Sunday School, July 24, 2022 C proper 12

 

Sunday School, July 24, 2022    7 Pentecost, C proper 12

Theme Prayer

The disciples like us wanted to know how to pray and so they asked Jesus to teach them.  And we have the famous Lord’s Prayer, which is really the disciple’s prayer.

What did Jesus teach us in this prayer?

He said we are to address God as “Our Father.”  This means that we are to be like Jesus in that we know and accept ourselves as God’s children.

He taught us about God’s realm of heaven where perfection is to be found.  Inside us, we have access to the perfect values of God; we ask God to bring the will of God known in the invisible world of heaven to the visible world of earth.

He said we should ask for daily bread.  We ask for the things that we need.  “Give us this day our daily bread.”  We say, “Give us” and not “Give me.”  This means that we are always asking enough for all people to live with what is necessary for their lives.

Jesus also taught us that the only way that we can be successful in family, church and community is through the practice of forgiveness.  Since no one is perfect, it means we have to forgive each other to survive as people living together.

Jesus also told us to ask God our Father, to spare us from the difficult challenges of our lives which would destroy our faith and confidence in God and God’s love.

The Lord’s Prayer gives us a model of how we can pray in our lives.

Sermon

  What is the most famous prayer of all?  What is it called?

  It’s called the Lord’s Prayer and it begins with the words, “Our Father.”

  Jesus taught us to call God, “our father” because he was the Son of God, and he invited us to be sons and daughters of God.

  And we celebrate being sons and daughters of God by being a member of our second family; the family of our church.

  And since God is our Father and creator, we are to treat God and God’s name with great politeness and respect.  That’s why we say “hallowed is your name.”

  Jesus said that God the Father lives in heaven and that we are to ask him to let something of the perfect life of heaven happen upon earth.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

  And what would be perfect life on earth?

  It would be perfect if everyone had enough food to eat.  That’s why we pray, “Give us in this world this day, our daily bread.”  So we should help answer this prayer and work for everyone to have enough to eat.

  And what else would be heaven on earth?

  To practice forgiveness.  Forgiveness is learning how to say that we’re sorry and learning to give people another chance.

  What else would be heaven on earth?  To live our lives in such a way to avoid the things that cause us to lose hope and joy.  So we say, “save us from the time of trial.”  Or deliver us from temptation.  That means even if some bad things happen to us, if we live together as a family of care, then we will not lose our hope and joy when those bad things happen.

  So let us remember the famous prayer, the Our Father.

  Let us accept our selves as son and daughters of God and just like we talk we our moms and dads because we love them, let us learn to talk to God as our heavenly parent. 

Holy Eucharist

July 24, 2022 The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs:Hallelu, Hallelujah, Sing a New Song, O Lord, Hear My Prayer,  He’s Got the Whole World

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

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah!  Praise ye the Lord!  Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah!  Praise ye the Lord!  Praise ye the Lord!  Hallelujah!  Praise ye the Lord!  Hallelujah!  Praise ye the Lord!  Hallelujah!  Praise ye the Lord!

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Liturgy Leader: In our prayers we first praise God, chanting the praise word: Alleluia

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 Letter to the Colossians

As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 138

Though the LORD be high, he cares for the lowly; * he perceives the haughty from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe; * you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand shall save 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!

Birthdays:     

Anniversaries:  

(Sing Birthday blessings or wedding blessings to those present who are celebrating)

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."  And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, `Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, `Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.  "So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

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.

Liturgy Leader: Next in our prayers, we remember people who have special needs.  As we pray let us chant:  Christ Have Mercy

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: Sing a New Song, (Renew!, # 21)

Refrain: sing a new song unto the Lord; let your song be sung from mountains high.  Sing a new song unto the Lord, singing, Alleluia.

1-Yahweh’s people dance for joy; O come before the Lord.  And play for him on glad tambourines, and let your trumpet sound.  Refrain

2-Rise, O children from your sleep; your savior now has come.  He has turned your sorrow to joy, and fill your soul with song.  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 birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Song: O Lord, Hear My Prayer, (Renew! # 173)

O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer:  when I call answer me.  O lord hear my prayer, O lord hear my prayer.  Come and listen to me.

