Greedy People Are Really Good at What They Are

14 Pentecost, C p 20, September 22, 2019 
Amos 8:4-7.  Psalm  113
1 Timothy 2:1-7   Luke 16:1-13
Lectionary Link One has to salute greedy people.  Why?  Greedy people are really successful at what they do and with what they are.  Greedy people have singularly self focus in looking out for themselves to the neglect of others.  Their greed usually creates lots of collateral sinning as well.  To amass as much wealth as one can for oneself, one also has to become dishonest.  Don’t misinterpret what I am saying; not all wealthy people are greedy.  Greed is when one is a slave to wealth and one serves it and the power and prestige of wealth even if one does not need it.

One can find in the parable words of Jesus a fascination with a greedy steward.   Jesus often uses symbols of notorious sinning to make a counter-point.

I believe that the words of Jesus are often about stewardship being the basic issue of our lives.  Whom does my life belong to?  Whom do I serve?  Do the words, deeds and the way I manage my material existence reveal whom I serve in this life?

The genius of the creation story reveals that God as creator is the owner of the universe and a very generous and permissive landlord to all the Adams and Eves.  But what if the tenants begin to behave as though the apparent possession of what we have is treated by us as actual ownership of our lives and all that we have?

Once we are fooled into the belief that “possession is nine tenth of the law,” then we begin to act as we are the owners of our lives.  We can begin to believe that the main principle of living is to “look out for number, one, namely me.”

And we can get really clever at being selfish.  We can get really clever at being greedy with our time, talent and treasure.

And Jesus was fascinated about how good at their vocation greedy people actually become.  But then he opines:  Isn’t it ironic how devoted to greed people can become?  How is it that people of faith, children of light,  do not show a corresponding profound devotion to the God of love who owns their lives and who has shared so generously?  Why is it that people of faith who have been given so much cannot imitate in a profound way, God who is love and sharing and caring with everything.

It seems as though Jesus is saying, “People, don’t you understand the big story of Genesis?  God who created you and owns you has given everything to you.  And all God asks is that we share in the way that the God of love shares with us and that we acknowledge the divine ownership of our lives.”

Desire or the energy of life is violated when the capacity that we have to love God and each other is expressed as the selfish energy of idolatry which leads to greed and the other forms of addiction.  Greed is the addiction to wealth.   Have you noticed how in our society greed is actually promoted as a virtue?  Greed is a socially accepted form of addiction.  We are not scandalized that 5% of people own most the wealth of our country; we think it is more important that each of us could rise to become one of those lucky 5%.

And we must clearly say that if we look at the words of Jesus and our country, we cannot say that our our country is “Christ-like.”   Why?  The words of Jesus are rather blunt: “You cannot serve God and wealth.”

You did hear about the very rich man who did not like it when the pastor started using a different translation of the Bible.   The pastor asked him why he did not like the different translation.  And the rich man said, “Well, we should use the King James Version.”  And the pastor ask, why.  The rich man said, “Well, in the King James Version, Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and Mammon.”  No one knows what Mammon means.  But in the new translation, Jesus says, “ You can’t serve God and wealth.  I don’t want people to get the wrong idea about my wealth.”

So do you think that Jesus is against wealth and that Jesus would be against the “free market?”  Not at all.  I think the market is truly free when people make the creative free choice to make sure that everyone has enough.  This is what an enlightened free market looks like.  The free market has meant that greed can win the day;  Jesus hopes that generosity could win the day.

And if Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and wealth,” I believe that what he was directly implying was that we can serve God with our wealth, with the wealth of our time, talent and treasure. 

The stewardship prayer from the Hebrew Scriptures that is often used at the offertory”. All things come from you, O God, and from your own, have we given thee.”  This is expression of what the free market means in the biblical sense.

Biblical stewardship is how we avoid the addiction of greed.  This is how we honor the basic stewardship contract that we are meant to have with our creator, owner, landlord God of the universe.

