Early Eucharistic Controversy? A Food Fight?

14 Pentecost Cycle B proper 16 August 24,2024
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 Psalm 34:15-22
Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69

Lectionary Link

In a cursory reading of church history, one can find lots of meanings that have accrued to what we call the Holy Eucharist.

Every culture has its own culinary practices and meals of identity with preferences of local available food and inherited traditions of how to prepare and serve the meal.  Living in our country, we have the privilege and the opportunity to have quite a smorgasbord of all the cultures of people who have come to reside in our country.  And while we have our preferences for varieties of food, we can agree that it is most important "that people have enough to eat," than being precisely precisely prescriptive about what and how one should eat.  How absurd would it be to say that that you can only eat barbecue ribs and white bread and nothing else and you have to fix them in a specific way?  Why would anyone put a limit on how and what one should eat?

The Gospel of John was written in the years 80-100 or so.  By this time the church of the Gospel of John was a Eucharistic church, meaning that following the early custom members gathered on the first day of week for the breaking of the bread and the prayers.

As a Eucharistic church, the leadership was teaching about the value and meaning of this central rite of church gathering which encapsulated the crucial memorial events of the life of Jesus.

Apparently within the church of the Gospel of John, there were people who could not embrace the substantiality of the Eucharistic words, even to the point of leaving the fellowship.  They were offended by the words of the Eucharistic tradition.

The writer of John's Gospel interweaves a narrative about Jesus and the apparent "food fight" within the Johannine community.

How does the Gospel writer resolve the controversy about eating the flesh of Jesus and drinking his blood?

Remember in John's Gospel, Jesus is presented as the Word of God made flesh, Jesus is Word personified.  And what does Jesus say about his own word?  My words are spirit and they are life.  Christly words are spirit or the interior essence of how life is constituted.  Words are what makes the physical world known to be substantial.  Words are embedded so as to be one with the physical in how we appropriate and interact with the physical.

John's Gospel is about the substantiality of the Word and in John's Gospel the physical world is used a metaphor of substantiality of the Spirit-Word world.  John's Gospel teaches us we cannot separate invisible from the visible or the spirit from the natural or the word from the flesh.  John's Gospel is about indivisible life.

The Eucharistic controversies of the church, the church's food fights, have to do with the attempts to separate Word from flesh.

How is Jesus present in the bread and wine?  Some say it's a physical thing whereby the bread and the wine are miraculous transformed into a physical body of Jesus in the receiver?  Others say the bread and wine and the presence of Jesus happen at the same time in the receiver.  Others say the bread and the wine are only a symbolic presence.  

The secret of reading John's Gospel is about not dividing word from flesh or the spiritual from the natural.  They co-inhere with each other.

So, we don't have to have food fight about the meaning of the Eucharist.  We don't have to have a Eucharistic controversy if we appreciate how the Word co-inheres with the Flesh.  One cannot say that physical is substantial without also assuming the substantiality of Word or language.  So, don't try to separate Word and Flesh.

In the poetry of St. Paul, Christ is all and in all.  In the event of Eucharistic, a dynamic remembering of making the all in all Christ particular in the person who participates in the rite of communion.  And the writer of John, channeling the words of Jesus tells us,"don't argue about how Christ is realized as present within you, just accept that Christ is present in you in such a way that Christ becomes physically present within you as you let your body language speak the language of the love of Christ."

The consubstantiation and transubstantiation is proven when those of us who receive the bread and the wine go forth into our lives becoming the energizing actions and words of Christ in our lives.

The teaching of John's Gospel is an exhortation for us to instantiate Christly words and deeds in our bodily lives as the proof of the continuing presence of Jesus in our world.  If we do this we can cease from our Eucharistic controversies and our Christian food fights.  Amen.

Sunday School, August 25, 2024 14 Pentecost B proper 16

 Sunday School, August 25, 2024   14 Pentecost B proper 16

Sunday School Themes

Hebrew Scriptures

One selection is about Solomon and the building of first temple in Jerusalem.  And it is important to remember that God of the Temple was the God of everyone.  So there is a reminder that God does not just belong to us and the place of worship is to be a place for everyone.

