The Intrepid Acolyte, November 2014

How Is Christ, King?

Last Sunday after  Pentecost: Christ the King Cycle A  proper 29 November 23, 2014

Ezek. 34:11-16, 20-24     Ps.100       

Eph. 1:15-23      Matt. 25:31-46

Lectionary Link

There were two friends who ran into each other while pumping gas and they decided they wanted to catch up on all the family news.  So Henry ask John if he wanted to meet him down the road at Starbucks for some coffee and John said yes.  Henry took off and arrived at Starbucks for John and he waited and waited and after about half an hour John finally showed up.  Henry ask, "What took you so long?"  John said, "Did you see that stalled car on the road?"  Henry said, "Yes, but it was a Mercedes and I figured the guy was just going to call Triple A."  John said, "But he was waving for someone to stop and so I did.  Well, it turns out he had forgotten his cell phone and so he used mine to call Triple A.  He thanked me and told me to go on but he ask me if I liked baseball and I said that I didn't follow any sports teams.  Well, he took a box with a baseball in it and signed it and gave it to me.  And I decided that I should take a selfie with him, so I did.  Henry said, “Are you sure it wasn’t just some Joe Blow signing a baseball?”    Henry opened the box and saw the signature of Madison Bumgarner on the baseball and his teeth dropped out of head.  He said, "Are you sure this is not a fake?  Let me see the selfie."  So John got out his iphone picture and sure enough, it was Madison Bumgarner.  Henry said, "Just imagine that I drove right past this guy in need and I didn't stop to help him and he is a hero of mine, and you hate sports and you stopped and got to meet the hero of the World Series.  How ironic is that?  If I had known who it was, I would have stopped and helped."

  Now I just made this parable up to give us a modern sense of the parable of Jesus.   I believe that the experience of the Son of Man being present within the poor and the vulnerable and the presence of the Risen Christ being known in all people is to arrive at the height of human spiritual development in the experience of compassion or empathy.

  It is literally impossible to walk in someone shoes, no two people have a coincidence of experience,  and so how do we move from wanting kindness and favor for ourselves to being able to imagine, well, “I guess other people want to have the experience of kindness and favor too.”

   This parable of Jesus reveals to us how the capacity may be non-existent in some and commonplace in others.  We are fortunate in life if we have been mentored by people who have taught us empathy and compassion.  It really is an incredible gift to have the energy of imagination go out of oneself and with sensitivity enter the life of another which in turn allows one to nuance a comforting response to another person and not even know it.

  People who have learned empathy most often don't know it.  If they knew they had empathy it would be like acting or a performance.  “Hey, look everyone, see how much empathy I have!  See how much compassion I have!”   And if empathy and compassion were but like a theatre role it would be empty.

  The parable of Jesus about the judgment of the Son of Man acknowledging the people who had compassion and empathy indicated that such people were kind of amazed.  "When did I do that to you?  And the Son of Man replied, because I was hidden in the poor, the hungry and prisoner and so when you did it to them you did it to me."  That is the absolute grace of empathy; in empathy people get treated as being valued,  loved and worthy of care.

  In the biblical story, the ultimate king was King David.  He was a shepherd King.  He rose from humble beginnings and had a way to treat people to make him a successful King.  In fact, he was so successful that he set the bar too high for the kings of Israel.  And so the Hebrew Scripture writers made him into a future mythical figure who was the great person who could restore peace and order in the world.  The entire notion of the messiah grew out of idealizing King David after most of his successors were terrible failures and when Israel lost their freedom of independence.  Surely, a new anointed one, someone in lineage of David would arise again.  If Israel was like any country, it would have cycles of success and downturns; surely there is a great day of success with a Davidic Messiah in our future.  Surely, we will have another shepherd king who like all shepherds will be able to separate the sheep and the goats, those who understood God's purposes.

  The Son of Man, an apocalyptic figure, a Davidic messiah, the Risen Christ and a returning Christ all get morphed into one future idealized leader and judge in the aspirations of those early followers of Jesus.

