Unforgivable Sins; Forgivable Sinners

2 Pentecost  Cycle B  proper 5 June 10, 2012  

Psalm 130     Genesis 3:8-15
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1   Mark 3:20-35

Lectionary Link
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, a Dutchman was the inventor who used mercury in glass tubes to standardize the recording of temperature.  Using this measuring standard, scientific laws have been stated, like "water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level."

And so I ask the question: Does stating this Scientific Law, actually make water boil?  Of course not, which leads me to my favorite quote from the philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead.  He said, "The laws of science are statistically approximate; not causatively absolute."  This was his fancy way of stating that just because science states a law, the stating of the law does not make the event happen.

Many religious people treat the words of the Bible as though they were causatively absolute: Because of the words written in the Bible, this made life happen in the way that  it did and does.

Actually, the words of the Bible are "statistically approximate" explanations of inspired people who were trying to grapple with the great problems of life.

The Genesis story as a causative scientific law does not make any sense; the Genesis story as inspired insights about human life and the human dilemma is brilliant.

Christians have wanted to make an actual historic event call the Fall into a causatively absolute event.  Why do you and I sin?  Well, it all started at a sure and certain historical event when Eve was tricked by the serpent to eat of the forbidden fruit and invited Adam to do the same and this has caused everyone after Adam and Eve to be sinful from birth.

Eve said, "The devil made me do it."  God said, "You have sinned and now that you are imperfect, you cannot live in a perfect environment because your imperfection would ruin it and so you are banished from perfection and you now must bear the effects of your sin.  And that sin will infect your environment and your environment will be full of competitive systems.  Weeds will grow and compete with your crops.  Earthquakes and hurricanes and fires will not be coordinated with your human schedule and people will be in harm's way.  People will be born with physical defects, imperfection and impairments."

Fundamentalist use the Bible in a "causatively absolute way."  Things are the way they are specifically because the words of Bible caused them to be this way.

On the other hand, one can see in this inspired story, the beautiful account of how each baby is expelled from the perfect Eden of mom's womb and is forced to live a separated life outside of mom  and learn to "fend" for oneself.  And in fending for oneself, we all eat the forbidden fruit of "selfishness," and we learn the knowledge of good and evil from the actual experience of losing our innocence by being held more and more accountable in our loss of the infant state of naïve innocence.

Life outside of the garden of Eden of mom's womb can get very complicated because we don't end up getting perfectly mentored.  We pick up the imperfections of our environments and the influences found there.  We can forget how to treat everyone with respect because as separate agents we are perpetually fending for ourselves even if it is at the expense of others.  We find ourselves craving for larger and larger pieces of the public pie even as we know that some are getting more and some less.

We can come to be frightened by our own actions and our own motives for why we do the things that we do.  And there can occur all variety of internal turmoil within ourselves.  Each of us, is more or less successful or failing in knowing how to deal with our internal lives.  There can arise the apparent lack of control of the interior lives in such chaos that there seems to be inward, powerful and impure forces which dictate acting out behaviors of addiction and harm to self and others.

In the time of Jesus, there were religious classification of psychological and spiritual states:  In the purity code of Judaism, a person's inner life could be designated as "Impure" or "unclean."  A person whose behaviors did not properly comport to some obvious community standards of "sanity" could be designated as having or being possessed by an "unclean spirit."  In the Greek of the New Testament, such also came to be call a "daimon" or demon, meaning a personified controlling impulse.

Part of the healing work of Jesus was spiritual and psychological.  Jesus was like a shaman; he had a way of getting inside of people to whisper them to peace of mind.  The ability of Jesus to whisper such wild people, fascinated everyone whose lives had suffered at the hands of such wild people.  How could Jesus be such a people whisperer?  He had to have a profound authority of an extraordinary kind, of a spiritual and divine kind.