Another selection is about the second leader of the people of Israel who led them after the great Moses died.  His name was Joshua.  He reminded his people that they were to be known as those who were loyal to the One God.  They were not become like the people who believed in many Gods.

For the New Testament lesson since the last four weeks and this week have been about the bread of heaven discourse of John’s Gospel, perhaps one can give it a rest.

Use the example of a Roman Soldier’s armor from the Epistle to the Ephesian.  Bring pictures of Roman Soldier in their battle gear.  Show a picture of modern soldier in full battle gear.  Show the comic superheroes like Iron Man and Transformers with their full battle gear.

Being prepared in life means that we have to protect our insides, especially what we see and learn.  How is our life like a war or a battle?  We try to prevent the things which can hurt us by good preparation.  How do we prepare:  Learn to do healthy things. Tell the truth.  Do right things.  Learn to have faith and not fear.   Walk in the shoes   that take us in the path of peace as we share the good news of Christ.  Learn about God’s words.  Learn that we have God’s Spirit with us to help us at all times.  We have to face things in our lives which can make us have fear, tempt us to do wrong things, lie, fight, and think unhealthy thoughts.  St. Paul uses the example of the soldier’s uniform to tell us that we always need to be prepared to face all of the struggles and hard things in our life.  We have to realize that life is often like a war or a battle because sometimes it can seem easier to do wrong than do good?  Why is it easier to eat lots of brownie but not lots of healthy food?  Why is it easier to play with our toys rather than pick them up?  Why does it sometimes seem easier to be sad and moody and crabby than to be cheerful and happy?  St. Paul said that we have to be prepared for a battle because learning how to be really excellent in life is not easy.

Sermon

      I have a pictures here of a soldier.  And this is the most famous toy soldier.  What is his name?  G.I. Joe.  And since a soldier has to fight to protect people a soldier has to wear a special uniform.

  St. Paul said that our life is like a battle; not like a real war.  It is a battle against things that are not good for us.  So like a soldier, we have to be prepared.  As school students, we have to be like soldiers and be prepared.

  St. Paul said we need to put on the armor of God.

He said we need to have the belt of truth.  A belt is very important in the armor.  In school you are learning the truth about all sorts of things.  And the more truth that you can learn the better your life will be.

  Paul said we need to wear the breast plate of righteousness and we need to have a shield of faith.  Learning to do the right thing is very important in life.  And having faith means that we do have to fear because we believe that God cares for us.  Notice on GI Joe the breast plate and shield are the same thing; he has body armor to stop bullets.

  Paul said that we should wear the helmet of salvation.  What does a helmet protect?  Our heads.  And what is in our head?  Our mind and our thoughts.  Salvation means building healthy thoughts in our mind and that is why we go to school. (Do you see GI Joe’s helmet?) 

  Paul said we needed the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Modern soldier don’t use swords; they carry knives and they use guns.

  Just as a soldier needs to know how to use a knife and a gun, St. Paul said that we need know how to use the word of God.  We need to study words, we need to learn how to read and write, we need to know how to use words in a good way, because with our words we can say some very wonderful things to help people, to teach people and to encourage people.  And when we use our words in good ways, our words are words of the Spirit of God.

  So are you ready for school this year?  St. Paul reminds that learning is like being a soldier; we prepare ourselves, we educate ourselves, we learn as much as we can so that we can do some very good things in our world.

  So remember St. Paul’s words about putting on the armor of God.

Holding our heads:

  Bless O, Lord our minds to learn new things.

Eyes:

  Bless our eyes to see and read new things.

Ear:

  Bless our ears to hear new things.

Lips:

  Bless our lips to says and speak new things.

Hands:

  Bless our hands to create art and to write wonderful words.

Feet:

  Bless our feet with strength to play and grow strong.

Heart:

  Bless our heart to love to learn many new things in school.

