Don't Forget the Mysticism of Christmas

Christmas Eve  C       December 24, 2018

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

Titus 2:11-14        Luke 2:1-14  

Lectionary Link

Most of us admit that Christmas is quite an imposing holiday.  It literally means the "Mass of Christ," referring to the Eucharist which celebrates the birth of Jesus.  But Christmas has grown way beyond the Mass of Christ.

It has become quite a social, cultural, entertainment and commercial phenomena unlike any other holiday.  It has become so much more than the observance of the "Mass of Christ" for the celebration of the birth of Christ.

And we might want to go all "bah humbug" on all the extra trappings which Christmas has accrued.  Or we may just want to regard it all as a great smorgasbord of religious or cultural activity from which we pick and choose for our own religious and secular observances.

One could cite the success of the evangelization of cultures by Christmas.  Even the Christmas date was a way to replace a Roman pagan festival and convert the social energy that once was expressed for the Sol Invictus event into the Christ event.  One might say that Christmas continues to evangelize; around the world the word Christ in Christmas is proclaimed, and it invites anyone with access to Wikipedia to look up Christmas and study further the origins and the meanings of Christmas.  As crass as Christmas commercialism can be, the culture of excess in gift exchange, extends beyond personal gifts exchanged to help most of the charities to be able to survive for the rest of the year.  Certainly St. John the Divine is willing to accept big Christmas gifts this year, as always.

The popularity of Christmas as a cultural and commercial phenomenon might intimidate us in the religious profession as we watch more children line up to see Santa Claus than come to the manger to see baby Jesus.  We see diminishing church attendance even as the Black Friday crowds stampede the malls.  Christmas sermons streamed and blogged get but a few hits compared to all of the Amazon.com traffic and youtube Christmas music.  So, we can be intimidated about the things which Christmas has become other than the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

I, myself, am less concerned about all that Christmas has become; I am most concerned about the mysticism of Christmas.  I am more concerned about the inner event represented in the New Testament writings about the meaning of the birth of Christ.

In a significant way, we can say Christmas began after the actual birth of a baby named Jesus.  Christmas began as the mystical teachings of St. Paul and the apostles who experienced the birth of Risen Christ within their inner lives.   Paul and the apostles were not at Bethlehem.  They did not know Jesus growing up as a boy in Nazareth.

But Christmas for Paul and the apostles began after the resurrection appearances of Jesus.  Christmas, you might say, began after Easter.  Why?  There was a spiritual phenomenon which created the Jesus Movement and this Movement became the churches of gathered people in the cities of the Roman Empire.  Many people experienced this spiritual phenomenon.  How did they talk about this mystical experience?  They said that Christ had been born in them.  And what happened to them when they had this experience?  They said that they were overshadowed by the Holy Spirit.  They said they had unspeakable joy and peace and faith and goodness and self-control.  The mystical experience of Christ being born within them also created friendship beyond birth family; it created a community of people with common interest and purpose.  Something so good had happened within them, they wanted to share it others to see if the experience could be replicated in the lives of others.  And you know what?  It did.  The recurrence of this mystical experience into the lives of many people shocked the leaders of the Jesus Movement.  They knew that the success would not diminish because they knew that another Higher Power was responsible for the mystical experience.  The Higher Power of Holy Spirit was the explanation given for making the birth of the Risen Christ occur in the lives of increasingly more and more people.

Before Bethlehem was written about, the birth of Risen Christ happened in the lives of many people.  And it kept happening and it created communities in many places.  And these communities wanted to teach the mysticism of the birth of Christ into their lives to anyone who would want to have this experience.

What did the leaders do?  They created spiritual manuals for their membership and for those who were being initiated into this interior event of the birth of Christ.  But the early churches were still very much minority communities in the Roman Empire.  They could not be public gatherings.  Home churches could not even have the same public profile that synagogues had attained in the Roman cities.  House churches had to "fly under the radar" to avoid too much public attention.  Their teachings and writings had to be private to their communities and their writings had to be cryptic, that is, they had to hide their mystical reality within an actual story.  The Christmas stories hide the elements of the mystical birth of Christ in spiritual ways that were understood by initiated members of the churches.

