigh pulled by reindeer through the skies? The secular miracles of Santa Claus are much more fantastic than the the miraculous birth stories of Jesus in the Gospel. It is rather miraculous that Santa can deliver presents in every household on earth all within a few hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Such omnipresence of Santa is quite fantastic.

Bah humbug purity Christians are embarrassed by the how Christmas has evangelized the world. If the Gospel of the birth of Christ cannot be preached with the correct purity that it deserves, then Christmas should be observed as but another day on the calendar. Bah humbug to you secular Christmas observers. If love, hope, and joy cannot have Christian sub-titles then you have no right to observe even the profound virtues which pre-existed the arrival of baby Jesus.

I, do not share the bah humbug view of Christmas which some Christians who prize their purity and fealty to the fact that the Gospels do not designate a birthdate for Jesus.

I rejoice in the evangelistic origins of the observance of Christmas. How could it be known that God was with the vast populace of the Roman Empire? They had their celebration of their cult of the Emperor and their many deities, especially at the season when the day of the year in the northern hemisphere became shortest and the darkness of the long night threatened to declare its supremacy over light.

Could there be a light of the world to celebrate on the darkest days of the year? Can there is be a substitute for the Sol Invictus on the Roman Calendar, an event which celebrated the rebirth of the Sun, the Sun unconquered by darkness? Indeed, Jesus the Christ was the perfect replacement Light of the World. The origin of the observance of Christmas is but the evangelism of people whose lives were transformed by the mystical birth within themselves of the life of Christ. This was such an enlightening event for these mystics, they believed it was worth sharing and they believed it was the perfect replacement to be the awareness of a new Light to arise within the Roman World. We can either be ashamed that the origin of Christmas was a movement to evangelize the people of the Roman Empire, or we can continue to be a part of the evangelizing impact of Christmas within our world.

Those who are ashamed of Christmas perhaps have become prideful about their level of appreciation of how Christ as Emmanuel, God with us, is with them. After all, if others only knew how much I know God is with me, how could they participate in such secularization of Christmas? Such pride assumes that they have no more growth into the meaning of what God with us means to them, such that they can criticize the impoverished experience of Christmas that the people of our secular world have.

I think that such bah humbug Christians believe that the power of the sin of the fall has been so great that God has no longer been able to call creation "good." It can only become "good" again after Jesus redeems the people who make that choice to be given permission to call their lives good again.

I, however, do not believe that human sin has the power to dethrone the goodness of God which remains omnipresence within the created order, and the goodness which remains in the image of God which is stamped upon each human being as the light of God within the inner being of each one.

Before Christians can place Christian sub-titles on goodness, hope, love, joy, justice, kindness, gentleness, faith, and the like, they still exists and can be known before any person attains any community religious or spiritual identity any place on earth.

The birth of Jesus is a celebration of the birth of the image of God within each of us as the Christ nature. We can know the collateral effects of the image of God upon us before we can ever profess ourselves as being Christian.

And this reality is the strength of the evangelism of Christmas in the history of the world and in the world today. In every child that is born, there is born goodness, hope, love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, and faith. This is the original blessing which gets observed in many ways during the Christmas season.

Let us not be critical of those who don't experience Christmas exactly like we do. Let us be thankful for the remembrance of the birth of the Light of the Christ nature which is accessible within everyone.

Let the Christmas season be a season of evangelism for us through giving, serving, and promoting generosity and justice for all to stir up an enhanced experience for everyone to know the arising of the image of God within their lives.

And if people never come to know Jesus in the way that we do in our Christmas, let us be thankful if people can know the goodness of their lives and the closeness of God to them through the image of the divine that has been implanted upon them. And if they can't be Christians as we are, let them know love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, faith, and justice, because these reside in the event of everyone's first birth, and the site of one's first birth is the place where one can return for knowing the perpetual gift of life itself.

Let us be thankful for the Christmas effects within our world today. Let us exemplify best the Christmas effect with the Christ-like behaviors of love, joy, generosity, peace, kindness, gentleness, faith, and justice.

With good Christmas evangelism, we can make another merrier Christmas. Amen.

Prayers for Advent, 2024

Tuesday in 4 Advent, December 24, 2024

God, whose weakness against genuine freedom is seen when the freely proud and greedy oppress and allow the weak to go hungry and uncared for;  let the divine weakness that is evident in genuine freedom, inspire us to use our freedom to perform the equalizing work of love and justice.  Amen.

