Theology as Wordology

1 Christmas  C     December 27, 2015

Is.61:10-62:3     Ps. 147:13-21

Gal. 3:23-25,4:4-7  John 1:1-18

Lectionary Link

 The fact that we have four different Gospels in the New Testament is an indication of the diversity of experience of persons in the early churches throughout the Roman Empire.  We perhaps ponder the diversity of Christian experience in our own time and what is amazing about our own time is not that diversity exists but that we have such quick communication about any differences.  In the time of the early churches, communication was not instant and quick.  People did not have that much contact with each other over even short distances.  And so we have four Gospels deriving from and edited by people in different communities making different applications regarding the reality of the risen Christ. 

The first chapter of the Gospel of John is a traditional Christmas Gospel even though it has nothing about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.  The Gospel of Mark, likewise does not have any account of the birth of Jesus either; it begins with the baptism of Jesus and the seeming adoption of Jesus as God's Son at his baptism.  A heavenly voice said, "this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased."

We have four Gospels in the New Testament and they all share some insights, but they also are each different because of the different circumstances within their various communities.  The writer or writers of John's Gospel wrote last and so the writing is expressive of a community that had done longer theological reflection upon the effects of how the Risen Christ had been experienced in their lives.

The first chapter of John is perhaps my favorite chapter of the Bible because it establishes perhaps the most credible truth of humanity.  "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God."  The Word was God.  You can appreciate the poetics of this Christian writer.  If Jesus had been called the Son of Man and the Son of God what did this mean when he existed before he actually appeared as Jesus of Nazareth?  Who was Jesus before he was conceived in Mary and born as a babe in Bethlehem?

Who was Jesus before time began?  The writer of the Gospel of John inherited a book about the beginning, the book of Genesis.  And how does the book of Genesis begin?  "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  And God said, Let there be Light...and there was light.  And the Spirit of God moved over the face of the deep."   These are the elements of the story of creation.  So the question for the writer of John, how could the Risen Christ who had continuing existence after a human death event, how could the Risen Christ be shown to be before time?

The writer of the Gospel of John begins with the same three words which begin the Hebrew Scriptures, "In the beginning."  But what was in the beginning for the writer of the Gospel of John?  The Word was in the beginning, the word was with God and the Word was God.  Can we appreciate this metaphor?  When I speak, I release words and the words which I speak are me and they can make things happen.  And when they are back up with action from the energy of my life, things happen or are created in the human sense of creation.

God spoke a Word at creation and the writer of John's Gospel believes the Creative Spoken Word of God to be the Risen Christ.   And the speaking also releases breath.  Breath is the metaphorical name for Spirit.  And God's Spirit was the energy which accomplished the creative acts.

And so the writer of the Gospel of John wrote the Risen Christ into the original creation story.  And this might seem too theologically poetic to make any practical sense to us.  We might think, "Well, that's nice, but so what?"

In the beginning was the  Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  I believe this to be the most important insight of life.  Why?  because I believe all of human life as we can know it is constituted by the fact that we are possessed with language which allows speech acts, written language, organizing structures in the visual field and the body language of our moral and ethics in how we act out our language.

Is life more than words or language?  Yes indeed, but one cannot actually get to the life which is more than words or language without using and being used by language.  But you might say, "I had pre-linguistic experiences when I was an infant and toddler and when I did not fully use language.  And do not apes, chimpanzees and other animals have systems of communication?"

That may be true but one does not actually know one's experience of being an infant or a toddler from not having language.  After one has language one uses language to imagine what it was like to be an infant who did not fully possess language.  And so one only recreates with language the infant state of having not yet fully possessing language.

O, but I have intuitive experiences which are beyond language.  O, but I have meditative states of bliss which are pure silence.  O, but I have aesthetic experiences in art and music which allows me to pierce the essence of beauty.  Yes, you do but you did not become an unworded and non-linguistic person when you had those experiences.  Eventually all experience is recorded or classified in language.  And if you and I say we have an experience beyond language, we really don't because we use the words, "beyond language" to classify such an experience.