  The life experience of the early followers of Jesus was not that of successful citizens in a new kingdom with a Davidic hero.  The early followers of Jesus depended upon the extraordinary gift of empathy and compassion for their survival and this became expressive of their fellowship with each other.

  In the parable Jesus there reference to the separation of sheep and goats.  I think it also implies that we can be both sheep and goats, because in wisdom parable one needs to understand that they are are like dreams and comprise the structures of human behaviors.  We can be people who practice empathy and compassion even when we don't think anything about it.  But what is also true is that we can participate unknowingly in the banality of neglect and even cruelty.  People are neglectful of each other and cruel to each other and don't recognize it because when everyone is doing it, each individual seems to be absolved of any wrong.

  In the aftermath of the Adolph Eichmann trial, the philosopher Hannah Arendt tried to answer why and how Nazi Germany could happen in a country with lots of Lutheran and Catholic Christians.  She used the phrase, "the banality of evil."  Evil and cruelty became banal, commonplace and unchallenged because there was a significant power and knowledge base in society to allow people passively to comply to the "everyone is doing it" syndrome.  And so evil became unacknowledged and unchallenged from within their society.  A Nazi "Christian" could say, "when were we cruel?"  And the Son of Man could say, "When you did to your neighbors, who happened to be Jewish, you did it to me."  People may be those who practice an unnoticed and regular empathy at times but in other ways be agents of an unexamined banality of evil.  Just think about the history of the subjugation of women, the long history of slavery, the religious persecutions and inquisitions, the discrimination against the impaired and against the gay and lesbian persons in the world.

  The Son of Man stands to us as both judge and king and as one who has only one criterium; empathy expressed in compassion.  How can you say you love God whom you can't see if you don't love your brothers and sisters whom you can see?

  Today, we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.  And Christ is not King like any earthly king that we know of.  Why?  Because Christ has the power to empty divinity of any appearance of divinity and hide the divine self within the lives of ordinary people and say to us, " Now come and find me and come and worship and honor me by serving Christ the King in each other." 

  And if we can do this, we have achieved the very highlight of being human in the best possible way, by achieving empathy and compassion.

  Today the Son of Man recognizes us for when we have practiced empathy and didn't know it.  But the Son of Man also wants to interdict our patterns of not recognizing the kingly presence of Christ in some people whom we neglect or demean with knowing it.

  May Christ the King as the Son of Man bring us to judgment today as we learn to be affirmed in the empathy we have achieved but also be rebuked and exposed in the areas of blindness when we have failed to see Christ within the lives of others.

  Christ is like no earthly King; Christ is the incognito King who is best known when we practice empathy and compassion.  Let us thank Christ the King for this high calling to empathy and compassion.  It is the impossible work of God's Spirit within us.  And so we say, “Holy Spirit, do this impossible work within us.”  Amen.

  

Sunday School, November 23, 2014 Last Sunday after Pentecost, Christ the King, Cycle A, Proper 29

November 23, 2014: The Last Sunday after Pentecost, Christ the King

Sunday School Themes

If Jesus is a King, how was Jesus like earthly kings?
Did he live in a palace?
Why do we confess Jesus as a king?
St. Paul believed that Jesus was like a king because God raised him from the dead.  A person with the power of resurrection is greater than any earthly king.
Jesus was not a obvious king.
Jesus as a king of hearts.
Jesus had the power of love and with the power of love he has convinced billions of people to change their lives and to be better people.
Which type of king is better?  A king who is strong enough to force you to do things or someone who inspires you and persuades you to a better person and to change your life?

We in the church believe that we can know the presence of Christ when we gather to pray and to bless the bread and wine and receive holy communion.

The Parable of Jesus from the Gospel indicates that Christ as the Son of Man, the future judge of the world can be found somewhere else, he is found in the poor, the hungry and those who are wrongly imprisoned.  When we take care of the poor, feeding the hungry and visiting those in prison, we are actually visiting Christ as the Son of Man.

Do you see how this parable of Jesus was used to convince people to help the poor and needy?  In our baptismal promises, we promise to seek Christ in all people, and to love our neighbor as our self.  Do you see how this baptismal promise is inspired by the parable from the Gospel?