So how is the mysticism of the early church hid in the Christmas stories?  The Virgin Mary is the paradigm of all persons who knew the conception and birth of the Risen Christ within themselves?  It was not of human origin; one's life was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit to experience the birth of Christ.  But Mary and Joseph had physical and social reality too.  The birth of Jesus happened in Bethlehem.  For the early Christians, "Bethlehem" represented the physical location of their lives when they experienced the birth of Christ in themselves.  Paul's Bethlehem was on the road to Damascus.  Bethlehem fulfilled the ancient Scriptural reference to the city of David.  The early Christians following, Paul believed that this experience of the birth of Christ into one's life was a very providential event and was regarded to be the furtherance of universal salvation that was predicted in the writings of the Hebrew Scriptures.

So tonight, I am here to say, "I like Christmas,in fact, I love Christmas."  You and I can pick and choose from all of the Christmas trappings in our culture, but the question for me and you is this?  Has Christ been born in me?  Has Christ been born in you?  How would we know it?  Love, joy, peace, forgiveness, self-control, sacrificial giving, friendship, hope, faith, practicing justice, helping the needy and vulnerable, and patience.  You and I know the birth of Christ in us by the fruits of this birth which initiated the transformation of our lives.

Tonight, I salute you as I would the Virgin Mary; Congratulations on the birth of Christ in you by the power of the Holy Spirit.  But not just in your inner lives; you have locations like Bethlehem and Nazareth.  You and I have places to let the birth of Christ live and grow in us and make a difference in the Bethlehem and Nazareth locations of our lives.

Christmas, by all means celebrate it, but don't forget the origin of Christmas: the mystical birth of the life of Christ in us.  Merry Christmas and congratulations on the birth of Christ, in YOU!  Amen.

Meaning of John as Gestational Gymnast

4 Advent C     December 23, 2018

Micah 5:2-4   Song of Mary     

Heb.10:5-10   Luke 1:39-56

Lectionary Link

 Luke 7:28b-35. I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he

When ancient writings survived, they became more venerated.  The survival of writings were proof of their continuing popularity within communities of people who found their meanings useful.  Survival was manifest in their actual "printing" technologies.  When text faded from the scroll of papyrus, it had to be re-inked.  The re-inking of the text was proof of the popularity of the text and so texts which lost their usefulness or relevance within a community were left to fade away and disappear.

The ways in which the Gospel texts have come to serve the church calendars should not keep us from trying to achieve insights into the function of the text when it was first written.  The context of the early Jesus Movement trying to convert the followers of John the Baptist is more relevant to the actual meaning of today's Gospel than meanings that we have come to have for it in our Advent-Christmas lectionary purposes.

Above I quote a later passage from Luke which obviously is a rather blunt oracle saying of Jesus  in the early church comparing the experience of the post-resurrection Holy Spirit filled Christian and the experience of John the Baptist and those who used John the Baptist as the most adequate message about God and about God's kingdom.

How were followers of John to be convinced to become followers of Jesus, followers of the Risen Christ who had an experience of the Kingdom of God which surpassed John the Baptist?

How do we know the experience of the Risen Christ and the birth of Christ into one's life surpasses what was offered by John the Baptist?

Well, John as an adult said that Jesus and his ministry was the preferred message and not only did John believe that as an adult, he even responded as prenatal John to the prenatal Jesus.

Prenatal John in his mother's womb leaped in response when Elizabeth his mother met with Mary who was "with child," with the Christ child.

So the pre-natal John without any cultural bias was responding to Jesus even before either of them were born.  Could there be any more fascinating preaching appeal to the followers of John the Baptist than this wonderful story of expectant moms?   Elizabeth's word helped to create perhaps the most popular prayer in the world, the "Hail Mary."  "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb."

Before we rush into all the meanings which have accrued for John and Jesus in our Advent and Christmas observances, let up remember the primary function of the message being used to convince the followers of John the Baptist to graduate to the experience of following Jesus.

In the mystagogy, the teachings of the mystery of Christ born into one's life, or the mysticism of the early church, the birth of John to Elizabeth is contrasted to the birth of Jesus to Mary, somewhat like the Pauline comparison of the states of "chosenness" of the birth of Ishmael to Hagar and Isaac to Sarah.

John the Baptist baptized with water; Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit.  The birth into John the Baptist was very important, but the birth of Christ into a person happened as one was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit to realized that one of "conceived by God and made a child of God."

We often get caught up in literal story and forget, neglect, miss the mystagogy that the early Gospel preachers are conveying in the Advent and Christmas stories.

The birth event of John and Elizabeth and his life teaching were to be preparation for the birth event of Christ into each person willing to say to God, "let it be to me according to your word."