All thing come into being through the Word; there is nothing that has being without the Word.  Can we appreciate the profundity of this Gospel confession about the Word.  It is perhaps the chief truth of human life, the human life as we know it.

Sometimes we think that we can encounter and see things without language.  But everything that we see always, already has a human name and words.  What we see in the world is already pre-classified through having language.  It is like we wear inner glasses through which we see and those glasses come with the sub-titles already in place.  With education and experience we are continually changing the lenses through which we see and classify our human experience.

The Gospel of John is an invitation to each of us to the life work of Word therapy.  By Word therapy, we need to understand how each of us have been uniquely constituted by the word environments within which we have lived.  We have been taught to name and value things and ourselves in various ways.  Because we have not been raised in perfect environments by perfect people we have had our lives coded in some imperfect ways.  These imperfections become manifest in the repetition of some losing behaviors and bad habits.  It is as though we are caught in "word ruts" which only allow us to see and do things in the same way over and over again.  We can each have our own individual specific "insanities" of doing things over and over again in the same way and expecting different results.

The amazing thing about words too, is that words also have the power to evoke mood and spirit.  We can see the same thing in different ways based upon the attending mood.  And moods can make us believe that we are enslaved to seeing the cup as half empty rather than being half full.  With word therapy we can learn to shift how and what we are seeing out there, because if we can learn to see things differently then we can take creative action to get different results than has heretofore been possible.

It is one thing to say that we need a word lift in our lives to become more creative and see our world in a different light so that we can make different choices and do new things, but how does that happen?  Probably the best way for that to happen is to be "inspired."  That is to be able to project such positive desire upon a person or an insight as to gain the motivating energy to change one's life.

And that is how the Gospel writers saw Jesus.  And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us.  And the Word because Body Language in the Person of Jesus and we had One onto whom we could project perfect desire and be inspired to change our lives.

Let us also know that the Gospel writer wrote in a time when the Jesus of history could no longer be seen or touched.  The Jesus of history had become the Risen Christ, and this Risen Christ partook of the same reality as the Word of God who was the very essence of the beginning of human life as we know it.

The Risen Christ as the Continuing Word and Spirit in our world continues to inspire people.  The Word continues to give in people,  writing, nature, experience and events a vision of what is more perfect for you and me.  We need to be on the look out for those people and events who can become for us the projection of our desire towards our better and perfectible selves.  Certainly, there are plenty of negative influences in this world which we do well to avoid.

Today, let us know the Risen Christ as the Word of God who has made our lives and who is continuing to make our lives.  Let us seek in the new year new paths of Word therapy toward what might be more perfectible versions of ourselves.  Let us seek out the people, the writings, and the events onto which we can project our desire for perfectibility.  In short, I invite all of us to embrace this continuous process of the "word lift" of our lives.  It is more deeply profound than any cosmetic change that we might ponder in the new year.

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  And the Word was made flesh and dwelled with us.  That my friends is Christmas.  And I wish for all of us new Christmas gifts of words in the New Year, to touch us deeply and remake us toward the Risen Christ.  Amen.

Sunday School, December 27, 2015 1 Christmas C

Sunday School, December 27, 2015    1 Christmas C

Theme: Jesus the Christ long before Bethlehem

The birth of Jesus stories are only found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.  They are not found in the Gospels of Mark and John.   The Gospel of Mark begins with Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist and there is a heavenly voice which proclaim about Jesus, “This is my beloved Son.”  The Gospel of Mark begins with the announcement of the Sonship of Jesus.