The healing success of Jesus is something that should make all people glad.  Why wouldn't people be happy about someone being healed?  It's as though a sick person from Rochester, MN, home of the Mayo Clinic, came to Stanford hospital and got cured and the people of Mayo Clinic responding: "The cure happened because those quack physicians at Stanford used methods of the devil to make the person better.  Only authentic healing can take place through the Mayo Clinic."

The Gospel lesson is a lesson about professional jealousy that became so bad that when Jesus whispered a man back to spiritual and mental health, his competitors said, "he made a pact with the devil to accomplish this."  Those who wanted to discount the ministry of Jesus were so vicious as to call something good, evil and done through evil means."

After eating the forbidden fruit, Eve said, "The devil made me do it."  When the religious rivals of Jesus saw the healing work of Jesus, they said, "The devil made you do and assisted you to do it."

Jesus, who did spiritual work because of the Holy Spirit,  said that such a sin against the Holy Spirit was unforgivable.  And if this seems extreme, it could be that all sins are unforgivable since God cannot say any sin was or is ever "okay."  Sins are behaviors which come from a person who is sinful.  The sinner is forgivable even while the sins are not.  It may seem like a subtle distinction but it's an important one.  The sinner while in the state of sinning is not in a state of forgiveness.

The Gospel for us today is coming to know ourselves in the family of God as brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.  John's Gospel states that we are "born not of the will of the flesh, but born of God."  We show our family identity by obeying the will of God.  What is the will of God?  The will of God is to know ourselves as forgiven.  Each of us got evicted from the perfect Eden of our mother's womb and we have come to know ourselves as wounded and separated from each other with some behaviors of alienation, behaviors of sin.  We express the will of God by loving God, our neighbors and ourselves as God's valuable children.

Jesus came to remind us that even though we lived in mother's womb we have always lived in the great womb of God, or as St. Paul quoted, "We live and move and have our being in God."  We are in God and when we don't act as though we are part of God's family, living "in God" we act out in sinful behaviors which derive from our sense of alienation from God.

Doing God's will, begins by acknowledging and discovering that we live and move and have our being in God.  Knowing this is to live a life of being forgiven and learning to cooperate with all goodness, love and justice wherever we find it.

Jesus Christ came to teach us what forgiveness means.  He came to help us tolerate and survive the effects of our "unforgivable sins" and make our hearts pure by giving us his Holy Spirit.  And in the power of the Spirit, we receive the freedom to do the will of God.  Amen.

Sunday School, June 10, 2018 3 Pentecost, B Proper 5

Sunday School, June 10, 2018    3 Pentecost,  B Proper 5

While the Gospel lesson contains some rather enigmatic sayings of Jesus about his “family” values for children, it might be good to stress an understanding of our baptismal family.  The Gospel lesson contrast the flesh and blood family of Jesus with another family, namely the family of people who do the will of God.

The Sunday School lessons can center around one of the things which baptism means.  It means that we live our lives trying to understand the will of God.

Ask the children, what is the will of God?  What is it that God wants us to do in our lives?

The answers are the answers of the baptismal covenant.  To love God, to seek Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as our selves.

Contrast our two families: the natural families of our birth and our baptismal family.  With our baptismal family we join with other people who are committed to seek and do the will of God.

Remember the Gospel Lesson:  Jesus said that he had two families, his brothers and sisters and mother and father with whom he was raised in the village of Nazareth, but he also had a greater family, the family of all people who want to do the will of God.

Let us celebrate our family relationship with all people who seek to do the will of God.

Sermon:

Sometimes we call a church’s building God’s house or God’s home.  And one of the reason why we do this is because this building is a home for God’s family.  And we are part of God’s family.

  We were taught to pray by Jesus, who is called the Son of God.  And when Jesus taught his friends to pray, he told them to say, “Our Father who art in heaven.”

  If Jesus taught us to say to God, “Our Father,” what does that make you and me?  Who calls a person their father?  Children call a person their father; sons and daughters call a person their father.