Why was Jesus so fascinated with greed?  I believe that Jesus knew that the wonderful human capacity could be transformed for truly marvelous human endeavors.  If we have the capacity for greed; we have an equal capacity for generosity.  Every human evil capacity can be transformed to an opposite good and creative outcome.

Jesus came to show us that human capacity can be transformed towards excellence.  The story of the New Testament is how ordinary people encountered the Risen Christ and had their lives changed.

You and I are called to represent Jesus through living transformed lives.  Greed may not be our problem but we might have other habits which need to be transformed.

God created us with wonderful capacities and God gave us the stewardship of all that we have and are.  We find that we often fail miserably in the task of being good stewards with what God has given us.

Jesus came to rescue us in our poor stewardship and show us the path of good stewardship.  The mystical experience of the Risen Christ is to put us on the path of the transformation of our lives.

Today, we can like Jesus, be fascinated with all of the greed in our world, and all of the evil in our world which is permitted because of genuine freedom.

Can we also believe in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to have our lives transformed and model for this world, the best use of freedom in our lives for the loving and just stewardship of our world?  With God’s help, let us be on the path of transformation.  Amen.

Sunday School, September 22, 2019 14 Pentecost C proper 20

Sunday School, September 22, 2019    14 Pentecost C proper 20

Theme

You cannot serve God and wealth

What if you are hungry and you make yourself a sandwich to eat, but while you go to get some milk, someone takes your sandwich and eats it, how would you feel?

You might be upset.  Why?  Because you were the maker and the owner of that sandwich and someone took it without your permission and they ate it instead of you.

God made the world and so the world belongs to God.  What if people just take all of the things in this world without asking God, without thanking God and what if people just pretend that everything belongs to them and they ignore, forget or just plain steal from the owner.

You cannot serve God and wealth.  What is the solution to this problem?

You shall serve God with your wealth.  If we come to know that we are God’s sons and daughters and that we have inherited everything from God, then we will use all of our wealth for God’s family business.  What is God’s family business?  It is to make sure that everyone in God’s family is taken care of and so we use our wealth to take care of everyone in God’s family, including our God.

You cannot serve God and wealth.  We can think that this is hard and difficult choice or we can accept God as our Father and the creator and owner of the universe and if we believe this then we can happily use our wealth to serve God.

Think about how you and can use what God has given to us to serve God.

Sermon

What if you let me play with your Legos.  And while I was playing with your Legos, I decided that I would give some of them away to some of my friends.  And when you came to me to get your Legos back, I hand you a few Legos.  And you would ask me where are the rest of my Legos?  And I would say to you: Oh, I gave them to some of my friends.  What would you say, “Why did you do that?  They belonged to me.  You cannot give away something that does not belong to you.”  You would be upset wouldn’t you?

  What if one of you girls let your sisters play with five of your dolls.  And what if your sister decided to give a Barbie doll and a Snow White Doll away to her friends.  So when you came to get your dolls, there was only three dolls left?  How would you feel about your sister giving away two of your dolls?  Not very good.  You would say to your sister, “Why did you give my dolls away.  You had no right to do so.

  So you understand ownership?  When something belongs to you then you are the owner.  And what does it mean to be an owner?  It means that you have control over the things that you own.  It means that if you want to give your things away, you can but since you are the owner, you alone can choose.

  In our Gospel lesson, Jesus reminded his friends that God is the owner of everything.  Everything belongs to God because God made the world.  But God is a good maker.  God shared everything that was made with us. But when God shares everything with us he asks us to remember two things: First, remember that even though I share everything with you, I still am the owner of everything.  Second, since I share everything with you, then you need to share so that everyone has enough.

  That is why Jesus gave us two rules: Love God with all of our hearts.  That is how we recognize God as the owner of everything.  And love our neighbor as ourselves.  That is the rule of sharing.

  So how does God if some people have nothing to eat in this world and other people have so much to eat that they throw away good food?  How does God feel if some people have no home to live in and other people have five homes to live in?  How does God feel if some people have no clothes to wear and other people have a hundred dresses and shirts to wear?