Mary's song, a song of praise about the event of the experience of God's favor is to be the song of everyone who has realized the Christ event within the soul as the hope of glory in one's life.

As we enter the Christmas season and are so thrilled to keep the stories as external happenings in some past history, let us not forget the mystagogy which motivated the early preaching of the Jesus Movement.  These writings were preached and delivered by persons who were completely thrilled with the birth of the Risen Christ within their lives.  And I hope you have that thrill too.  Amen.

Sunday School, December 23, 2018 4 Advent C

Sunday School, December 23, 2018     4 Advent C

Mothers who are Expecting Babies and A Song

If you have an expectant mother in the parish, invite her to come and talk about how she might feel while expecting a baby.

On this day, we read the account of the visit of Elizabeth with her Cousin Mary.  They are both expecting babies.  And because we know the end of the story, we know that both babies are going to be special prophets from God.

Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist.  When John the Baptist was not yet born he did what unborn babies often do, he moved or jumped while he was still in his mother’s “stomach.”  But he did a special leap when Elizabeth saw her cousin Mary who was expecting the baby Jesus.

The writers of the Gospel showed that even when John the Baptist was not yet born, he had a way of recognizing the importance of Jesus.  This was the writer’s way of trying to convince the followers of John the Baptist to become followers of Jesus Christ after John had died.

Sometimes when we are looking for heroes, we look for one to come from the same family and from the same place.  So when the Gospel writers were telling the story of Jesus they looked to Bethlehem and the family of King David.  They wanted to show how Jesus was a hero who was in the family tree of David and they wanted to show how Jesus was from the same town as David, the town of Bethlehem.

Sometimes when a writer writes a song, they write a song because something very special happens to them.

In the story of the visit between Elizabeth and Mary we have the Song of Mary.  This song is about about special Mary felt.  She knew that God had given her a special child who would do something very special in this world to inspire people to live in love and justice.  The Song of Mary is used in our worship in church.  It is often used when we say Morning Prayer.  And it is used at the feasts we have to celebrate the life of the Virgin Mary.

Have you ever had something wonderful happen to you when you were inspired to write a poem, a song or a story?

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist
December 23, 2018: The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs: Light a Candle; Jesus Stand Among Us,  Peace Before Us; Thy Word,  When the Saints

Lighting of the Advent Candle:   Light a Candle
Light a candle for hope today, Light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today.           Advent time is here.
Light a candle for peace today..3. Love…  4.Joy

             
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:  Jesus Stand Among Us, Renew! #17

1-Jesus stand among us, at the meeting of our lives, be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

2-So to You we’re gathering out of each and every land.  Christ the love between us at the joining of our hand; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

3-Jesus stand among us, the breaking of the bread, join us as one body as we worship Your, our Head.  O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.


Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.
People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia
O God, you have made us! Alleluia
O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia
O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia
O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia
O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia
O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the Prophet  Micah

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me  one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from the Song of Mary

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *  for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *  the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.

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 Luke
People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.
People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon:  Fr. Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.
Since God is so great and we are so small,
We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.
We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and
     resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.
We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is
     welcome.
We believe that Christ is kind and fair.
We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.
And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.
For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.
For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.
For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.
For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.
For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.
For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.
For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

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

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

Song: Peace Before Us (Wonder, Love and Praise,  # 791)
Peace before us.  Peace behind us.  Peace under our feet.  Peace within us.  Peace over us.  Let all around us be Peace.  Love,  Light, Christ

Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”
All become members of a family by birth or adoption.
Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.
A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.
The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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


Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 
Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

All  may gather around the altar

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;
You have made us in your image
And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:
Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.
And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph
And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.
Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat
  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us        as this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

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

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

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

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

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

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory
 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. Amen.

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

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: Thy Word, (Renew! #94)

Refrain: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path
1-When I feel afraid, think I’ve lost my way, still you’re right beside me.  And nothing will I fear as long as you are near.  Please be near me to the end.  Refrain.

2-I will not forget your love for me, and yet my heart forever is wandering.  Jesus, be my guide and hold me to your side; and I will love you to the end.  Refrain

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;
We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.
And His Presence has been known to us.
We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers
    and sisters in Christ.
Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the
     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,
As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: O When the Saints, (The Christian Children’s Songbook, # 248)

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

Boys….. 3.  Girls  4.  Saints

Dismissal:   

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ. 
People: Thanks be to God! 