Bless us in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Intergeneration Family Service with Holy Eucharist

August 25, 2024: The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Onward Christian Soldiers, We Are Marching, Let the Hungry Come to Me, Awesome God

Song: Onward Christian Soldiers  (blue hymnal # 562)

Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with cross of Jesus going on before!  Christ the royal Master, leads against the fore; forward into battle, see his banners go. 

Refrain: Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before!

Liturgist:

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever.  Amen.

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the Letter to the Ephesians

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Liturgist:

The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 34

The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, * and his ears are open to their cry.

The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, * to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.

The righteous cry, and the LORD hears them * and delivers them from all their troubles.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

Thanks be to God!

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

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.   When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."  Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon:  Fr. Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:            And also with you.

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

Song: We Are Marching (Renew! # 306)

We are marching in the light of the Lord, we are marching in the light of the Lord.  We are marching in the light of the Lord, we are marching in the light of the Lord. 

Refrain: We are marching, marching we are marching, Oh, marching, we are marching in the the light of the Lord, of the Lord.  We are marching, marching, we are marching, Oh, marching we are marching in the light of the Lord.

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.

Blessing for Students and teachers as the new school year begins

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.

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 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:  Let the Hungry Come to Me (Renew!  # 220)

Let the hungry come to me, let the poor be fed.  Let the thirsty come and drink, share my wine and bread.  Though you have no money, come to me and eat.  Drink the cup I offer, feed on finest wheat.

I myself am living bread; feed on me and live.  In this cup my blood for you; drink the wine I give.  All who eat my body, all who drink my blood, shall have joy forever, share the life of God.

Here among you shall I dwell; making all things new.  You shall be my very own, I, your God with you.  Bless’d are you invited to my wedding feast.  You shall live forever, all your joys increased.

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: Awesome God (Renew!  # 245)

Our God is an awesome God, he reigns from heaven above,

with wisdom, power and love.  Our God is an awesome God.

(sing three times)

Literary Christians and Word Made Flesh Christians

13 Pentecost proper 15  August 18, 2024
Proverbs 9:1-6  Psalm 34:9-14
Ephesians 5:15-20  John 6:51-58

Lectionary Link

Can we not appreciate that the words of Jesus in their presentation in John's Gospel indicate a literary understanding of tasting and eating as a metaphor for the words of knowledge which we consume in our lives that come to constitute our very lives?

Those who do not concede literary poetic license for the writer of John's presentation of Jesus, perhaps do not understand that one of the themes of John's Gospel was a scorn and mockery of literalism.  Literalists limit truth standards to what can be empirically verified.  So a statement can only be meaningfully true, if and only if it can be empirically verified.

The writers of John's Gospel understood metaphors of eating, drinking and consumption.  The writer had read the Hebrew Scriptures with poetry and figurative language used for how one was to integrate the Torah into one's life.  Taste and see that the Lord is good.  Sweeter far than honey than honey in the comb are the judgments of the Lord.  The writer of John's Gospel understood the metaphor of manna as a God given bread from heaven.

To read, to experience, is to eat and consume or take on the word data which comes to constitute the primary identity of our lives.  The Gospel writer of John was committed to helping people find a new voice.  The Gospel writer of John knew that the way to changes lives was to alter the deep interior word scripts which people as actors end up acting out.  So for the writer of John, Christ is the Word of God, who was with God, and who is God, from the beginning.  Christ is deep Word of existence itself but to be aware of the best Depth of God's Omnipresence, such depth had to have an external presence so that people could be led back to the original blessing of the Deep Word which is God upon our lives.

According to John's Gospel, the Word was made flesh, it was given a very personal outward appearance, so that Jesus whose words were Spirit and life, could lead us through words back to the very eternal Word basis of our our lives.

The writer of John's Gospel was a part of a ritual and liturgical community.  Liturgy is word in ceremonial acts which a community uses to inculcate values and promote the continuance of those values for the growth and furtherance of the identity of members present and future.

A chief ritual of the community of the writer of John's Gospel was the gathering on the first day of the week for the prayers and the breaking of the bread, in the ritual of thanksgiving, called the eucharist.  What we often call the Last Supper, came to be presented and regarded by early followers of Jesus, as the first of many suppers.