The writer of the letter of John said that we could love who we don't see if we don't love our brothers and sisters whom we do see.  So the presence of God is hid in our neighbors and we can learn to love God better, by loving our neighbors better.

Puppet Show

Woolly the Sheep and Bill Gordon the Goat

Bill Gordon:  Hey, Woolly, how are you and your fuzzy self doing today?  Don't get too close; you know I am allergic to wool,....hee...hee...hee..  just kidding.

Woolly: Bill, you  are always joking.  How many tin cans have you eaten today?  Just kidding....oh wait...kidding....kids are what you call your babies.  But I can never figure out why human beings would want to call their children kids....why would they want to be like baby goats.  Goats eat garbage and almost anything.  You goats have no taste for the finer things.

Bill:  Well, baa baa, Woolly sheep.  Did you know that you sheep are treated better in the Bible than us goats?  And that's not fair.

Woolly:  Why do you say that?

Bill:  Well, the Bible says that someday the Son of Man will be like a shepherd and he will separate the sheep and the goats.  And everyone wants to be a sheep and not a goat because the goats are supposed to be the bad guys.

Woolly:  Bill Gordon. don't take it personally.  It is just a story and it refers to  what every shepherd does.  They herd sheep and goats together and so they look alike in the field but sometimes the goats and the sheep have to be kept separately.

Bill: In the parable which Jesus told, the goat represented the person who did not recognize the presence of the Son of Man in the poor people.  The goat was the person who did not help the person in need. 

Woolly:  And the sheep represented the persons who helped the person in need and they did not know that they were helping the Son of Man.  But you know, sometimes each of us is like the sheep and sometimes we are like the goats.

Bill:  What do you mean?

Woolly:  Sometimes we help people in need and sometimes we don't.  Sometimes we don't even see people in need.

Bill:  So, goats are not really bad?

Woolly:  No, goats are not really bad but we all can be good and bad. 

Bill:  And what is good or bad?

Woolly:  Well, according to the parable of Jesus, we are good when we help other and we are bad when we neglect to help others.

Bill: Well, I want to be a good goat.

Woolly:  Well, Bill, you are a good goat.  But I'm just kidding.

Bill: That's not funny.  Let me ask these children.  Children do you want to be good kids?

Children:  Yes we do....

Bill:  See I told they liked to be good little goats.  

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist


November 23, 2014: The Last Sunday after Pentecost, Christ the King

Gathering Songs: Hosanna; Hosanna; The King of Love; The King of Glory Comes

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

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

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Song: Hosanna (Renew! # 71)

1. Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest! Lord we lift your name—with hearts full of praise; Be exalted, oh Lord my God Hosanna in the highest!

2. Glory, Glory, Glory in the highest! Glory, Glory, Glory to the King of kings! Lord we lift your name—with hearts full of praise; Be exalted, oh Lord my God Glory to the King of kings!

Liturgist: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist: Let us pray

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great! Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins! Alleluia

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

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians

God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 100

Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands; * serve the LORD with gladness and come before his presence with a song.

Know this: The LORD himself is God; * he himself has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; * give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; * and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

Thanks be to God!

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

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, `Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, `Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, `You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, `Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, `Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Liturgist: The Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People: And also with you.

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

Offertory Music: Hosanna! Hosanna! (Christian Children’s Songbook # 102)

Hosanna! Hosanna! The little children sing. Hosanna! Hosanna! For Christ, our Lord, is King. “Prepare the way,” the children sing, Hosanna to our Lord and King! Hosanna! Hosanna! The little children sing. (repeat)

Doxology

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

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

Prologue to the Eucharist

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

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

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

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up 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.

(Children 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 can we 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, 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: The King of Love, (Renew! # 106)

1. The King of love my shepherd is, whose goodness keeps me ever. I want for nothing! I am God’s and God is mine for ever.

2. Where streams of living water flow my happy soul God leads now, and where the greenest pastures grow with food celestial feeds now.