  

John the Baptist Had No Messiah Complex

3 Advent C     December 16, 2018

Zeph 3:14-20  Canticle 9         

Phil.4:4-9    Luke 3:7-18
Lectionary Link

Does it seem strange to you that people in the time of Jesus were asking John the Baptist if he were the Messiah.

John the Baptist lived in the time of Jesus and the Gospel writers tell us that people asked John the Baptist, "Are you Messiah?"

The asking of this question is very revealing.  Why were people asking the question in the first place?  The time of John the Baptist and Jesus was so oppressive that people thought the world circumstances were signs of the end of the world order for humanity.  People of faith believed that there would be the appearance of a heroic figure to intervene for the cause of justice for God's oppressed people.  There was lots of literature to inspire and fuel speculation about such a figure who had been called Son of Man in the book of Daniel, the Lord's begotten Son in the Psalms, the Son of God in the Apocrypha Book of Second Esdras, and who was also called Messiah after the oil of anointing given to kings of Israel.  The heroic figure had other names too, like a Suffering Servant, Immanuel, Prince of Peace, Wonderful,  Counselor, and the Almighty God.

But the figure of the messiah was a hero expected by many.  So if John the Baptist was a potential candidate to be regarded as the Messiah, this tells us that he had quite a high profile among the people of Palestine who cared about such things.  One could even say that John the Baptist was regarded to be a rival messiah to Jesus of Nazareth.

And if John was a rival to the popularity of Jesus, what about the community of John the Baptist?  John had a significant number of followers and they continued to be an identifiable community after John was beheaded by King Herod.  Since Jesus was baptized by John, it could be that Jesus was the senior disciple of John the Baptist, and so he was the natural and logical successor to John the Baptist.  But not all of the followers of John the Baptist became followers of Jesus right away; the community of John the Baptist retained an identity until much later.

In some respects, the community of John the Baptist might be called the Proto-church.  John, as a poor wilderness prophet, could adjust his message and life style to the lives of many poor people in Palestine who did not seem to have significant status in the other various religious parties of Judaism or in the Roman government.  But John the Baptist was popular enough to draw the interest and curiosity of members of the religious parties like the Sadducees and Pharisees.  John the Baptist was in fact a son of a priest, but he was not following in his father's footsteps.

Let take a step back and ponder Christian marketing or evangelism in the early decades of the Jesus Movement. What people were most likely to receive the message about Jesus Christ?  Among the parties that were present in Judaism, the members of the community of John the Baptist were more likely to become followers of Jesus, much more so than the Pharisees or the Sadducees.  And when Jerusalem was destroyed; when Christianity could no longer be Jerusalem based, it gradually became more likely for Gentiles to accept the message of the Gospel than for Jews who lived in the cities of the Roman Empire.

Of all people, John the Baptist gets more Gospel ink than anyone besides Jesus.  He is presented in a much more favorable like in the Gospel than the disciples.  He is presented as one who understood the importance of Jesus while the twelve disciples are often presented as clueless.  John the Baptist even has a marvelous birth story in the Gospel which parallels the miraculous birth story of Jesus.  Did Peter, James or John have a marvelous birth story?

How did the early Christian preacher make an appeal to the followers of John the Baptist?  Not by diminishing the significance of John the Baptist; rather they gave John the Baptist a prominent place in the salvation history which preceded Jesus Christ because they believed that the Jesus Movement was the successor movement of the John the Baptist movement.  They believed that John the Baptist was the prelude to Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Risen Christ.

How did John the Baptist prepare the way for Jesus and for the Jesus Movement?  When the people ask John the Baptist what they should do, his answer was amazingly simple.  I think people wanted to know what were the correct religious behaviors and ritual behaviors to perform.  And what did John say?  Be kind, if you see someone in need, share.  Be honest; don't extort money.  But John, do I need to say this prayer each day?  Don't I need to give this special offering?  Don't I need to wear my prayer shawl in the right way?

John the Baptist proclaimed that right behaviors in your everyday life were more important that the religious behaviors that religious leaders wanted you to perform for the success of their religious community.  The early Jesus Movement understood that John the Baptist was preparation for the message of Jesus Christ to move out of the communities of Judaism and into the Gentile people.  One can see in the presentation of John the Baptist, the theology of Gentile Christianity that Paul wrote about in the letter to the Romans.  The tree of Judaism had been cut down with the destruction of the temple; and the Gentiles Christians were branches grafted into the stump of the tree.  They found that John the Baptist was a key bridge figure to the success of the message and mystical experience of the Risen Christ.

