Word, God, and Jesus

1 Christmas B      December 27, 2020
Is.61:10-62:3     Ps. 147:13-21
Gal. 3:23-25,4:4-7  John 1:1-18

Lectionary Link

I was raised in a family where the Bible was the main book, so the Bible has been in my life since birth.  And one could say that I have had a growing relationship with the words of the Bible.  And the words have changed in their meanings as I have grown and become better informed about the biblical contexts and about differences between ancient paradigms and modern paradigms.

One thing that I was not prepared for was for six words of the Bible to change my later life forever, and put me into another realm of understanding.

The life changing words for me come from the Christmas story in the Gospel of John.  But you say, John's Gospel does not have a Christmas Story, just like the Gospel of Mark.  How can the Christmas Story in John's Gospel change your life?

The life changing words for me were this: "In the beginning was the word."  In my graduates studies, I was reading about Habermas' linguistic constructivism and Derrida's notion of a person's life being constituted by having language.  It occurred to me that the writer of John's Gospel long ago knew that human life as it can be known at all, is constituted within language.  Language has an omnipresence in structuring every human experience of life.  Language is very reflexive; meaning we use language to establish that we are language users who use language. So the fact that we have language is hidden even in our own understanding of ourselves being language users.  This is what I would call reflexive omni-presence of language and word ability.

You may say, "O but there is a life outside of language."  And I would say, but you used language to say that.  One cannot escape language.

O but babies and infants can't use language.  But they are born into a situation of their parents whereby they are totally coded by people whose lives are dominated by having language.  So before they are active language users, they are passive objects of our cultural coding of their existence, and so they do not escape the world of word and language.

How does John's Gospel express this omnipresence excellence of Word from the Beginning.  The writer of John goes on to say, "the word was with God and the word was God."  How much closer can Word in the broadest sense of the total Language Effect get to God?  The writer of John confesses that such Word is God.  There is no greater expression of equivalence than this.

The other book of the Bible which begins with "In the beginning," is the Book of Genesis at the start of the creation narrative.  In the creation narrative, how does God create?  God creates using words.  God said, "Let there be light!  And there was light."  God and God's Speaking in the Creation narrative are equivalent in the creation of the world.  And what does John's Gospel affirm:  Everything that has come into being has come into being through this Profound Word.

We can understand this.  It is not some philosophical abstraction.  We can only understand the existence of anything and ourselves through the mediation of Language.  Things only have knowable existence because of Language.

So why are we reading this at Christmas?  Indeed, why is John Chapter One, one of the Christmas Gospels?

We also read, "The Word became flesh and lived among us."  This is how John's Gospel states the Bethlehem event.  How do we understand this relationship between The Word and Jesus of Nazareth?

The Profoundness of the Eternal Word is too inaccessible to human consciousness which can only have limited capacity.  The Eternal Word has to be reduced through a funnel and become limited in the life of a superlative Exemplar to give us the definitive Model of how we are supposed to live our lives as language users.  Jesus is where the rubber hits the road.  The connection of where Eternal Word become instantiated within a human person.  And this person Jesus came to exemplified what loving God and our neighbor truly means.  He did this with his words.  He said that his words were spirit and they were life.  He did this with his body language, with his deeds of healing and whispering people to peace and calm.  He did this with the sacrificial giving of his life for the cause of what is love and just.

He showed us, he modeled for us how we are to best use our worded life.  If we are going to get better in our lives, it is going to involve the words of our lives.  It is going to involve the inner scripts which we are acting out without even being aware of both good and bad body language habits.

At Christmas, it is time to renew our lives with a profound commitment to Word therapy, not just in how we manifest the word products of speaking and writing; but the inner words which constitute the habits of our desires, thoughts, emotions, volition.  We need to get at the inner playwright in our lives who is determining our lives toward speaking, writing and body language deeds which are not worthy of the scrutiny of Jesus, the living model for us.

Let us this Christmastide and in the New Year take stock of how we are programmed by our word life.  Let us look to Jesus to inform the direction of the kind of changes which we need to make.  And let us use the words of prayer to become our therapy with God to alter our lives toward more Christ-like behaviors.

If we can do this, we will know that our lives to have become the Bethlehem where Christ has been born again.  Amen.

Sunday School, December 27, 2020 1 Christmas B

 Sunday School, December 27, 2020   1 Christmas B

Theme:

A different kind of Christmas Story

If we say that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, that means he has always been.  So, where was Jesus the eternal Son of God, before he was born to Mary in Bethlehem?

The Gospel of Jesus gives us the answer to this question.  In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The Word was made flesh…the Word was found to be in the baby Jesus who grew to be a grown adult man.  So, the Word, which created everything, lived with us in the person of Jesus.

The Gospel of John tells us about Jesus, the Christ, before he was born in Bethlehem.

Word is a very good metaphor for Christ and for God.  Why?

Word is the most distinguishing thing about being human.  People have and use words in a way that no other creatures do.  Words make us human.  The only way that we can know that we know anything at all is by having and using words.