The Gospel of John begins with a poem about how the divinity of Jesus existed before he was born.  He was called the Word.  The Word of with God and the Word was God.  So Word is another name for Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of John begins with the same three words which are found to begin the book of Genesis:  “In the beginning.”  If Jesus Christ was God, the writer of John wants to show how Christ was present at the creation of the world.  In the creation story, God speaks and things are created.  So God the Father spoke the Word; the Creating Word that God the Father Spoke was the Christ, and the Holy Spirit moved over the face of the deep to create everything that was created.   This is how the writer of John’s Gospel showed how the Father, the Son and the Spirit were at Creation from the beginning.  This is the poetry of the writer of the Gospel of John.

The human world is created because we have words, we have language.  In the Garden of Eden Adam was different from the other animals because Adam was responsible for giving the animals names.

Naming or using words is what makes human being different.  So having words is what create our unique human experience.  So God as the Word is the perfect way to understand the creation of human experience.  We cannot know fully human experience without having words.  As babies who cannot speak words, we are more like puppy dogs.  To become developed as a human person is to learn how to use word and language and human beings learn words and language while puppies don’t.

The world is full of words and we need words organized and put into the actions and body language of a person to show us how to live good lives.  And this happened:  The Gospel of John writer wrote: “And the Word became Flesh and dwelled among us.”  And God the Word became the perfect human example in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ lived as the best example of what God would be like for human beings.

Do you see how this is a different Christmas birth story about Jesus?   And do understand why we read this different birth story about Jesus?

A children’s sermon

Text:

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

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

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

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

  There once was little girl named Helen Keller.  When she was a baby she had a sickness and she lost her ability to see, to talk and to hear.  Because she could not see, talk or hear, she had no way to learn how to talk.  Can you imagine what her life was like?  She was not happy and she was very hard to care for, because she had no way to talk with her parents.

  Her parents hired a teacher to try to teach her.  And it is very hard to teach someone who cannot see, hear or talk.  But the teacher used her hands to make letters in her hand.  But she did not even know the letters, until one day when water was pouring over her hand, the teacher spelled “w-a-t-e-r” into the hand of Hellen Keller.  And Helen suddenly understood what words meant.  And she was so excited she wanted to know the name of everything that she could touch.  And when she could use words, her life was suddenly new, because she could now talk with her parents using her hands.  Helen Keller grew up to be a famous and well educated person, and she helped andinspired people who did have the ability to see, hear or speak.

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

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

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 27, 2015: The First Sunday after Christmas

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

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

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

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

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

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

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

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

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

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

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

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians

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

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 147

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

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

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

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

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

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

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

What Child Is This  (Blue Hymnal # 115)

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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 so that we may love God and our neighbor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Hymn: O Little Town Of Bethlehem (Hymnal # 79)

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by; yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; the hope and fears of all of the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary; and gathered all above, while mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.  O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth! And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.

Post-Communion Prayer

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

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

And His Presence has been known to us.

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

    and sisters in Christ.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

  

Why take the Mass out of Christmas?

Christmas Eve         December 24, 2015  

Is. 9:2-4,6-7          Ps.96:1-4,11-12        

Titus 2:11-14        Luke 2:1-14  

Lectionary Link

Welcome to the most literal meaning of Christmas.  Christmas means Christ's Mass.  Mass is from the Latin word missa, which refers to the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist.  So Christmas literally means the Eucharist which the church gathers to celebrate on the Feast Day of the Holy Nativity.  And if this is the literal meaning of Christmas, we also know that much has been added to and subtracted from Christmas.

For example in many Christian Churches the Mass has been subtracted from Christmas because lots of Reformation churches gave up the Mass and what it meant for the Christians throughout the ages.  So there is no literal practice of Christmas by Christians who have given up having a Mass for the Feast of the Holy Nativity.  For many Reformation churches Christmas is the time to read the infancy narratives about Jesus since the Reformation for many meant the rejection of sacramental practices  and exclusively emphasizing the reading of Holy Scriptures.  And many of Reformed traditions have come to prefer the most plain or literal meanings of the words of the Christmas Story in Holy Scripture.  Many believe in an actual star crawling across the sky which are able to hover specifically over Bethlehem, rather than appreciating the rhetorical writing forms and genres which were used by the Gospel writers to write persuasively in their contexts.   And many of those same Reformation churches skip the Mass of Christmas, as some sort of misguided papist practice of meaningless ritualism.