John the Baptist was important to birth of the Jesus Movement and it has been the custom of the church to bring him out each year before Christmas to celebrate his role in our salvation history.

John the Baptist is also a reminder to us before the season of Christmas excess, to simplify our lives, to share with those in need, especially if we possess so much excess.  John the Baptist is a reminder that we cannot substitute religious behaviors, ritual behaviors, or group religious identity for right living.  We can say we are observant in our religious behaviors, but without right living, we are but hypocrites.

The Gospel writers also presented the distinction between the ministry of John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus.  John came to tell people that life is about the practice of right behaviors in the day life; it is not about having the right religious identity, whether Jew, Episcopalian, Catholic, Baptist, Buddhist, Muslim or Amish.  But just knowing that we need to practice right behavior can be daunting.  I can know what to do but experience the total inability to do what I know I need to do.

What did John the Baptist say about Jesus?  He was one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.  John the Baptist did an external washing with water; he was the boot camp sergeant who told us to get our act together; Jesus of Nazareth became known as the Risen Christ, a mystical experience of the Holy Spirit to do an inside job on us to give us the power and the ability to do the right things that we need to do.

John the Baptist did not have a Messiah complex; but he was messianic.  He knew that to be messianic was to bring good news about kindness, sharing and honesty and justice.  And he knew to refer us to the one who could do an inside job on each of us, to baptize us with the Holy Spirit to make us messianic people of hope, love, justice and care.  Amen.

Why John the Baptist

3 Advent C     December 16, 2018

Zeph 3:14-20  Canticle 9         

Phil.4:4-9    Luke 3:7-18

Lectionary Link

We get a full dose of John the Baptist during the season of Advent, whether we want him or not.

Like the season of Lent is for Easter, Advent is supposed to be a season of preparation for Christmas.  But we know in our culture Christmas begins the day after Thanksgiving or before.  Advent is seen as an inconvenient speed bump as we are racing into Christmas parties and celebrations.

John the Baptist is the ultimate Advent police; he seems to be warning us not to begin our celebrations too soon.  He is the ultimate live off the land type of person; no thrills life style and totally self reliant.  He doesn't have to do any fundraising and so he can say anything he wants.  Imagine your typical parish priest during the season of Every Member Canvass saying, "You brood of vipers, you think you can come to church to avoid hell."  Oh, by the way the pledge card need to be turned in next Sunday.

The church have used John the Baptist to reinforce the themes of the season of Advent.  It is a season to recommend simplifying our lives as a way to reduce the clutter and distractions in our lives that keep us from appreciating the birth of Christ in our lives.

John the Baptist had other significance for the early Christians.

In John's own time, he and Jesus were reforming rabbis in Judaism.  They both were associated with apocalyptic and end of time movements because the Jews were so oppressed by Roman occupation, there was desperate hope for catastrophic end of the world God-intervention.

The people who followed John and Jesus were perhaps a bit more desperate than the Jewish religious leaders.  They were wanting a great David messiah but the Pharisees and Sadducees were more realistic about the Roman control.  So, the Jewish leaders did not want firebrand prophets stirring up too much trouble which would bring the Roman soldiers to put down anything that looked like a political insurrection.

John the Baptist was probably an older mentor for Jesus, as Jesus submitted to baptism by John the Baptist into his community.

John the Baptist figured prominently in the Gospels, the literature that revealed the values of the early church.  The early church valued and venerated John the Baptist.  John the Baptist has a marvelous birth story to parallel the miraculous birth story of Jesus.   Jesus even hinted that John seemed to be like a reincarnation of the life of the prophet Elijah.  John the Baptist had a significant number of followers, who continued to remain together as a community long after John had died.  However, because of the close relationship between John and Jesus, the followers of John the Baptist were perhaps the ones most likely to graduate from John to become followers of Jesus.  The writings of Gospels are proof that Jesus and his disciples were trying to convert the members of the community of John the Baptist to the Jesus Movement.  One could even say that the community of John the Baptist, was the proto-church or the immediate predecessor of the Jesus Movement which became the church.

One of the rather harsh realities of the Gospel are the very strong words which John the Baptist and Jesus had for the religious leaders of their time.