  God the owner of life, who has shared everything with us, must feel very sad when some people have too much and other people have almost nothing.

  How can we correct this problem?  Love God and love our neighbor.  When we do this we remember that God is the owner of all things and we learn to use the good things that God gives us in the right way by learning to share and care for people who do not have enough.

  So today, let us remember that God is the owner of life.  And we need God’s help to know what to do with all of the good things that God shares with us.

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

September 22, 2019: The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Jesus in the Morning, If You’re Happy, Seek Ye First,  Let There Be Peace

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: Jesus in the Morning   (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 134)

1. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in the morning, Jesus at the noon time.  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus when the sun goes down.

2. Love Him  3. Serve Him   4. Praise Him

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: 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 First Letter to Timothy

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 113

Hallelujah! Give praise, you servants of the LORD; * praise the Name of the LORD.

Let the Name of the LORD be blessed, * from this time forth for evermore.

From the rising of the sun to its going down * let the Name of the LORD be praised.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God!

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said to the disciples, "Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

Offertory Song: If You’re Happy  (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 124)

1-If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.  If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.  If you’re happy and you know it, then your face should surely show it, if you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

2-Make a high five 3-Make a low five  4-Shout Amen!

Children’s Choral Anthem:

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

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness.  And all these things will be added unto you, allelu, alleluia.  Refrain: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, allelu, alleluia.

Ask, and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find, knock, and the door shall be opened unto you;  Allelu, alleluia.  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: Let There Be Peace On Earth (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 251)

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.  Let there be peace on earth the peace that was meant to be.  With God as our Father, brothers all are we.  Let me walk with my brother in perfect harmony.  Let peace begin with me let this be the moment now.  With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow to take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.  Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

  

Archery Anyone?

14 Pentecost, Cp19, September 15, 2019
Exodus 32:7-14   Psalm 51:1-11
1 Timothy 1:12-17  Luke 15:1-10
Lectionary Link

One of the consistent criticisms of Jesus found in the Gospels is that he "ate with tax collectors and sinners."  For us, we are probably okay with Jesus eating with sinners; we'd rather he not befriend IRS agents.  Like Jesus most of us could also say that some of our best friends are sinners.

Is St. Paul a friend of ours?  He referred to himself as the foremost of sinners.  Probably because he was guilty of accessory to the murder of St. Stephen and he was never prosecuted except when he was struck blind in a mystical experience with the Risen Christ who kind of said to Paul.  “Stop it.  You are persecuting me and you are violating the Torah too like that big commandment about not killing.

The criticisms of Jesus as presented in the Gospel perhaps reveals how great Law can become petty legalism in the practice of religious communities.  Mountains can be made mole hills and mole hills can be made into mountains.

It's like the neighborhood association not caring about speeding your car through the neighborhood where children play but you better clean up after your dog or there severe consequences.

How did the friends of Jesus come to be designated as a special category of sinners?  In the great biblical story of creation, didn't everyone get designated as sinner from birth because of the great Fall?

Let's talk about sin and sinners for while and to do so I ask "Archery anyone?"

How is sin related to archery?

In the Hebrew Scriptures the Hebrew word for sin is "chet" which literally means missing the mark.  When that word was translated into Greek, in the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures, called the Septuagint, the word used was a term from archery, "hamartia" which means missing the mark.  If an archer missed the target, he sinned.

Today, you and I are invited to ponder the meaning of sin and sinner.  In general, we might say sin is doing something bad and sinners is what we call ourselves because we know that we can be sinful in our behaviors.

The philosopher Nietzsche wrote a book about the genealogy or beginning of morals.  He concluded that good and bad essentially were defined by people who had the power to define what good and bad were.  This went directly against people of faith who believed that there is some transcendent or divine reference to establish what is good.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the Torah was the document to provide a basis for what was to be regarded as good and bad.  Moses found the people deeply in need of moral education.  He could not leave the children of Israel alone.   Moses realized that his days were numbered; he would not always be with the children of Israel.  “What would the children of Israel do when I’m not here to tell them what to do?”  God called him up the mountain to provide him with a legal document, a constitution for Israel to have when the  “living lawman” would no longer be in their midst.  And what happened while he was gone?  The children got restless and got the pro-tem leaders to build a golden calf to worship.  Moses came down and got so angry that he destroyed the first copy of the commandments.   So he had to return up the mountain to get another copy (long be Xerox).