And what was the meaning of that Last and First supper?  The early followers of Jesus understood Jesus to be telling them, "Taste and see, that I your Lord and teacher am good."  Partake of me as the eternal Word of God which you consume deep to your interior and have it arise within yourself in the new word products of one's life in better speech, better writing, and better body language deeds.

In church history, Christians have gotten sidetracked in their division about the what the Eucharist, the Mass, the Last Supper, or Holy Communion means.  We have generated words to hyper define our differences: Mere symbolism, transubstantiation, consubstantiation, real presence, spiritual presence.  What do we miss?  The fact that God as Eternal Word gets within us in our language generating depth and through the best words becomes one with us in constituting and reconstituting new behaviors toward loving God and our neighbors in better ways.

Let us appreciate the literary meaning of Jesus as the living bread whom we can consume in substantial ways to realize our unity with the Risen Christ.  Let us not get sidetracked into limited crass literalism which denies the poetic language of the sublime that is the substantial effect of having one's life continually re-comprised by an experience of the Eternal Word from the beginning.

The words of Jesus in John's Gospel invite us to be literary, confessing poetic people of the sublime Risen Christ, rather than crassly literal people arguing about whether the physical body of Jesus of Nazareth becomes again within us.

Poetically, we can appreciate that the Word becomes flesh in us again, as we allow ourselves to be integrated into the best words of speech, writing, and the body language ethics of love and justice in our lives.

Friends, let the Eucharist enable us to be literarily in-Christed today, because Christ as Word can really be made flesh in our lives today.  Amen.

Sunday School, August 18, 2024 13 Pentecost, B Proper 15

 Sunday School, August 18, 2024 13 Pentecost, B Proper 15

Sunday School Opportunities

Can we use the “pronoun” she for God?  There are feminine pronouns for God in the Bible.  When David died, his son Solomon became King and his son Solomon asked God for the gift of wisdom to rule his people wisely.  Solomon is known for his search for wisdom and there were schools gathered around wisdom teachers and prophets in the times of the Bible.

Wisdom in the book of Proverbs is the name that the writer gives to God's Presence in our world  and is responsible for organizing everything.  Why does everything seem to work?  How can an eagle see a tiny little mouse on the ground?  Because there is wisdom present in everything that makes it work.  The writer of the book of proverbs said that Wisdom is present and is another name for God’s presence everywhere.  The name for Wisdom in Proverb is Chokmah and this is a girl’s name.  In Greek, Chokmah is Sophia and we know that Sophia is an often used girl's name.  So God’s  being with creation has the name Chokmah because there is Wisdom in everything that exists.

Teaching Opportunity about liturgy and ritual

In the churches of St. Paul, when they gathered they sang the Psalms and hymns together.  Singing in a group together and directing the sung words toward God with each other creates an experience of God's presence in our worship together.  This is what we call liturgy.  It is gathering so that we help each other know about the experience of God.

Why do large crowds go to football games?  They want to celebrate their favorite team which is on the field.  They want to help them win by cheering.  They want to create excitement for themselves, their team and enjoy the event of being together.

In liturgy and worship, God is our “team” on the field whom we are cheering with our hymns and our songs and our prayers.  And we are doing it together to encourage each other in knowing the presence of God.  If we didn’t do it we are more likely to forget and miss something in our lives.

Another part of worship and liturgy also involves receiving communion.  The Gospel of John was written long after Jesus gave the words to his disciples when he commanded them to eat bread and drink wine in such a special way and do it with prayers, Bible readings, teaching about faith and with songs so that they could make the presence of Christ known to them in a special way.  When Jesus said that we eat his flesh and drink his blood when we take the bread and the wine, he was saying in a riddle that he would actually be closer to us than the bread that we and the wine that we drink.  What we eat and drink becomes such a part of us; our food becomes us.  And Jesus was saying that as we study and live by his Words then he actually becomes a part of us and that we abide together.