Post-Communion Prayer

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

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

And His Presence has been known to us.

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

    and sisters in Christ.

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

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

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

Closing Song: He’s Got the Whole World, (Christian Children’s Songbook,   # 90)

He’s got the whole world, in his hands.  He’s got the whole wide world, in his hands, he’s got the whole world, in his hands.  He got the whole world in his hands.

He’s got the little tiny babies….

He’s got the brothers and the sisters…

He’s got the mommies and the daddies….

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Prayer as Voting in a Democracy

July 24, 2022 7 Pentecost C, p 12
Hosea 1:2-10  Psalm 85
Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19). Luke 11:1-13

 

Lectionary Link

 

In the system of democracy, it is often said, that if people do not participate by voting, then they deserve the person that gets elected.

 

In in the realm or kingdom of heaven, that inner parallel reality which Jesus taught us about and asked us to participate in, prayer is like the correspondence of voting in a democracy.

 

If we don’t pray, then do we deserve what we get?

 

Very often we do not like some of the outcomes which happen within the freedom which is abroad in our world.  We don’t like the competition if in creative order which pits people against people, nature against humanity, and nature against nature.  We often feel like we are trapped within contrary forces in natural and human systems, and it causes us pain, anxiety, and loss of favorite preferred states of living.

 

In our distress, we often want God to be a benign dictator who would intervene directly in our situation for us, right now.

 

Jesus came to this world to show us the way of God’s democracy and to teach us about how we should vote in this democracy by persistent prayer.

 

God, who is perfect freedom, shares a significant degree of freedom with everyone, every creature, everything, every atom and sub-atomic particle within the universe.  And if God were one to be selectively overriding that freedom, then the moral significance of true freedom would be lost.

 

Jesus came to show us that God doesn’t override freedom except with hope which is always another future.  The past and the present is and will be override by future occasions in God sustaining this world.

 

Jesus came to show us how to live with the conditions of freedom, even the worst conditions, which brought him to his death on the cross.

 

Jesus came to reveal the parallel inner kingdom or realm of God, from which we can learn to live in and understand it to be the lure of God to know spiritual life within natural living.

 

Jesus came to teach us how to influence the nature order with the spiritual order, and the way to practice a mediation between the spiritual order, the kingdom of heaven, is through prayer.

 

So, we have the discourse on prayer presented in our Gospel reading, which includes the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples with some of the main ingredients of interacting as spiritual beings within the natural world.

 

First, we accept that we are dust and deity in our nature.  God is our parent and Father, so we bear on ourselves the image of our parent.  We call God our parent because we are God’s children.  Accept it and promote this identity for all persons.  Next, we need to acknowledge that we live in the heavenly realm of what is ideal, and in the world of what is natural and still growing.  In asking that the will of heaven be done on earth, we are asking to follow the perfect arc of love and justice and with our words and deeds, we continually are trying to approximate the ideal. Second, ask for enough until right now, in health and sustenance.  Give us this day our daily bread.  Too often we are not thankful for what we have now; we are more worried and anxious about what we do not yet have.  Live in asking a gratitude for bread now, and remember the asking pronoun “us” is plural.  Give us.  We are asking on behalf of others too.

 

Further, the words of Jesus instruct us to adopt forgiveness as a way of living.  Why?  The earthly realm is not perfect.  How do we tolerate ourselves and others who are not perfect?  We adopt the reciprocity of forgiveness which is way that communities can survive in peace.  Forgiveness is also compatible with accountability.  We can forgive even as we hold ourselves accountable to standards of mutual well-regard.

 

And the words of Jesus allow us to be “selfish,” in asking to be spared the time of trial, when we get caught in the clashes of the freedom conditions in this world.   It doesn’t mean that we will be spared trials; it means we don’t go looking for them and we are asking wisdom to act in ways which would not give us a needless trial.  Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed, “Father, if this cup could pass from me, but not my will but yours be done.”  It is totally normal and natural to ask for protection from harm’s way.