The Bible uses archery metaphors to talk about sin.  Sin, in both, Biblical Hebrew and Greek meaning to miss the mark, miss the target.  It is the human condition to be born as bad archers; we are born to miss the mark because in our tendency toward “self guided” ego states, we tend to act toward the targets of self interest and immediate desire gratification.  We are born as the “gang that can’t shoot straight,” because we take on the habits of all that is imperfect and misguided in our environments we end up being sinners who sin.

If we are supposed to be moral archers in our life, what do we need? We need to know what we are aiming at and we need to need archer instruction to teach us how to shoot.

The word Torah, in Hebrew, comes from the root meaning, “to take aim.” The word for sin in Hebrew and in the Greek translation of the Hebrew means to miss the mark; to miss the target.  So the Torah was the needed correction for people who were born to be bad archers.

The giving of the Torah to Moses was first to show the people of Israel the target of our moral aim. We are to love the one God with all our hearts, souls and minds. We do this by not having other idols or competitors for God. We do this by honoring God ‘s name with non-hypocritical behaviors, we do this by giving Sabbath time worship as proof of the God priority in our lives. And the rest of the commandments are about how to love our neighbors, honoring parents, valuing life, marriage relationships, truth, property and learning impulse control.

When Jesus came into his ministry in Palestine, he found that the great principles of the Torah had become in practice the division of people into the good guys and the bad guys. Sin and sinners had become redefined. Sinners were those people who could not maintain all of the ritual purity requirements of the religious authorities. This meant that vast numbers of the populace were automatically defined as sinner with no possible way of becoming ritually pure righteous people of faith. The religious leader had the authority to define what was sin and who were the sinners.

They were deeply disturbed that Jesus was hanging out with people who they defined as sinners.

Jesus told parables about being lost. What is good about being lost? If your child is lost at the mall, why is it good that he or she is lost? Because it means mom and dad deeply love and value one who is lost they expend great effort to find the lost one.

Jesus was convicting the religious leaders about not valuing lots of people. And if Jews who did not keep all of the ritual rules of Judaism were lost, what did that mean for the Gentiles?

Jesus declared people as lost because he said that God deeply valued everyone that God wanted to find everyone And if we are found by God, it means we can be on God’s archery team. And if we are on God’s archery team, we can appreciate sin as a positive concept.

If sin means that as moral archers we are missing the target, how that that be good? Well, Jesus gave us an impossible target to aim at. He said that we had to be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. That means that we are always going to be missing the target. But what is important? It is important that we know that we are aiming in the right direction.  Being in the archery team of Jesus means that we have a moral exemplar to teach us how and where to shoot. It means we have the “swooshing” energy of the Holy Spirit to carry our moral arrows in the direction of God who is perfect. And though we never quite reach the target, we are assured that the grace of Christ always makes up the difference between us and God, and so we live for another day on the archery team of Jesus learning to shoot at the right target in the right moral direction of God unsurpassable perfection.

Jesus came to say that there is no longer religious people and then there are sinners, you know those other people who are different than I am in the way I describe correct behaviors. We are all sinners, “the gang that can’t shoot straight,” so we need to accept the graceful intervention of the Greatest Archer of all, Jesus Christ, who is better than the legendary William Tell who had to shoot the apple on top of his son’s head.

Today, Jesus says to us, “you are valued people whom I am found.    To us who have been born as the “gang that couldn’t shoot straight,” Jesus say, “ Archery anyone?  Come and join my archery team.  Come and sin under my guidance, that is, come and make sure that when you miss you are missing towards being better today that you were yesterday because you have set as your target loving God with all your soul and might. And we are never done doing that and we are never good enough in doing this to judge other people as “unacceptable lost” sinners.