3. Though often foolishly I strayed, still in true love God sought me; and told me to be unafraid, and home again God brought me.

4. In time of death I’ll have no fear with you, dear Lord, beside me; your rod and staff my comfort still, your cross before to guide me.

5. You spread a table in my sight the bread of life bestowing; With promise of eternal light My cup is overflowing!

6. Though all of my remaining days, Then guide me, leave me never, Good Shepherd, my I sing your praise within your house forever.

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: The King of Glory, (Renew! # 267)

Refrain: The King of Glory comes, the nation rejoices. Open the gates before him, lift up your voices.

1-Who is the King of glory how shall we call him? He is Emmanuel, the promised of ages. Refrain

2-In all of Galilee, in city or village, he goes among the people curing their illness. Refrain

3-Sing then of David’s son, our Savior and brother; in all of Galilee was never another. Refrain

Dismissal

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

People: Thanks be to God!

We Are Unevenly Talented People: Problem and Blessing

23 Pentecost A p. 28 November 16, 2014

Judges 4:1-7    Psalm 123      

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11  Matthew 25:14-30

Lectionary Link

How many of you when you have gone to Reno or Las Vegas and done some gambling come away telling all of your friends how much money you lost?  No, you tell only about the time you hit the jackpot in the slot machines.  And you conveniently omit to tell the truth about the cumulative total of your losses.  And do you tell everyone about all of the dollars you have spent buying lottery tickets? Or do you only tell about the time you won $50 dollars from a scratch off?  And what about all of the amazing stock investments?  Do you broadcast your losses as much as you broadcast your winning stock investments?

  We conveniently like to accentuate the positive and broadcast our winnings and we don't air our losses in public.  And perhaps that is the psychologically healthy, even though it is the practice of a very selective disclosure.

  Our faith life needs to be encompassing; in our faith we need to embrace all and still live integrated lives in the face of a wide range of uneven and different events which can happen to us.  And this is where the parables of Jesus help us the most; they are wisdom parables which encourage us to understand faith as the ability to integrate everything which happens to us in life and keep us hopeful about life.

  We have often been taught by the interpretative traditions of the church to try to assign certain groups of people to which the judgments in the parable of Jesus are referring.  The Gospels present Jesus in dialogue with the Jewish religious authorities even as the Gospel were mainly written during and after the process of the gradual separation of the Jewish and Christian religious communities from each other.  So, the parables are often used as a polemic against the Jews to imply that "they were wrong about Jesus."

  However in the actual time of Jesus when the parables of Jesus would have been told, such divisions did not yet exist and so it behooves us to recover the original wisdom of the parables of Jesus as being honestly descriptive of the conditions of freedom of life and coming to have faith. Faith involves hope and belief that our lives are still worthwhile, no matter what happens to us.

  The parable of the talents occurs in the middle of Every Member Canvass Season and how convenient is that?  So we may be tempted to expound upon the terrible life principle of atrophy, the use it or lose it reality of life.  The truth of life is that when we choose to develop one gift or aspect of ourselves, some other part of ourselves experiences atrophy through lack of practice.  No one is omni-competent to everything that needs to be done in life and so one is forced to make choices about what skills one wants to develop in one's life.  The skills that we do not have or develop may be the ones which cause us distress.

  We are tempted to think that the Master in the parable of the talents is God and God assigns different measures of talents to different people.  And God requires that each person doubles one's talents.

  I think it is more intuitive and consistent with other words of Jesus to understand that the Master of the parable is the freedom of human conditions in the uneven distribution of the nature and nurture of talents in one's life.

  I think that each person has the five talent experience, the two talent experience but each person also has the one talent experience and the experience of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

  There are some things in life which just come easier to us and we discover a gift and we have fulfillment in developing a skill and it pays us with very great reward.  And we are blessed in life if we have found the "five talent" aspect of our personal development.

  We also have the "two talent" aspect of our personal development.  By this I mean that outside of our five talent investment, we have avocations, hobbies, and other personal skills which complement our main life vocation.    A person is blessed in life to find in addition to one's main vocation to have enjoyable avocations where one finds the expression of creativity and joyful rewards.