Historical scholars would tell us that we have no way of confirming an actual birth date for Jesus.  The celebration of his birthdate on December 25 was a part of the evangelism of the early Church in replacing non-Christian local festivals with Christian events from the life of Jesus.  And at the winter solstice on the shortest day of the year, there needed to be continuity with the festivals of light for the begin of the return to the longer light of day.  In times when effective artificial light was lacking the power of and length of the time of darkness had a more pronounced spiritual and psychological affect upon people.  Having a strategic festival of light was good for social morale when long darkness dampened the mood, only made worse by extreme cold without modern central heating.

Christmas has added lots of secular and cultural celebrations even while subtracting the fact it is suppose to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Christmas generally incorporates all of the host of festivities  during the last month of the calendar year.  It turns out to be the commercial event of the year which keeps lots of businesses afloat for the rest of the year.  It is a bonanza for charities to ride the waves of giving and stock up their coffers for helping people at other times in the year when the public is not in such a giving mood. 

It is ironic how many secular Christmas songs were composed by Jews and so we can sing about  White Christmases,  a reindeer with a red nose, Silver Bells, chestnuts roasting on the fire,  and about being home for Christmas. Certainly non-Christians too have been able to profit on the popularity of the Christmas season, even while they have had to secularize the music to maintain their own freedom of being loyal members of minority religions in America. Think about how many recording artists have sold albums of Christmas music?  It is amazing how much music the Christmas event has inspired in all musical styles.  Old songs are rearranged rendered in all styles and new songs are written for the Christmas season.

In kiddie culture, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Baba Noel, St. Nick, or Santa Claus has seemingly replaced or over-shadowed Jesus.  A portly grandfatherly figure delivering gifts to children  plays to both children and adults who support the national past time of looking in on the delight and smiles of children, even if we go into debt to do so.

It is interesting too how Eurocentric Christmas is; the good people of Australia have not arrived at their winter solstice with the shortest day of the year.  They could have a feast of sunshine with their longest day of the year.

So here we are at the pinnacle of Christmas in a season which has received many additions and many subtractions.  And you can take the cynical route and despise it all.  You can simply pick and choose from the entire Christmas menu to your own taste.  You can say bah humbug to it all.  For me, I choose to acknowledge the person who could cause so much to accrue to the meanings of Christmas.   And I will pick and choose freely from the Christmas menu, but I will not neglect the literal meaning of Christmas, which is where we have arrived right now.

And so how is the literal Mass of Christ and the birth of Christ related?  How are this Event of Holy Eucharist and the infancy stories of Jesus related?

I would submit to you that the story of the birth of Christ and the practice of the Mass of Christ are both for the same metaphorical purpose.  And what might that be?  The purpose of the Mass of Christ and the Infancy Narrative derived from the Wisdom tradition of the church to transform the lives of people.

Why are you and I here tonight?  We are here to receive the body and blood of Christ under the bread and the wine.  And in so doing, the bread and the wine enters us and is broken down and is dissolved and it dissipates and aspects of it literally becomes us.  At some point the bread and the wine are no longer the bread and the wine, they are you and me.

And this is the central metaphor of the mystagogy of the early church.  Mystagogy is the teaching regarding the Mystery.  The mystery of the early church is that Christ is in the human person as the hope of God's glory.  The Greek word mysterion translated into Latin is the word sacrament.  The sacrament of this evening is the Eucharist, the Mass or the re-remembrance of the mystical presence of Christ having been born into our lives.  This is an event of the experience of the Higher Power, with the ability to transform our lives by giving us power to cease to do the bad things we no longer want to do; but also giving us power to engage in the new and creative directions for our lives.