As we remember that the Gospels were written when the Jesus Movement had become separated from the synagogue sim the separation involved breakdown of community relationships.  Strong words of disagreement were exchanged as the synagogue excommunicated the followers of Jesus and as the members of the Jesus Movement realized that they could not be be regarded as fully observant Jews because of their Gentile backgrounds.

Some of the harshness of the words of both John and Jesus found in the Gospel are more representative of the later break down between the synagogue and the Jesus Movement rather than the ways things actually were during the time of John or Jesus.

Before the Gospels were written, St. Paul wrote the theology of the separation that took place between Judaism and the Jesus Movement.  Paul wrote that the tree of Judaism had been cut down as it were and Gentile Christianity was grafted into the stump of Judaism.

John the Baptist was presented as the prophet who prepared the way for the separation of Jesus Movement from the synagogue.  If John was presented as calling the Jewish religious leaders a brood of vipers, which essentially was saying that they were children of serpent of the Garden of Eden, and if Jesus was presented as one who called the religious leaders children of the father of lies, the Gospels are proof of the severe break down between the synagogue and the Jesus Movement.

It is unfortunate that during periods of church history, Christian leaders and people with power have often used the words of the Gospels as justification to persecute the Jewish religious minority who lived in their societies.

We can let the harsh separation between the synagogue and the Jesus Movement remain as part of what the Gospels represent; but we should accept the separation of Judaism and Christianity into two different missions.  The words of the Gospels must not be used to justify any religious discrimination, especially in our time where love and justice has taught us to honor the faith of all.

John the Baptist visits us in our Gospel reading each Advent season and we should take insights from his witness.  First, reform happens because sometimes reform is needed.  Reform involves change and change is not always smooth or easy or even peaceably friendly.  Change sometimes upset us both personally and as community.  We don't always like to let go of comfortable habits even when it becomes obvious that we need to find new insights for new action and new ways to constitute ourselves as a more winsome community to more people.

John the Baptist was presented as one who prepared the world for an encounter with Jesus.  Advent is the season of preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  And in this Advent, we once again seek to prepare ourselves for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  And so we look forward to something new at Christmas in the rejoicing refreshment of realizing once again that Christ is born in us.  And we can be thankful for the John the Baptist aspect of personality during the season of Advent as a necessary precursor to the experience of something new and fresh in our personal lives and in our community.  May the witness of John the Baptist today, be a witness of expectation for something new and fresh today.  Amen.

Sunday School, December 16, 2018 3 Advent C

Sunday School, December 16, 2018     3 Advent C

Gaudete Sunday

You can use the Advent Candles and Wreath as a countdown calendar for Christmas.  Just like a child might mark each day waiting for his or her birthday, the four Advent Candles provide a countdown to

Christmas.

The third Sunday is called Gaudete, the Latin word which means Rejoice.  And the Epistle reading is, “Rejoice in the Lord, always and again I say Rejoice.”

The candle for the third Sunday in Advent is pink and different from the purple color of the other Advent candles.

Today we put together the words rejoice and repent.

Repent is just a fancy religious word for “education.”   What is the opposite of education?  Ignorance.  What is the opposite of Rejoice?  Being sad.

Education and rejoicing go together.  Much of the suffering and the pain in our world is caused by human ignorance.  One of the reasons we repent or get educated is to learn how to prevent bad things from happening to us and to others.

A very young baby is ignorant about fire and so if a baby is not taken care, the baby might be fascinated by fire and put his finger in the fire and get burned.  And the baby would not rejoice if he got his finger burned.

Repentance is education or learning new things and when we learn new things we can learn to behave and act differently and we can help to make our lives and the lives of other happy.

John the Baptist was a special prophet of repentance.  He encouraged us to become more educated so that we could avoid future disasters and future sadness.

God has given us rules and laws for us to learn and if we learn these laws we can prevent many disasters and we can create rejoicing.

If we love God, give God some time by prayer, honor our parents, respect life, tell the truth, respect our families, and be content with what we have, we will have much to rejoice in our lives.

Repentance is learning how to act to prevent bad things happening to us.  And if we prevent bad things from happening, we will have joy and rejoicing rather than sadness and suffering.

If you go skateboarding without your knee pads, you might scrape and hurt your knee if you fall.  Then you would suffer and be sad.  But if you learn to wear knee pads, and you fall, then you knee would be just fine and you would be happy and you would be able to rejoice in the fun that you are having.