  Further, each of us finds out that one is not superhuman in all manner of living.  We find that we have the proverbial Achilles' heels; the parts of our selves which are not natural or fun or easy to develop.  We find ourselves in certain areas of our personality paralyzed and unable to perform up to preferred levels.  We experience the weeping and gnashing of teeth in the experience of our own mediocrity and it can be a humbling experience.  It sometimes feels as though we over-compensate in our areas of strength so that we don't let our areas of weakness bother us too much or we hide those areas of weakness from others. 

  The parable of Jesus presents us with an artful understanding of the human experience of encompassing great talent, moderate talent and mediocre talent in the experience of each person.

  The reason that I view the parable in this way is that I think it would be a mistake to live this life believing that God as the Master of life is someone who we would be so afraid of as being so demanding that we cower in fear and not even try to develop our gifts at all.  And if God is not represented as the Master of life to be feared if we don't develop our gifts, who is this master of life who is presented in the parable?

  I believe the master of life represented in the parable is the experience of the conditions of freedom which means that each person has an uneven distribution of talents and levels of personal development.  And in the areas of our strengths and success we can feel proud and affirmed.  But to be honest to the conditions of freedom in life, a real exacting master, we know that we can fail because of our fear.  We may have a personal tendency to fail to develop some important skills in life which frustrates us and makes us feel like life is unfair to us in some regards in not allowing for the development of ourselves into superhuman species.

  So faith and wisdom have to do with recognizing the conditions of freedom which face us.  Let us be wise about having any pretense about being omni-competent in life.  If I can be honest about not being omni-competent in life, then I will not give up because I experience weakness in certain areas of personal development; rather I will let my strengths compensate and carry me, not through denial, but in faith I attempt to weave together the human experience of having strengths and weaknesses.

  Where I am weak, I am complemented and made complete by seeking and receiving the gift of my brother or sister who is strong in the area that I am weak.  The experience of weeping and gnashing of teeth is an important experience for us to know if we are going to gain the ability to have empathy for other people and also have the humility to ask and receive help when we need it.

  This parable of Jesus is also a wisdom parable about the importance of community.  When I am frustrated in the development of a certain talent, I need the supporting gifts and talents of others to make me complete within the community.  But also when I experience the blessing of my own talents, I need to be willing to help and lift up and complement with my strength of gifts the weaknesses of other.

  And so I believe that this parable of the talent exposes the mixed blessing of life in the manifestations of our gifts.  We have great gifts or dominant personal gifts; we have other moderate personal gifts but we also have some areas that for various reasons remain underdeveloped or weak.

  The wisdom for our parish community and families and community at large is to work for the common good.  The common good consists of learning how to put together pieces of the puzzle of effective human community by seeking to find the interlocking fit of our gifts so that the strong and weak get properly matched for a successful community to complete its mission.

  The parable of the talents invites us to the puzzle of the work of finding complementary human relationship with our community of faith for the common good.  May God grant us wisdom to discover honesty about the strengths and weaknesses in our gifts and talents.  May God give generous hearts to share our strengths to complement those who are weak..  May God give us humble honesty about our weakness and the vulnerability to confess that we need each other and we need the experience of the grace of God to make us to be a community of people who can do much more together as people who complement each other than we can do as presumed omni-competent Lone Rangers or those who suffer in silence and loneliness.

  Let us pray that God would give us grace and wisdom to be the church as we need God's grace and we need each other here in this place.  Amen. 

November 16, 2014 Sunday School, 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Cycle A Proper 28

Sunday School Themes

Song: Hosanna, Hosanna, the Little Children Sing

The parable of Jesus is the parable of the talents.  It is a story which illustrates the natural principle of life called "atrophy."  You might explain to students what atrophy means for the physical body.  Discuss why doctors make people get up and exercise immediately after surgery.  The longer a person waits to exercise an inactive limb, the longer it will take to recover the use of the limb.