Monday in 4 Advent, December 23, 2024

God of Hope, you have made woven hope within time with the continuous promise of a future and such hope co-exists with all of the weal and woe in the probabilities of what has, is, and will happen; give us acceptance of hope as the actual heaven on earth which accompanies everything that happens in our lives, because we can always know that there will be Some More.  Amen.

Sunday, 4 Advent, December 22, 2024

God of Mary's Magnificat, let the lowly be lifted up and the proud, the greedy, and the oppressor be cast down from the thrones of their usurped ownership of your realm; in the seeming constant losses for the meek of this earth, let us continue to value true freedom, especially when it is best fulfilled by choices of goodness and kindness.  Amen.

Saturday in 3 Advent, December 21, 2024

God, the great weaving creator of all; you have given us the quilt of sacred tradition to inspire us to apply in our times in ways that make love and justice evident enough to add latest day edges to the quilt of the tapestry of time.  Let our part to this sacred quilt inspire future love and justice.  Amen.

Friday in 3 Advent, December 20, 2024

Creator God, you birthed us as humans in your image, and you have given special births to those through whom has come the message of your love, and you gave Jesus to Mary, even as you have overshadowed our lives with the Holy Spirit to birth the Risen Christ within us.  Amen.

Thursday in 3 Advent, December 19, 2024

God, you conceive the life of the Risen Christ within people when they are overshadowed by the Holy Spirit; we ask that more such overshadowing would happen and be evident by the resulting peace on earth.  Do not withhold manifold birthing experiences of Christ's presence from the people of this earth.  Amen.

Wednesday in 3 Advent, December 18, 2024

God of Hope, hopefulness has us wishing for things which never can be as the impossible always taunts the likely probable; but give us understanding about the meaning of our Hope implant to establish the direction of love and justice toward the better care of all.  Amen.

Tuesday in 3 Advent, December 17, 2024

Holy God of Mothers, you gave us Mary whose song is a song of liberation for all lowly people with the promise of what never seems visibly possible, of the mighty being cast down and the lowly lifted up.  Give us faith in Hope's vision even when it never seems fully actual.  Amen.

Monday in 3 Advent, December 16, 2024

God of Mothers Mary and Elizabeth; you have not limited the gifts of women to child-bearing and child raising but we often have; give our world the wisdom to promote the full development of all the gifts of women so that the common good can be better ably served.  Amen.

Sunday, 3 Advent, December 15, 2024 (gaudete)

God of rejoicing anyway, rejoicing because of, rejoicing in spite of; we continually seek the deeper strains of the original blessing of existence which persists within and throughout all conditions of life because we can never be separated from you the great expanding Container of our lives.  Amen.

Saturday in 2 Advent, December 14, 2024

God of perpetual advents, you are always coming to us in the continual sustaining of life itself; we thank you for the most apparent coming in Jesus Christ to initiate us into the way of love and justice in the world of free probabilities where hatred and injustice also has free reign.  Amen.

Friday in 2 Advent, December 13, 2024

God of Hope, you inspire the utopian with many forms of visualizations so that we might always know the direction of perfection; keep us on this path and let us never proudly assume we have yet attained enough perfection to stop progressing or to judge others for not being where we are.  Amen.

Thursday in 2 Advent, December 12, 2024

God, in all conditions of freedom, you have given us access to the Spirit of rejoicing in spite of seeming contrary conditions; give us boldness to embrace the vocation of actively trying to give others the occasion to rejoice in the very goodness of goodness.  Amen.

Wednesday in 2 Advent, December 11, 2024

Christ the Messiah, you are still the suffering servant Messiah in identity with the immense suffering and vulnerable conditions of so many in the world;  give us wisdom, courage, and willingness to be messianic actors of kingly strength as we minister to alleviate pain in our world and help those who are vulnerable.  Amen.

Tuesday in 2 Advent, December 10, 2024

Christ the Messiah, you preside over the inward kingdom of those who discover that God is love and care for those who are vulnerable and needy; forgive us when we unwittingly over-identify you with the powerful and the greedy forces of society as proof of Christian success.  Amen.

Monday in 2 Advent, December 9, 2024

Christ the Messiah in unexpected ways, teach us see the hidden messianic presence within the poor and vulnerable as the divine lure to draw us to assist in your messianic priorities for the common good of this world.  Amen.