May the grace of Christ, enlighten our sinning today as we continue to miss the mark, but at least be aiming towards God’s perfection. Amen.

Sunday School, September 15, 2019 14 Pentecost C proper 19

Sunday School, September 15, 2019   14 Pentecost C proper 19

Sunday School Theme

The value of being lost

We do not look for things which are not important to us.  When something or someone is missing from our lives.  Our hearts want to find them and get them back into our lives.

What are things that you don’t like to lose?  Favorite toys.  People don’t like to lose their keys or their watches or their rings and other jewelry. 

What do we do when we lose something?  We try to find it because it is important to us.  We use it and it is valuable to us.

What about losing people?  The most painful loss of a person is when they die.  And then we cannot have them return to our lives.

Jesus said that God noticed that there were lots of lost people.  Who were these people lost to?  They were lost to the religious gatherings.  Many religious people did not even want to find lost people.  Jesus told his friends that there were many lost people who were important to God but they were not important to the people who would not invite them into their lives.

Jesus was criticized for eating with sinners.  But Jesus was trying to teach that the people called sinners were the lost people who needed to be found and brought into the family of God’s love.

Let us be careful about people we exclude from our lives.  We need to remember that God loves everyone, particularly those who do not know that they are loved and cared for by God.

Can we learn to be God’s detectives and God’s finder of the people who are lost because they are neglected by others.

Let us become a part of God’s army of finders who are doing search and rescue of the people who seem to be lost in this world because no one cares for them.

Sermon:

  Do you know one of the most frightening experiences in a family?  When a child is lost.  Sometimes a young child wanders away from the shopping cart and a child can get lost in a big store.  And mom and dad can get very worried.  They look and look until they find their lost child.

  There is one thing that is good about being lost.  Do you know what that is?  If someone or something is lost, it tells us that it is valuable.

  If you lose your watch or keys or toys, why do you look for them?  Because you want them, they are valuable to you.

  Jesus told stories about being lost.  And he did this to teach people that God values all people.  And if God values all people, then we too should value people who seem to be lost from finding enough food, health care or freedom in life.

  We are having a baptism today because baptism is a way of celebrating how valuable each person is to God and to our community.  Lily is very valuable to us, to her parents and family and this is what we are celebrating today.

  Baptism is a way of celebrating in this big, big world that God has found us because we are valuable to God.

  So we practice baptism as a way of sharing God’s love for everyone.  We do not want anyone to feel lost in this world.  We want everyone to feel valued by God and by special people in their family and in their community.

  Let us be thankful today that we don’t have to feel lost today.  God values us and God has found us.  And the way in which we celebrate our value to God and to each other as children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ is through Holy Baptism.

  We baptized today because we celebrate that God’s love has found us.  And so we do not ever have to feel lost in life because we belong to the family of Christ.

  Repeat: Thank you God for finding us and making us members of the family of Christ.  Amen.

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

September 15, 2019: The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Peace Before Us, I Am the Bread of Life, Dona Nobis Pacem, When the Saints

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

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

2. Love   3. Joy   4. Light   5. Christ

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: 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 First Letter to Timothy

But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 51

Make me hear of joy and gladness, * that the body you have broken may rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins * and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, * and renew a right spirit within me.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God!

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.

All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."  So he told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. "Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

Offertory Song: I Am The Bread of Life (Blue Hymnal, # 335)

I am the bread of life; they who come to me shall not hunger; and they who believe in me shall not thirst.  No one can come to me unless the Father draw them.

Refrain:  And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day.

The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world, and they who eat of this bread they shall live for ever, they shall live forever.  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 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,

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: Dona Nobis Pacem  (Renew!, # 240)

Dona nobis pacem, pacem, dona nobis pacem.

Dona nobis pacem, dona nobis pacem.

Dona nobis pacem , dona nobis pacem.

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: When the Saints God Marching In (Christian Children’s Songbook, #248)

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

O when boys go marching in….

O when the girls go marching in…

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God!