 

The words after the proposed “Lord’s prayer” provide us with metaphors of the reality of freedom.  Sometimes it seems as though there is a delay in our answers and sometimes it seems as though we are getting the opposite of what we want as desire as ideal.  “God, I asked for a fish, why am I getting a snake?  I asked for an egg, why am I getting a scorpion?  God, I keep knocking at your door, are you going to answer the door?”

 

These scenarios are follow-ups on the fact that trials come to us even when we don’t want them.  What is Jesus suggesting?  “Just be persistent in prayer.  Treat your prayers as votes being added with the votes of others to come to majority status.  And when there are enough of those votes brought to the inner realm, there is a greater chance of that prayer energy with majority status will overflow into actual positive results within the natural and visible order.  So, be persistent in prayer; this is how we vote in the kingdom of heaven to make the will of heaven, the practice in our world.

 

I hope we can appreciate how realistic the prayer advice of Jesus is about the actual conditions of freedom.  He himself prayed and yet he was brought to a cruel death; he was not delivered from the evil death of the cross until a subsequent future event of his resurrection continuity in a different kind of new life.

Whether the good we seek wins the day in our time is not the issue because the conditions of freedom create a field of probable outcomes, some favorable and some not so.   What do we do in the face of probabilities in the field of freedom.  We pray as individuals; we pray as a community for goodness, love, and justice.  We offer thanks when there are outcomes of goodness, love, and justice; we continue to persist in prayer when those do not seem to prevail.

 

And we do so in hope, because God is everlasting, the entire ground existence, of life itself, is everlasting and it will go on.  The resurrection of Christ was a sign of existence on another plane, even the plane of the kingdom of heaven which always already co-exists as a parallel reality of this visible world.

 

The resurrection is the “trump” card which we can always play, as the winning card of hope of everlastingness which will always redefine our understanding of what has happened in the past.

 

Let us be co-creators with Christ by persisting in prayer; prayers are not just words; they are also the formation energy of what we do with our body language deeds in our world.

 

The Gospel words of Christ for us today is “Pray always, and do not grow weary, because what we pray helps to orient our bodies towards helping to fulfill the goodness we ask for.  Amen.

Contemplative Action and Active Contemplation

6 Pentecost, C p 11, July 17, 2022

Amos 8:1-12  Psalm 52

Colossians 1:15-28 Luke 10:38-42 

 

Lectionary Link

As human beings who have come to study ourselves, we like to know what makes us tick.  What makes me tick?  What makes you tick?  And by tick we probably mean that we are looking for explanations which cause us to think, speak, and act the ways in which we do, especially in our interactions with other people. 

 

To study ourselves and our personality differences, we have developed typologies.  One of the most used is the extroversion and introversion classification of Jung, which was fleshed out in the Myers-Brigg personality test.  In this inventory, a person through a series of questions is assigned four letters to classify the various dynamics of personality.  Introversion-Extroversion.  Sensing-Intuition.  Thinking-Feeling.  Judging-Perceptive. Such typology can be very reductive and even demeaning.  People who discover this tool and get some insights can be very zealous in reducing themselves and others to their personality type.  I'm not Phil;  I’m INTP and you are ESTJ.  But a person is much more than how they are labeled by some system of typology.  One of the problems of such typological classification is in accepting one's designation, one is absolved from trying to do and be in different ways.

 

When the monastic forms of spirituality arose, there came about a spiritual classification typology, which derived from Mary and Martha of Bethany, and the caricatures formed about them found our reading from the Gospel for today.

 

So ,Mary is the Matriarch of the Contemplative Person, the one who is the perpetual "space-cadet."  Martha is the Active Person, the "obsessive compulsive, nervous Nelly."  And religious orders came to designate themselves active, working orders or as contemplative orders, even while most of them have sought to balance the two human vocations.  A well-known Spiritual writer and Franciscan Richard Rohr, calls his organization The Center for Contemplation and Action.  He would assert that both are vital ingredients of full and mature spiritual life.