  And so Jesus taught us that we have a very small family and we also have a very big family.

  Our small family is the family of our moms and dads.  We because a part of our families by birth or adoption.

  But when we were born into our families, our family was not the only family in the world.  There are many families in the world.

  So, when we were born we were born into our own families with our moms and dads and brothers and sisters.  And we were born into the world with many, many families.  And so we were also born into the family of God, because God is the creator and maker of the world.  God is the maker of all families.

  Today in the Gospel reading Jesus taught us about these two families.  People said, “Jesus, your family is here to see you.  Your mom and dad and brother and sister.”  And then Jesus told a riddle:  He said, “Who is my family?  Everyone is my family who does the will of God.”  So Jesus was teaching us about the family of God.

  When we sing the Prayer, “Our Father” we sing, “Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.”

  So, what is the will of God the Father that God wants to be done on earth?  God wants us to love God and to love each other and to practice kindness in our lives.  This is how we prove that we belong to the family of God.  This is how we do the will of God the Father on earth. 

  As children, we want our parents to happy and proud of us.  We want to do their will (most of the time, even if it means cleaning our bedrooms).  As children of God the Father, we want to please Him; we want to do what he wants us to do.  And God does not ask us to do things that are bad.  He asks us to love Him and each other and practice kindness.  And if we do that we show that we belong to the family of God.

  Today, remember that Jesus came to remind us that we belong in the family of God.  So, let me teach you a word that means Daddy….  Can you say, “Abba?”  And God wants you to get to know him so well that you can call him, Daddy, or Abba.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

June 10, 2018: The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs:  Peace before us, Seek Ye First, I am the Bread of Life, May the Lord

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

1          Peace before us.  Peace behind us.  Peace under our feet.  Peace within us.  Peace over us.  Let all around us be Peace.

2 Love,

3 Light,

4 Christ

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

O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; 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 Second Letter to the Corinthians

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together  from Psalm 130 

2  If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss, *O Lord, who could stand?

3  For there is forgiveness with you; * therefore you shall be feared.

4  I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him; * in his word is my hope.

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 Mark  

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:            And also with you.

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

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

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

2            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

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 I Am the Bread of Life, Hymn  # 335

1 I am the bread of life, they who come to me shall not hunger; they who believe in me shall not thirst.  No one can come to  me unless the Father draw them.  And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day.

2 I am the resurrection, I am the life, they who believe in me, even if they die, they shall live forever.  And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day.

3 Yes Lord we believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world. And I will raise them up, and I will raise them up, and I will raise them up on the last day

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: May the Lord (Sung to the tune of Eidelweiss)

May the Lord, Mighty God, Bless and keep you forever, Grant you peace, perfect peace, Courage in every endeavor.  Lift up your eyes and seek His face, Trust His grace forever.  May the Lord, Mighty God Bless and keep you for ever.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Good Laws Can Be Used Wrongly

2 Pentecost, B proper 4  June 3, 2018
Deuteronomy 5:12-15  Psalm 81:1-10
2 Corinthians 4:5-12  Mark 2:23-3:6

Lectionary Link

We pride ourselves for being a nation of laws and the mother of our laws is the U.S. Constitution.  Laws recommend the behaviors for just and fair living together as people; because when individual people live in proximity with each other, competing egos can be a recipe for continuous conflict.  So, we have laws that recommends the personal boundaries that must be honored between people and parties.

The people of Israel were a people who maintained their identity because of their famous Law, the laws that were written in the Torah.

The Jews and Christians had quite a big problem in the first century.  The Torah was revealed as both a religious law and a law for general society.  In that way, the Torah was a law like the Islamic Sharia, since it assumed a theocratic society where religious law and social laws were united in one body of law.

In the time of Jesus, a theocratic state of Israel governed by the Torah was not the situation.  Why?  The Roman Emperor controlled the world and so Roman law was the official and telling law of Israel, even though the Jewish religious authorities could exercise a certain autonomy for the practice of religious laws within their Jewish community.