With the sacrament, the metaphors are actually physical elements of bread and wine which are recreated when the creating words of Jesus are said over them.  They become  then within us the realization of the always already presence of Christ.  This is the arising the original image of God upon our lives and we are to continually practice this realized presence because if we forget the image and presence of God in Christ in our lives we can fall into acting in less than human ways, in fact some inhumane ways, or in benignly neglectful ways, or in the apathy of guilty silence in not speaking out against injustice.   If we live realizing the presence of the image of our original goodness and blessing then we in empathy treat everyone as those who bear that same image of God and are worthy to be treated with dignity.

Now while many churches have dropped the Mass from their Christmas, they can pretend to be more Christian and more literal by reading the Christmas story as being literal events in all of its recounted details.  And what they miss is the fact that the Christmas story is also the mystagogy or teaching about the mystery of Christ in us.  The Christmas story was the coded version of the practice of spiritual transformation in the early church.

The Christmas stories in the Gospel were some of the last literature to come to writing in the composition of New Testament writings.  The successful Christian churches were groups of people who met in private situations throughout the cities of the Roman Empire.  They encoded the mystagogy of their spiritual practice within the Gospel stories as a way for a Christian to be initiated into the Christian spiritual practice.  The story was to be the encoding of the mystical experience of having one's life over-shadowed by the Holy Spirit and in this over-shadowing one experienced the event of the life of God being realized or coming to birth within oneself.  Thus the cry, "Christ in you, the hope of Glory."  This event of Glory is an event of such internal self-esteem, one does not need to over-compensate in a vain search for the elusive "fifteen minutes of fame."  St. Paul wrote, "I no longer live, but Christ lives within me."  And the early church encoded this message within the Christmas story.

And so in the Christmas story, the early mystagogy, the sacramental story, is encoded in the life of the Virgin Mary.  The Virgin Mary is the paradigm of every Christian who has been initiated into the experience of having the life of Christ being born within them.

And so the Mass of Christ, Christmas, is an event of both word and sacrament.  In the words of the Christmas story, it is encoded that the life of Christ is born with us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  And in the Mass of Christ, the bread and the wine are another form of realization and practice of the fact that the life of Christ is within us.

Thank you for being here tonight for the most literal meaning of Christmas.  With all that Christmas has become in our world, there is no reason to subtract the Mass from Christmas.  Christ in us is the Hope of Glory.  Emmanuel an ancient name assigned to Jesus, means that God with us.  These truths have been renewed tonight in this holy feast and so I say to you tonight....Merry Christ...Mass.  Merry Christmas.  Amen. 

Lessons and Carols, a very Child Friendly version

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 20, 2015: Fourth Sunday of Advent

Service of Lessons and Carols

Opening Carol: The Little Drummer Boy

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum, A newborn King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum,

To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So, to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum, when we come.

Abigail: A Bidding Prayer:

Dear People who love God:  Christmas Season is approaching so let us renew our lives by hearing the Christmas Story.  Let us hear the message of the Angels.  Let us go to Bethlehem and see the baby Jesus lying in the manger.  But let us also review the long story of our salvation.  Let us remember that God created us.  Let us ponder why we have the tendency to sin.  But let us remember that God redeemed us from our sins by promising a special Savior and sending us the special Savior Jesus Christ.  Let us also thank God for all of the good things in life that we enjoy and remember those in this world who do not have enough food, clothing or shelter.  Let us remember those who suffer because of war and fighting and human cruelty.  Let us also remember with thanksgiving the blessed Mother of Jesus, Mary and let us remember the great number in the family of Christ who share the same hope that we do, now and evermore.  Amen.