 

In reading the Mary and Martha story of their interaction with Jesus what are wrong conclusions?

 

1-Jesus is only affirming the contemplative life style.

2-Jesus is opposed to the practical activities required for hospitality.

3-Contemplation and Active life are incompatible.

4-Mary did not know how to be practically hospitable.

5-Martha did not know how adore Jesus with contemplative fervor.

 

A story about Jesus, Mary, and Martha can cause us to limit people to the types that have derived from the story.  These reductions are very unfortunate because such reductions are not true in the sense of the overall character of people.  The stories highlight a singular event.

 

The truth about contemplation and action is that each person needs to strive for both in our prayer lives, and in our active lives to help make the kingdom of heavenly inner ideal, a reality in our outer lives of word, and deeds.

 

The contemplative and active life has many scenarios.  From his prayer life with God the prophet Amos had to leave his active life as a herdsman and tender of Sycamore trees, and he had to speak the truth to the very bankrupt spiritual condition of Israel.  Being the one who speaks truth to those who are in bad habits is never fun.  But contemplative prayer and understanding God's will means that we often need to be those who accept rebuke for our own bad behaviors but also be brave to speak and act on behalf of what justice and love means in our world.

 

In a similar vein, the Psalmist wrote inspiring sung poetry about the necessity to speak truth to power.  And the psalmist receivedd the power and energy to do so by being like an "olive tree in the house of the Lord” and renewing oneself by the prayer of praise of God, for God's goodness and mercy.  And it is done in the presence of the godly;  those who share a commitment to God's love and goodness.

 

The Pauline hymn in Colossians is a poetic form of the contemplation of the superb uniqueness of Jesus Christ.  But such a contemplative confession of Paul had repercussion for Paul, including suffering as a way of identifying with and fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.  But St. Paul regarded his active life to be a mission to help people realize the chief mystery of life, namely, Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Paul's active mission in life was to bring people to the Mary of Bethany experience of jaw-dropping, awesome contemplation of the Christ in us the hope of our glory.

 

So, let us not pit our contemplative sides against our active sides; they go together, and we need to develop both sides of our spiritual lives to grow into the maturity of Christ.

 

May God help us be contemplative actors of love and justice.  May God help us be active contemplators of Christ, who is our glory.  Amen.

Sunday School, July 17, 2022, C proper 11

 Sunday School,   July 17, 2022, C proper 11

Themes

What is the most import “computer” center of the human body?

Is it our legs? Stomach? Arms? Heart? Mouth?

No it is our head which houses the most important computer center of our entire body.

So how do we know that our head is the most important computer center of our body?

We know when we learn to think and when we practice thinking and learning.

Paul said the church was like a body made up of many organs and parts.  But Paul wrote that the head of the body, the church was Christ.

And so how do we make the church function the very best?  We keep in touch with Christ as our brain.  We look to his life and his words and his example and the people whom he has inspired. 

We stay in touch with Christ so that we can make the church a group of people who practice love and kindness and service and telling people the Good News of Christ being with us as our Head.

Mary and Martha were friends of Jesus.

Sometimes in our lives we need to be very active.  We need to work; we need to prepare food, wash the dishes and the clothes and clean the houses.  Martha was a very good worker and she was upset when Mary was not working as hard as she was.  Mary was doing something else.  She was sitting and learning from her best friend Jesus.

In our lives we need to know when to work and when to stop working and learn to get to know Jesus as our best friend who can help us grow in being the very best persons that we can be.

Work is good; prayer and learning from Jesus is also very good and most important.  We need to take time to work but never forget the importance of prayer and talking to Jesus.

Sermon

  Ding dong, the door bell rings.  And you open the door and you have surprise visitors; it’s grandmother and grandfather.  They are on a trip and can only spend a few hours at your house.  What do your parents do?