We have a Gospel lesson about Jesus teaching us about himself as the bread of life because he is like coming to know the Wisdom, who is the presence of God everywhere, inside of us and outside of us.  Knowing Christ is like knowing Wisdom as what is basic to life.

Liturgy and Ritual, prayers, songs, and our ritual meal of communion are the ways in which we leave our private selves and join with each other to remember in a profound way the presence of Christ in our lives.

Sermon or lesson about Communion

13 PTp15  August 19, 2018

Proverbs 9:1-6  Psalm 34:9-14

Ephesians 5:15-20  John 6:51-58

  Jesus sometimes spoke in riddles.  And sometimes people did not understand his riddles.  And when you don’t understand the riddle, it is easy to be confused.

    And today we continue this riddle of Jesus.  When we come today to receive the bread and the wine what do I say when I give you the communion bread?  The body of Christ, the bread of heaven.  And when you are given the wine?  The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation.

  Now, you and I know that we are eating bread and we are drinking wine, but the bread and wine carry also the presence of Christ.  Why?  Because Jesus told his friends that he would be with them always.  And he told them that he would be with them in a special way when they eat the special meal of remembrance.  The meal that we call Holy Communion.

  Jesus was born in Palestine and he was an Israelite.  He followed the religion of his family.  He learned about the Jewish religion.  He learned about the law of Moses.  And do you know what they often used to call the Law of Moses?  They called it bread.  That is a riddle too.  So how can you eat the Law of Moses.  Well, you don’t chew on it with your teeth.  You study it and memorize and take it into your heart so it becomes a part of your life in the way in which you live.

  The early Christians believed that Jesus was even better than the Law of Moses.  Jesus was not just rules that were written down; he was a person who was an example of what God would look like as a human being.

  And so when we are told to eat the body and drink the blood of Christ, this is a riddle.  It is a reminder to make Jesus the most important example of our lives, to study his life and his words so that his life becomes so close to us that it is in our hearts.

  If we take the life of Jesus close into us, then we will start acting like Jesus.  And when we start acting like Jesus, we love one another and we make our world better.

  So I want you to understand this riddle of Jesus; when we eat the bread and drink the wine of communion.  It becomes a part of us.  And we get really close to it.  And when we think about how close the bread and wine get to us, then we need to remember that Christ is that close to us too.

  And that is the riddle of Holy Communion.  We receive Holy Communion to realize how close Christ is to us.  Amen.

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

August 18, 2024: The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: O Be Careful!; Seek Ye First; Eat This Bread; This Little Light of Mine

Song: O Be Careful!  (Christian Children Songbook  # 180)

O, be careful little hands what you do.  O be careful little hands what you do.  There’s a Father up above and he’s looking down in love, so be careful little hands what you do.

O, be careful little feet where you go.  O be careful little feet where you go.  There’s a Father up above and he’s looking down in love, so be careful little feet where you go.

O, be careful little lips what you say.  O, be careful little lips what you say.  There’s a Father up above and he’s looking down in love, so be careful little lips what you say.

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

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever.  Amen.

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians

Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

 

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 34

Come, children, and listen to me; * I will teach you great respect for the LORD.

Who among you loves life * and desires long life to enjoy prosperity?

Keep your tongue from evil-speaking * and your lips from lying words.

Turn from evil and do good; * seek peace and pursue it.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

Thanks be to God!

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

People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon:  Fr. Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:            And also with you.

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

Song: Seek Ye First (blue hymnal, # 711)

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

Ask, and it shall be given unto you, seek, and ye shall find, knock, and the door shall be opened unto you; Allelu, alleluia. Refrain: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, allelu, alleluia.

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.

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:  Eat This Bread (Renew!  # 228)

Eat this bread.  Drink this cup. Trust in me and never be hungry. 

Eat this bread.  Drink this cup.  Trust in me and you will not thirst.

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: This Little Light of Mine (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 234)

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.  This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, No!  I’m going to let it shine.  Hide it under a bushel, No!  I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Don’t let anyone blow it out, I’m going to let it shine.  Don’t let anyone blow it out, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine.  Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God!