William R. : The First Story In Salvation History:  God Creates Man and Woman

In the beginning God created the world.  After creating the sun, moon, the stars, the plants and the animals, God created a man and a woman who were named Adam and Eve.  Adam and Eve lived in a beautiful garden call Eden.  Since Adam and Eve had the ability to talk, they were given the job of naming everything.  And God told Adam and Eve to take good care of their beautiful garden. 

Anthem: Who Put the Colors in the Rainbow?

William Zahrt : The Second Story in Salvation History: How Good and Bad Came to the World

God created Adam and Eve as innocent people in a perfect world.  God created Adam and Eve to be able to make free choices.  God did not make them to be like robots who could not make their own decisions.  God gave Adam and Eve a test so they could know that they had real freedom of choice.  He told them that they could not eat the fruit from one tree in the middle of the garden.  God allowed a very sneaky serpent to talk to Eve and Adam.  The serpent told them that they could be like God if they ate the fruit that God told them not to eat.  Eve was tricked into eating and she tricked Adam into eating the fruit too.  Perhaps that fruit was an apple or a pomegranate.  So Adam and Eve knew that they had freedom to choose, but they made the wrong choice.  Since imperfect people could not live in the perfect garden, they had to leave the garden.  They started a family and began to farm, but they missed the beautiful garden.

Choral Anthem: Adam in the Garden, West Indies

Adam in the garden, hidin’, hidin’, hidin’, hidin’, hidin’, hidin’. 

Adam in the garden, hidin’, hidin’, hidin’ from the Lord.

Tell me where is Adam hidin’, hidin’, hidin’, hidin’, hidin’.

Tell me where is Adam hidin’ from the Lord.

Sam Zahrt: The Third Story of Salvation History: A special person from the family tree of Jesse

The prophet Isaiah said that a special person would be born from the family tree of Jesse, King David’s father.  This special person would have God’s Spirit upon Him and He would begin to be a wise leader.  The prophet Isaiah wrote about a vision of wolves and lambs being able to play together because some day no animal will harm another animal and men and women will live in peace.

Carol: Baa, Baa, Little Lamb (Tune: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep)

Baa, baa, little lamb, did you lose your way?  Yes sir, yes sir, I was lost today.

Far from my shepherd, far from my home.  Far from my flock, I ran off alone.

Baa, baa, little lamb, did you lose your way?  Yes sir, yes sir, I was lost today.

Baa, baa, little lamb, who found you? My Good Shepherd who loves you too.

Left His flock of ninety-nine, Looked for me with love so kind.

Baa, baa, little lamb, your Shepherd looked for you.  Yes sir, yes sir, And He found me too.

Dear little children, does your Shepherd love you?  Yes sir, yes sir, He loves you too.

If we sin and go from Him, Jesus brings us back to Him.

Dear little children your Shepherd loves you.  Yes sir, yes sir, and He loves you too.

Leila: The Fourth Story of Salvation History:  A voice will cry out in the wilderness to prepare the way

The prophet Isaiah said that a voice would cry out in the wilderness to prepare the way for the Lord.  This voice would announce the coming of one who would be a strong and good Shepherd.  The voice belonged to John the Baptist who help to announce the importance of Jesus Christ.

Carol: When the King Shall Come Again (tune: Good King Wenceslas)

1.When the King shall come again all his power revealing;

splendor shall announce his reign, life and joy and healing:

earth no longer in decay, hope no more frustrated;

this is God's redemption-day longingly awaited.

2.  In the desert trees take root, fresh from God's creation;

plants and flowers and sweetest fruit join the celebration.

Rivers spring up from the earth, barren lands adorning:

valleys, this is your new birth; mountains, greet the morning!

Tristan: The Fifth Story of Salvation History: A Promised Child Named Emmanuel

The prophet Isaiah promised that a sign would be given to God’s people.  A child would be born to a young woman and his name would be called Emmanuel, which means, God is with us.  Emmanuel is another name for Jesus because when he was born, he was proof that God was with us.