Sunday, 2 Advent, December 8, 2024

God, you have given us John the Baptist as the one who wants us prepared for catastrophic endings; but you have given us Jesus as the one who prepares us for the other side of endings, namely, the always already new beginnings in the everlastingness of Time.  Amen.

Saturday in 1 Advent, December 7, 2024

God, you have given us the witness of John the Baptist to remind us that we have fasting ability, the ability to say no and yes on a path of perfectability and because he is voice of repentance, the hope of betterment always lies in each choice.  Help us to embrace the path of renewing repentance today.  Amen.

Friday in 1 Advent, December 6, 2024, Nicholas of Myra

Dear Christ Child and Nicholas, by the accident and the child aspect of everyone's life, you have become linked in popular culture; give us grace to treat children as gifts for our future and help us to nurture them with mentoring grace with plenty of affirming gifts for their social joy, intellectual and spiritual growth.  Amen.

Thursday in 1 Advent, December 5, 2024

God, who has great Self Control, in not overriding the freedom in the world; give us fasting grace in the things that control us, and give us moderation in all things as it relates to sharing and promotion of sharing so that all might have enough.  Amen.

Wednesday in 1 Advent, December 4, 2024

Gracious God, teach us the fasting rhythms which we need for regulation in our lives that we might learn impulse control and be delivered from greed, gluttony, and all addictions which hinder the performance of the excellences of love, justice, and care for those who need it.  Amen.

Tuesday in 1 Advent, December 3, 2024

O Great Continuous One, your advents are always already happening even as we name as superior the specific coming of Jesus Christ as definitive for the direction of humanity to be led to surpass ourselves in excellence of goodness; give us grace to be on this Christly train toward perfection.  Amen.

Monday in 1 Advent, December 2, 2024

God of continual processual Creation; we try to stop time by forcing the story units of beginning and ending on perpetual continuity; give us hope for new beginnings after actual endings, especially the ending of pain and injustice.  Amen.

Sunday, 1 Advent, December 1, 2024

God, you give us as language users visions of the end of suffering and injustice because you want us to hold as normal life, health and justice;  in times of suffering and injustice, let us continue to proclaim the normalcy of health and justice, and work in our realms to make approximations of the same actual.  Amen.

Special Births in the Bible Plus the One in You

 4 Advent C December 22, 2024
Micah 5:2-4 Song of Mary
Heb.10:5-10 Luke 1:39-56

Lectionary Link

In today's Gospel account, we have read about the encounter between Elizabeth and Mary who are both expectant mothers with marvelous and miraculous conceptions.

The Bible is spiritual literature written with a purpose for communities who are continually writing to update how they believe God resided within their lives.

A theme in biblical writings centers upon marvelous and miraculous births.  Such birth stories are ways to affirm providence, that is, God's telling anointing of events and people in how God has become known.  The prophet Jeremiah understood the providential nature of his calling when he heard God say, "Before I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you."

Providence is the outcome and once it has happened, one seeks the origin of Providence, by proclaiming, "surely, this person was great from the beginning."

There are special birth and survival stories in the Hebrew Scriptures which provide the models for the birth stories of Elizabeth and Mary.

One might say that the first miraculous birth stories are in fact the creation stories of Adam and Eve.  These are two Holy Spirit crafted people who express the mysterious combination of unseen spirit and visible material to comprise the human person.

The next marvelous birth story is that which happen to the aged parents Abram and Sarai, which was an impossible conception and birth of Isaac, a transitional Patriarch in the lineage from which the people of Israel would come.

Isaac's wife Rebekah, childless, also conceived as a heretofore barren woman and gave birth to twins, the younger being Jacob, or the originating patriarch of Israel.

The birth of Moses was marvelous in the fact that he survived Pharaoh's edict for the death of all male children of the Israelites in Egypt.  He was hidden in a basket to float on the Nile and rescued and raised by an Egyptian princess, thus the providential lawgiver of the people of Israel also had a providential salvation event after his birth.

Next, the birth of Samson to Manoah and his wife was marvelous.  An angel visited Manoah's wife who was barren and told her she would bear a son, whom she would give to the Lord as one under the vow of the Nazirite who would not drink wine or cut his hair.  Samson helped to defeat the Philistines as a Judge of Israel until he was tricked by his Philistine wife Delilah to cut his hair and lose his power.