 St. Paul and Jesus both knew that the Torah was not the law that governed in the Roman World of their time.

The Jewish religious authorities were under great pressure.  They had to become rigid about the practice of their religious rules within their community.  They feared assimilation of their community to the foreign values of the Roman invaders.  Many Jews compromised their religious observance to interact with Romans.

How do the people of an occupied country maintain their separation and their community identity?  The leaders promoted with great deliberation not just the big Laws of the Torah, the Ten Commandments but also the 603 other laws of the Torah.  Under Roman control, it was very difficult for people not to be compromised by quite different lifestyle of the Roman citizens.

If we understand the situation in Palestine, we can appreciate why Jews, followers of Jesus and St. Paul were apocalyptic people.  They were realistic about Roman control; the only way Roman control would be defeated would be by a direct act of God to bring deliverance.  God delivered Israel from Egypt, but God did not deliver the Jews or the Christians from the Roman political control of their world.

What did Paul and Jesus do when they knew that the Torah would not be the law of the Roman Empire?  They taught a different kind of legal thinking which could be adapted to the situations of peoples' lives.

For St. Paul, one could say he shortened the meaning of the law to the word "love."  He wrote that if one loved, then one fulfilled the law.  How was the law of love expressed in the words of Jesus?  He returned to the summary of the law.  Jesus said, the law is all about love.  "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself."

A big issue was this:  Could the law of God be adapted to a society and a world that was not under the control of Torah law?

For Paul and for Jesus, law was all about love.

If the law is all about love, can the enforcement of laws be used for unloving purposes?  Laws can be applied in ways that contradict the greater law of love.

If it is against the law to heal someone on the Sabbath, then the law is a contradiction to the law of love.

Jesus cited his opponents for their petty application of the law.  He showed them that they were not consistent in their applications of their laws.  If they would retrieve their animal from the ditch on the Sabbath, why would they oppose the healing of a person on the Sabbath?  Even David ate the holy and restricted bread when he and his soldiers were hungry.  The religious leaders were presented by the Gospel writers as  using the laws in a petty way for the purposes of opposing Jesus and his charismatic authority among the people who were following him.

Today, we live a similar situation.  The U.S. Constitution is not Christian law; it is not Torah law.  It derived mainly from Common Law traditions in Europe and from Roman Law.

The early Christians lived in the Roman Empire; they practiced the law of love, the law of Jesus.  And the practice of this love proved to be very persuasive.  And you know what happened?  It turned out that Christians did not need an apocalyptic end of the world to take over the Roman Empire.  The power of the love of Jesus won the day.

There are Christians today who want Christian laws to dominate our society.  They decry our "non" Christian society.  But we need to remember the words and lives of both Jesus and St. Paul.  Christian evangelism is not about being able to force people to be Christians by legislation: it is about living lives of love in persuasive ways.  God's way cannot be forced on anyone because then people would not free to choose; but God's love can persuade people especially when people witness the love in the words and lives of people who have been won over to the love of Christ.

Let us have wisdom about the laws of society and the laws of church; and let us never forget to 

practice the law of love as revealed in the life of Jesus Christ.  Amen

Sunday School, June 3, 2018 2 Pentecost B, Proper 4

Sunday School, June 3, 2018   2 Pentecost B, Proper 4

God’s Law and How to use it

Laws can be very general or very specific

Love God, Love your Neighbor, Love Yourself: these are general laws.

Drive 25 miles per hours in a school zone:  This is a very specific laws.

Think about some very specific laws that you know about

Think about some very specific family rules

Think about the reasonable use of a law.

You must always clean your bedroom on Saturday mornings.

Would there ever be exceptions to this family law?

What about if you were sick?

What if you were gone?

What is a soccer match happened at the same time?