Divine Jubilation: O Come, O Come Emmanuel,  arr. Helen Runkle

Alexander: The Sixth Story of Salvation History: The Angel Gabriel Delivers a Message to Mary

The Angel Gabriel came to Mary one day in the city of Nazareth.  She was surprised to see the Angel.  The Angel told her not to be afraid because God was going to give her a very special child who would be called the Son of God.  And Mary said, “Let it be according to your word.”  And Mary obeyed God.

Carol: Mary and the Angel (Tune: Reuben and Rachel)

Mary, Mary, look beside you.  There’s an angel standing there! 

It is Gabriel, sent from heaven with Good News for you to hear.

Mary, Mary, don’t be frightened.  God is with you favored one.

You will have a little baby, Jesus Christ, God’s own dear Son.

“How can this be?” Mary wondered. “ I’ve not married anyone.”

“God can do all things,” said Gabriel. “The baby will be God’s own Son.”

“As you say, “ then Mary answered, “As God says, so let it be.”

We join Mary in her praises; Jesus came for you and me.”

           

Rylie: The Seventh Story of Salvation History: Jesus is born in Bethlehem

Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem to register to pay taxes.  While they were there, they tried to get a room at an inn but there was no room for them.  So they had to spend the night in a stable.  While they were in the stable, Mary gave birth to the little baby Jesus.  That same night shepherds came to the stable because the Angels in the sky had told them about the birth of a special Christ Child who would bring peace on earth.

Choral Anthem:  Gaudete,  Latin Chant

Catherine: The Eighth Story of Salvation History: Angels tell the shepherds to come to the manger

When future kings are born it is announced throughout the kingdom.  When Jesus was born a choir of angels announced his birth in the heavens.  When the shepherds heard the angels announce the birth of Jesus, they were told to go to the manger and worship the Christ Child.  They obeyed and went to be the first visitors to see baby Jesus.

Carol: Christ Was Born In Bethlehem  (Tune: Michael Row the Boat)

1.         Christ was born in Bethlehem, Hallelujah. Born to save us from our sin.  Hallelujah.

2.         Songs of joy the angel sang, hallelujah.  To see Jesus shepherds ran, Hallelujah.

3.         Every girl and every boy, hallelujah, Join us in our song of joy, Hallelujah.

 Caroline: The Ninth Story of Salvation History: Jesus is called the Word of God

The writer of the Gospel of John calls Jesus the Word of God.  And as the Word of God, Jesus was with God from before the beginning of time and he was God before the beginning of time.  The Word of God became the man Jesus who was born into this world.  And many people did not accept this man Jesus but those who received him became children of God.

Solo:  Silent Night,  Rebecca O’Donnell, pianist

 Priya: The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John     (Please stand)

     Reponse: Praise to you Lord Christ.   At the end: Glory to you Lord, Christ

The Peace of the Lord be with you always.

People:                        And also with you.

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

Offertory Anthem:   ‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime , Divine Joy Handbell Choir

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 our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give him 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 Rachel.

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 can we love God and our neighbor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Our Father (Sung): (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 by thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name. 

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration.

Communion Anthem:  Like a Child,   by Daniel Charles Damon    

 Chancel Choir

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 Carol: Good Christian Friends Rejoice (Blue Hymnal #107)

Good Christian friends, rejoice with heart and soul and voice; give ye heed to what we say:  Jesus Christ is born today; ox and ass before him bow, and he is in the manger now.  Christ is born today!  Christ is born today!

Good Christian friends, rejoice with heart and soul and voice; now ye hear of endless bliss;  Jesus Christ was born for this!  He hath opened heaven’s door, and we are blest for evermore.  Christ was born for this!  Christ was born for this!

Dismissal: Blessing for Advent and Christmas

The Almighty God bless us with his grace; Christ give us the joys of everlasting life; and to the fellowship of the citizens above may the King of angels bring us all.  Amen.

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

People: Thanks be to God!