Then there is the birth of the foremost Judge of Israel Samuel to Hannah.  Hannah was distraught because of her barren condition, and she promised to give her child to God's service if she could but conceive.  Samuel was born and he became the Judge who invested Saul and David as first kings of Israel.

The other marvelous birth came to the Shunammite woman who provided hospitality to prophet Elisha.  Her son also came to an early death before he was resuscitated by Elisha with perhaps a biblical account of mouth to mouth resuscitation.

The birth events of Elizabeth and Mary stand in the train of these famous birth stories.  John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth became significant community founders.  The community of John the Baptist provided many of the members for the Jesus Movement, and the two founders were linked closely by the Gospel writers.  They were providential figures and like providential figures, their origins had to be told in special ways.

But of course, the miraculous conception and birth which happened to Mary stands at the end of the train of special births.  The conception and birth which happened to Mary is the paradigmatic birth of the New Testament.

The Jesus Movement was founded upon the recurrence within people of a new birth, the birth of the Risen Christ within the lives of people.  How did this new birth happen?  People were overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and within their community confessed the birth of Christ within themselves, or in the Pauline expression about the mystery revealed to the Gentiles,  "Christ in you, the hope of glory!"

The miraculous conception and birth story of Mary encodes the mystery of the New Testament about the New Birth Event.

And therefore the purpose of the Gospels and the New Testament is to announce this mystery which can be ours, "Christ is born in you!  Christ is born in me!"  Please do not miss this Christmas Story.  Amen.

Sunday School, December 22, 2024 4 Advent C

  Sunday School, December 22, 2024    4 Advent C

Mothers who are Expecting Babies and A Song

If you have an expectant mother in the parish, invite her to come and talk about how she might feel while expecting a baby.

On this day, we read the account of the visit of Elizabeth with her Cousin Mary.  They are both expecting babies.  And because we know the end of the story, we know that both babies are going to be special prophets from God.

Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist.  When John the Baptist was not yet born he did what unborn babies often do, he moved or jumped while he was still in his mother’s “stomach.”  But he did a special leap when Elizabeth saw her cousin Mary who was expecting the baby Jesus.

The writers of the Gospel showed that even when John the Baptist was not yet born, he had a way of recognizing the importance of Jesus.  This was the writer’s way of trying to convince the followers of John the Baptist to become followers of Jesus Christ after John had died.

Sometimes when we are looking for heroes, we look for one to come from the same family and from the same place.  So when the Gospel writers were telling the story of Jesus they looked to Bethlehem and the family of King David.  They wanted to show how Jesus was a hero who was in the family tree of David and they wanted to show how Jesus was from the same town as David, the town of Bethlehem.

Sometimes when a writer writes a song, they write a song because something very special happens to them.

In the story of the visit between Elizabeth and Mary we have the Song of Mary.  This song is about about special Mary felt.  She knew that God had given her a special child who would do something very special in this world to inspire people to live in love and justice.  The Song of Mary is used in our worship in church.  It is often used when we say Morning Prayer.  And it is used at the feasts we have to celebrate the life of the Virgin Mary.

Have you ever had something wonderful happen to you when you were inspired to write a poem, a song or a story?


Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist
December 22, 2024: The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs: Light a Candle; Jesus Stand Among Us,  Peace Before Us; Thy Word,  When the Saints

Lighting of the Advent Candle:   Light a Candle
Light a candle for hope today, Light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today.           Advent time is here.
Light a candle for peace today..3. Love…  4.Joy

             
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 Stand Among Us, Renew! #17

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

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

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


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

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)

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

A reading from the Prophet  Micah

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me  one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.

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

Liturgist: Let us read together from the Song of Mary

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *  for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *  the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.

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.

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

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

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: O When the Saints, (The Christian Children’s Songbook, # 248)

O when those saints, go marching in, Oh, when those saints go marching in, Lord I want to be in that number when the saint go marching in.

Boys….. 3.  Girls  4.  Saints

Dismissal:   

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

  

Messiah as Baptizer with the Holy Spirit and Fire

3 Advent C December 15, 2024
Zeph 3:14-20 Canticle 9
Phil.4:4-9 Luke 3:7-18

Lectionary Link

It is safe to say that the New Testament in part is a discussion about the meaning of the Messiah.

The writings of the New Testament stretch from the earliest writings of Paul in around the year 55 (already 25 years after Jesus) to portions which were written into the second century.

With so many writings and at different times in a time span of 70-90 years after Jesus, it would be natural to speak of the messiah as a composite of reflections representing a diversities of views and discussions.