This is why we practice everything in life.  It is why we keep repeating things.  We do it to keep our muscles in shape and our mind sharp in thinking.

If we don't use our gifts and talents we will lose them, not because God wants us to but because it is a "law of nature."

The lesson we need to learn is to not let our gift and talents be lost or undiscovered because we are lazy or because we refuse to practice.

Puppet Show:

Billy: Mom, do you know what a trophy means?

Mom: Is that a reward that you get if your team wins the championship?

Billy: I don't think so.

Mom: What do you think it means?

Billy: I'm not sure; I heard a teacher say that a student's brain would suffer a trophy if he did not student more.

Mom: Billy, your teacher did not say a tro fee.  You teacher said, AT-tra-feee

Billy: What does AT-tra-fee mean?

Mom: Atrophy means that if you don't exercise something, you may lose the ability to recover the function of a muscle.  Have you heard the expression: "Use it or lose it?"

Billy: Yes, I have.  That's what my coaches tell me.

Mom:  Atrophy is one of the frightening rules of life.  If someone has surgery to repair their knee and if they do not start exercising right away after surgery, it takes them longer to recover.

Billy:  But when you have surgery on your knee it must be very painful to exercise it.

Mom:  It is but doctors have found from testing many patients that the sooner a person begins to exercise the quicker they recover the full ability to use their knee.

Billy:  Does atrophy only affect our bodies?

Mom: No, atrophy affects most everything.  If we want to become good at something we must practice.  And if we don't practice we won't develop a skill.  And if we wait too long, sometimes it is too late to begin or learn.  There are many adults who wished that they had learned another language when they were children because children pick up  new languages quicker than adults.  

Billy:  I know Grandpa always said he wished he had learned to play the piano when he was young.  He said it was very hard for him to learn when he was old and he could never learn to play very well.

Mom: The parable which Jesus told about the talents is about atrophy.  God gives everyone different kinds of gifts but gifts are like little babies...we have to take good care of them and let them grow up.  We have to practice the gifts which God has given to us.

Billy: Okay....he shouts "O Solo Mio..."

Mom: What are you doing?

Billy: Mom, I'm practicing my gift of singing.

Mom: Great, but could you do it in your bedroom for now?

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist

November 14, 2014: The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: The B-I-B-L-E, I Am the Bread of Life, Peace Before Us

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

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

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

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.
Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: The B-I-B-L-E, (All the Best Songs for Kids   # 119)

1.      The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me.  I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.  

2.      The B-I-B-L-E, It is God’s word for me.  I will obey God’s holy word, the B-I-B-L-E.  

3.      The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me.  I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.  

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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

Liturgist: A Reading the First Letter to the Thessalonians
For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 123

So our eyes look to the LORD our God, * until he show us his mercy.

Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy, * for we have had more than enough of contempt,
Too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, * and of the derision of the proud.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!
For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!
For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!
For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!
For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!
For work and for play. Thanks be to God!
For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!
For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!
For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.
   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, `Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' His master said to him, `Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, `Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' His master said to him, `Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, `Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master replied, `You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed
We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.
Since God is so great and we are so small,
We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.
We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and
     resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.
We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is
     welcome.
We believe that Christ is kind and fair.
We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.
And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase:

Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

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

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.
For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.
For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.
For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.
For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.
For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.
For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

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

People:            And also with you.

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

Offertory Music:  For the Beauty of the Earth,    # 416  (blue hymnal)

1-For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies, Refrain: Christ our God to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.

2-For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light, Refrain.

Doxology

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

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

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”
All become members of a family by birth or adoption.
Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.
A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.
The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up 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.

(Children may gather around the altar)

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;
You have made us in your image
And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:
Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.
And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph
And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

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

 the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  
 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. 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:  Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart   (Renew!,  # 266 )

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ his Son.  (sing twice)

And now let the weak say, “I am strong”; let the poor say “I am rich” because of what the Lord has done for us.  (sing twice)

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the holy one, give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ his Son (sing twice) Give thanks!

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

Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet.  Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.

Love before us,…
Light before us…
Christ before….

Dismissal   

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

People:      Thanks be to God!