Discuss how repentance or education is about doing things that can prevent suffering?   And if we can prevent suffering, then we will be able to live in rejoicing and happiness.

The Bible readings on this day teach us about repentance and rejoicing and it is a good time for us to learn about how education can prevent future suffering and sadness.

  What if I fall and scrape my knee?  Would that hurt?  And what if you came to me and said, “Father Phil, be happy!”  How would I feel?  I would not feel happy.

  This Sunday in Advent is called “Rejoice” Sunday or Be Really Happy Sunday.  But what if there are things that have happened and we don’t feel like being happy, should we still try to be really happy?

  When I hurt my knee, does everyone else hurt their knee at the same time?  No.  Can I be happy that other people did not hurt their knee?  Well, yes.  When I hurt my knee, do I have people who love and care for me?  Well, yes I do so I can be happy about that.   When I hurt my knee do I still have a home to live in, clothes to wear, and food to eat?  Well, yes I do so I can be happy about many things even when I am not happy about hurting my knee.

  When I hurt my knee, does the sun still shine and give me warmth and light?  Does water still quench my thirst?  Do pets still make me happy?  Do I still get to play sports?  Do I still get to read interesting books?  Do I still have friends?  Does God still love and care for me?  

  So, you see when I hurt my knee all of the millions and millions of other good things in life do not stop and so I still have many things to be happy about.

  But there is something very strong about pain.  When I hurt my knee and when I feel pain, that pain acts like a monster that wants to take over my whole life and my whole world.  The monster of pain tries to tell me that because I hurt my knee, everything in life is bad and painful.

  So when I hurt my knee, I need my friends to help me deal with the monster of pain.  I need my friends to show me that the million other good things in my life is so big that it can make the monster of pain become like a little ant.

  So this is rejoice and be happy Sunday.  When we rejoice, we start counting all of the good things we have in life and we begin to find how they are much more powerful than the bad things that happen to us in life.

  Today, there may be some very bad things in life and we have to gather and pray and learn to count up all of the good blessings in life and we have to learn how use the good blessings in life to prevent as many bad things from happening.

  If I scraped my knee when I was roller blading what should I do?  I should wear knee pads, right?

  And so if we rejoice in good health, then we look for ways to prevent injury in accidents.

  So, today is rejoice Sunday.  It is when we look at what is good in our lives.  But it is also repent Sunday.  After we see what is good, then to repent means that we work to prevent bad things from happening.

  Can you say Rejoice and Repent.  This is Rejoice and Repent Sunday.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 16, 2018: The Third Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs: Light a Candle; Jesus Stand Among Us,  Peace Before Us; Thy Word,  When the Saints

Lighting of the Advent Candle:   Light a Candle

Light a candle for hope today, Light a candle for hope today, light a candle for hope today.           Advent time is here.

Light a candle for peace today..3. Love…  

             

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:  Jesus Stand Among Us, Renew! #17

1-Jesus stand among us, at the meeting of our lives, be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

2-So to You we’re gathering out of each and every land.  Christ the love between us at the joining of our hand; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

3-Jesus stand among us, the breaking of the bread, join us as one body as we worship Your, our Head.  O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the Letter to the Philippian Church

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from the First Song of Isaiah

Surely, it is God who saves me; *  I will trust in him and not be afraid.

For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, * and he will be my Savior.

Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing * from the springs of salvation.

And on that day you shall say, * Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;

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 Luke

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon:  Fr. Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:            And also with you.

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

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

Peace before us.  Peace behind us.  Peace under our feet.  Peace within us.  Peace over us.  Let all around us be Peace.  Love,  Light, Christ

Children’s Choir:  Greater Than These Is Love,   by Russell Nagy

Doxology

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

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

Prologue to the Eucharist

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

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

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

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

All  may gather around the altar

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

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

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Thy Word, (Renew! #94)

Refrain: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path

1-When I feel afraid, think I’ve lost my way, still you’re right beside me.  And nothing will I fear as long as you are near.  Please be near me to the end.  Refrain.

2-I will not forget your love for me, and yet my heart forever is wandering.  Jesus, be my guide and hold me to your side; and I will love you to the end.  Refrain

Post-Communion Prayer

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

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

And His Presence has been known to us.

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

    and sisters in Christ.

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

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

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

Closing Song: O When the Saints, (The Christian Children’s Songbook, # 248)

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

Boys….. 3.  Girls  4.  Saints

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God!