And the New Testament is written in part, as a testimony that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, this figure who was written about in the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the one who was referred to in various ways in the other apocrypha writings which did not attain canonical status to be a part of the Bibles of Christians and Jews.

In the Season of Advent, the very name Advent refers to "coming," but we should rather say, "comings" because Advent is used to refer to both the first and second comings of the Christ.

In our appointed Gospel, we have the interesting discussion presented about John the Baptist.  John the Baptist is presented as having to deny that he was the Messiah.  Why would such a denial be needed?  It would indicate that there were people who believed that John the Baptist was such a formidable person that his followers and others were speculating as to whether he might be this great mythic figure of the Messiah about whom public discussion was happening.

The Gospels are presented in part by former disciples of John the Baptist who made the transition from the community of John the Baptist into the Jesus Movement as followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

Was Jesus the Messiah or was John the Baptist?  A presentation of a confession from John the Baptist by one of his former followers would be useful to resolve this question.

In the words of John the Baptist, there is an interesting distinction between what he said about himself in his denial of being the Messiah, and his confession about Jesus of Nazareth.

John said, "I baptize with water, but the one more powerful than I, is coming,...and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

In Christian baptism the elements are water, chrism or oil, and the fire symbolized by the Paschal Candle and baptismal candles.  The Holy Oil anointing is symbolic of the anointing or baptism by the Holy Spirit and the fire symbolizes the heat of the refiners purifying fire.

The Messianic reality of Jesus of Nazareth is being known within myriads of people as a baptism of the Holy Spirit to know the inward abiding presence of the Risen Christ.  This is the messianic difference between John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth as the members of the Jesus Movement confessed it in the Gospel.  The arrival of the Risen Christ within the lives of many people were for them his second coming.

To say that Jesus as Messiah in a spiritual and hidden kingdom has not really been regarded by many Christians as being incarnational enough, not materialistic enough, not politically evident enough throughout the world.  Christians have often fought to be the Empire of the world to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was a Davidic-like King who intervened in the world to dominate on behalf of Christians.

Christians who want Jesus to be in charge of an Empire have gotten wrong the main feature of Risen Christ incarnationalism.  The meaning of Spirit-filled people indwelt by the Risen Christ becoming incarnate again in the deeds of love and kindness of such people, not in their having political power within society.  It is a mistake for us to misinterpret what the messianic means in our lives today.  It is interior life changing power; it is not being a political state.

The baptism with fire by Jesus as Messiah and Risen Christ is for us to continue in the age of the suffering servant Jesus who remains identified with us in the continuing ordeal of this world.  We are living in the age of the always already baptism with fire, the perpetuity of life being an ordeal.

Having the Spirit of the Risen Christ during the ordeal of living is the crucible that is observed on gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent.  How do we experience a deep inner joy even within the features of the ordeals of life when life is not always happy events for us and for many people within this world?  The Risen Christ is still within us and this world as the continuity of the ministry of suffering servant Messiah.  And so we can have the joy of Holy Spirit even while being very unhappy with specific conditions of suffering in this world which is consistently experienced as both entropy of apparent conditions while experiencing new birth and new beginning within new surpassing new states of becoming.

Within the age of the baptism of fire by Jesus the Messiah, we have the visions of the apocalyptic as affirmation of the normalcy of justice and the reality of endings making room for new beginnings of better approximations of justice being lived out within the lives of those who claim to know the presence of the Risen Christ.

Many Christians seem to reduce the ordeal of our age to a war or a game with the hope that someday our team will win when all the bad guys are punished.

The ordeal is the actual life of the free conditions of probabilities, namely, living with what actually might happen now and in the future given what has already happened in the past.

Many Christians want the end of the life of probabilities where only good wins, thus making goodness a future automatic robotic happening, and robbing morality of any significance when only the freedom to be good would persist.

I would invite during this Advent season to embrace the age of the baptism with fire, the age of the ordeal of the always already conditions of free probability for all things to happen.  We can rejoice within the conditions of the fiery ordeal because we have been baptized by Jesus the Messiah into a Holy Spirit Kingdom, who is our rejoicing in spite of the fiery ordeal.

May God give us all grace to survive and thrive within the fiery ordeal of what may happen, and may we know the messianic baptism of the Holy Spirit by the presence of the Risen Christ in our lives.  With this baptism, we have been given the joy to rejoice. Amen.