What would you think about your parents if they made you clean your bedroom on Saturday morning even if you were sick?

In the time of Jesus there were rules for the Sabbath

On the Sabbath one was supposed to rest from work.

But what counts for work on the Sabbath?

Can a farmer feed the farm animals on Sunday?

Can parents work to fix meals for their family on Sunday?

Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath.  Some of the religious leader told him that he had broken God’s law because healing was on the Sabbath when he was not supposed to be working.

Jesus said that Sabbath law was made for people to honor God and people were not made so that they could follow Sabbath laws.

Laws are good but we have to know how to use laws in the right way.

Fire fighters, police, nurses and doctors work on Sunday and the Sabbath, why?  Because healing people, taking care of people and protecting people are important.  The big rules to love God, love one’s neighbors, and love oneself can be adjust to little rules which help to make life loving, kind and fair to everyone and still honor God.

Sermon:

  How many of you have rules in your family?

  Do your rules ever get broken?

  Do your parent want you to eat the food that is put on your plate?

  But do they make you eat food if you have a tummy ache or if you are sick?  Why not?  If you are sick, then rules about eating change.  Why?  Because the rules have to change to help a person when they are sick. Right.

  Do your parents make you take a bath?  Do you have to take a bath if you are sick?  No.  Again the rules change when you are sick.

  Does a police car have to stop at a red light if they have turned on their flashing lights and sirens and if the police car is rushing to an accident?

No, the police get to break the law.  The same is true for fire trucks and for ambulances.  So there are special situations in life that make us change or adjust the rules.

  In the time of Jesus there was a law about the Sabbath.  The Sabbath was a day of rest, a day of worship.  And no one was supposed to work on the Sabbath.  But what did Jesus do?  He healed a sick woman on the Sabbath.  And the religious leader got mad at him for breaking the rule.  And Jesus told the religious leader that he was being silly about the rule of the Sabbath.  You give water to your animals on the Sabbath and that is work but you still do it.  So why is it wrong to heal a sick woman on the Sabbath?

  Jesus showed that laws are good, but they still have to used in the right ways so that they truly help people.

  What if I am playing soccer with you and there is only one soccer ball and it is mine.  So, when we play soccer, I get to touch the soccer ball with my hands.  And you say, “That’s not fair.”  And I say, “Too bad.  If you don’t want to follow my rules, then I am going to take my ball and go home.”

  What kind of rule would that be?  It would be a selfish rule that served only me.  And because I owned the only soccer ball, I controlled the game.”  That would not be a fair rule, would it?

  Jesus said that the leaders were not fair in their rules.  They made rules that were good for them and their jobs, but not good for ordinary people who wanted to know that God loved and care for them.

  So you and I need to remember that laws and rules are good, but we have to know how to use them so that they truly help us to love God and help us to love and help other people.  That is what Jesus taught us about the law. Amen

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

June 3, 2018: The Second Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah, He’s Got the Whole World, I Come with Joy, I’ve Got Peace  

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

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.

Liturgist: 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

O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us; 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 Second Letter to the Corinthians

We do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 81

1 Sing with joy to God our strength * and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.

2 Raise a song and sound the timbrel, * the merry harp, and the lyre.

3 Blow the ram's-horn at the new moon, * and at the full moon, the day of our feast.

4 For this is a statute for Israel, * a law of the God of Jacob.

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 Mark  

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

One sabbath Jesus and his disciples were going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”  Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

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

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

He’s got the little tiny babies. ….

Brother and the sisters….  

Mothers and the fathers…..

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: I Come With Joy   (Renew! # 195)

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

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

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

Post-Communion Prayer

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

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

And His Presence has been known to us.

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

    and sisters in Christ.

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

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

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

Closing Song I’ve Got Peace Like a River (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 122)

1          I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.  I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river.  I’ve got peace like a river in my soul..

2          I’ve got love…. 

3          I’ve got joy……

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God!