  Do they make you go finish all of your chores?  Do they make you leave the room and wash the dishes?  Do they make you practice your music lesson or finish your homework?

  No, why?  Because grandmother and grandfather are only going to be there for just a few hours and so everyone gets to spend time being with them.

  Well, Jesus dropped in one day at the home of his friends Mary and Martha.  And they were very excited because Jesus was a special person in their lives and they could not see him all of the time, so they wanted to make his visit special.

  Martha loved her friend Jesus and she was a good hostess.  She wanted to treat Jesus as a special guest.  So she wanted to get the house all fixed up and cleaned and she wanted to get the food all prepared.

  But her sister Mary just sat in the living room talking with Jesus.  And that upset Martha because Mary wouldn’t help.

  Jesus was not worried about getting food and he was not worried if the house was not in order or if the good napkins were put out and fresh flowers were in place.

  Jesus only wanted to spend time with his friends:  He wanted Mary and Martha to be with him and talk with him.  And he wanted to talk with him and tell them some wonderful things.

  Did you know that you and I can sometimes be so busy we forget that God is our friend and that God just wants to spend time with us?

  That is why God gave us the commandment about the Sabbath or worship day of Sunday.  It means that we are to stop everything in our lives sometimes and just take time to be with God, to be with Christ.

  And we do this by hearing the stories of the Bible.  We do this by praying with others.  And we do this each day by setting aside some time to just talk with Christ.

  Jesus was happy that Mary took time from her work to talk to him.  And Jesus is happy when we take time to pray and to spend time with God.

  Let us remember what Mary did.  She remembered to take time to be with Jesus.  And so we should do the same.  Amen.

Intergenerational  Eucharist for Year C, proper 11

Gathering Songs: Jesus in the Morning, Only A Boy Named David, I Come with Joy, Christ Beside Me

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)

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in the morning, Jesus at the noontime.  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus when the sun goes down.

Love him, love him, love him in the morning, love him at the noontime.  Love him, love him, love him when the sun goes down.

Serve him, serve him, serve him in the morning, serve him at the noontime.  Serve him, serve him, serve him when the sun goes down.

Praise him, praise him, praise in the morning, praise him at the noontime.  Praise him, praise him, praise him when the sun goes down.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Liturgy Leader: In our prayers we first praise God, chanting the praise word: Alleluia

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 Letter to the Colossians

Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-- all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 52

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; * I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

I will give you thanks for what you have done * and declare the goodness of your Name in the presence of the godly.

Liturgy Leader: I invite you to let us know what you are thankful for today

   As we thank God let us chant Thanks be to God

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!

(Sing Birthday blessings or wedding blessings to those present who are celebrating)

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."

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.

Liturgy Leader: Next in our prayers, we remember people who have special needs.  As we pray let us chant:  Christ Have Mercy

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: Only a Boy Named David, (All the Best Songs for Kids, # 112)

Only boy named David.  Only a little sling.  Only a boy named David, but he could pray and sing.  Only a boy named David, only a rippling brook.  Only a boy named David, and five little stones he took.  And one little stone went in the sling and the sling went round and round.  And one little stone went in the sling and the sling went round and round.  AND….round and round and round and round and round and round and round.  And one little stone went up in the air.  And the giant came tumbling down.

Doxology

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

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

Prologue to the Eucharist

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

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

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

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

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, the gifts of bread and wine will be presented at the Eucharist. We ask you to 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.

We remember that 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:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Song: I Come with Joy, (Renew! # 195)

I come with joy a child of God, forgiven, loved and free, the life of Jesus to recall, in love laid down for me.

I come with Christians far and near to find, as all are fed, the new communion of love in Christ’s communion bread.

As Christ breaks bread, and bids us share, each proud division ends.  The love that made us, makes us one, and strangers now are friends.

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: Christ Beside Me (Renew! # 164)

Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, king of my heart.  Christ within me, Christ below me, Christ above me, never to part

Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand, Christ all around me, shield in the strife.  Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting, Christ in my rising light of my life.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God!