Why is it important that Jesus as WORD AND GOD?  To be the very best human beings, we have to learn how to use words in the very best way.  We have to learn to use words to be wise, to know as much as we can, to speak with love and kindness, but we have to remember our body language too.  We have to have our body perform deeds of love and kindness.  Jesus is the Word made Flesh and though the life of Jesus, God showed us how we can create our lives in the very best way through the ways in which we use words, with our speaking and with our writng and with our body language.

As we begin the new year, let us make a resolution to improve our word use, in our speaking, in our learning new things, in our writing and in our body language.

Remember God as Word is everywhere, inside of us and outside of us because God as Word is Life and Light.

My Word to You:  Happy New Year and God bless you in how you use your words in 2018

Sermon

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

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

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

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

  There once was little girl named Helen Keller.  When she was a baby she had a sickness and she lost her ability to see, to talk and to hear.  Because she could not see, talk or hear, she had no way to learn how to talk.  Can you imagine what her life was like?  She was not happy and she was very hard to care for, because she had no way to talk with her parents.   Her parents hired a teacher to try to teach her.  And it is very hard to teach someone who cannot see, hear or talk.  But the teacher used her hands to make letters in her hand.  But she did not even know the letters, until one day when water was pouring over her hand, the teacher spelled “w-a-t-e-r” into the hand of Hellen Keller.  And Helen suddenly understood what words meant.  And she was so excited she wanted to know the name of everything that she could touch.  And when she could use words, her life was suddenly new, because she could now talk with her parents using her hands.  Helen Keller grew up to be a famous and well-educated person, and she helped and inspired people who did have the ability to see, hear or speak.

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

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

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 31, 2017: The First Sunday after Christmas

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

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

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

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

What Child Is This  (Blue Hymnal # 115)

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

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

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

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

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

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

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

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

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

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

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

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

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

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians

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

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 147

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

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

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

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

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

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

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People:                        And also with you.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Doxology

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

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

Prologue to the Eucharist

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

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

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

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

All  may gather around the altar

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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: 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 :  

Post-Communion Prayer

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

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

And His Presence has been known to us.

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

    and sisters in Christ.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Tending to the Crying Christ Child

Christmas Eve B  December 24, 2020                                                                          Isaiah 9:2-7 Psalm 96                                                                                               Titus 2:11-14  Luke 2:1-14

Lectionary Link

It's Christmas again!  So that means Christmas bears repeating.  But Jesus was only born once, just like us.  One birth.  We have birthdays.  And Jesus has a birthday.  He has had many birthdays observed and celebrated since he left this earth.

The birthday of Jesus has been kept alive for a long time.  Why?  Because a power of change entered the world in his life.  And we want to to go back to the place where there is the possibility for the power for change and rebirth.

At Christmas, we don't celebrate Jesus as a two thousand year old man in heaven with a white beard; we prefer Jesus the baby.  We all know that a baby is much more interesting and mysterious and holds power over us because we can't remember when we were babies.

Lest we over-romanticize babies, we need to remember that babies cry.  And tonight we probably need to know that the baby Christ Child cries.  Tonight the Christ Child is born into a world which would make him cry.  Crying about the untimely loss of so many people from the pandemic.  Crying that many people are evicted from the inn of no-vacancy and forced into homeless hovels.  Crying that tyrants of greed still lie and control most of the assets of world.

A baby cries often for what we do not know.  We as adults, can add knowledge for what is worth crying for in our lives.  The loss of lives, dear friends, and family members, loss of jobs and homes.  Loss of the freedom to gather to spark community effervescence.  The loss of the freedom to hug, kiss and shake hands.  The loss of the freedom to eat in public, to sing, and dance, and play and learn in the public ways that we once knew.

Tonight the harsh realities of our adult worlds informs and gives reason for the crying Christ child in the manger of our world tonight.

There is the truth of Charles Dickens: it is the worst of times, it is the best of times.  But in our lives now it is the worst of times which has created what is best in our lives now.  And what is best?  The best is when a mom or dad calms a crying baby.  Our best include the people who are dealing face to face with the worst: Our hospital workers, EMT workers, essential workers, fire fighters, police and Armed Forces.

And since the best of our time are those who are working sacrificially for our health and survival, we too should come to the manger of Christ, and ask, "How can I help when things seem to be the worst?  What can I do to be a minister of what is best,  what is good news, what is Gospel for the world right now?

Tonight you and I need to tend to the crying Christ Child.  This is how we bring our gold, frankincense and myrrh best gifts to Jesus tonight.  We can tend to the crying Christ Child who is dispersed throughout the collective pain of our world tonight.  We may be called to do it in health danger situations, or we may be called to do it in things, not heroic at all:  by washing our hands, wearing a mask, reaching out by phone to the lonely who are sheltering in place, shopping locally to keep a merchant alive.

We are called to create the best of time in the worst of time, and do you know we call that?  It's Gospel.  It is good news being brought to people who need it, and it comes in word and deed, love and justice.

Having been a parent of babies, I often realized that I could not always stop my babies from crying even after going through a check list of care responses.

And what do we do when the crying baby of the worst of times, continues to cry?  We stay.  We don't abandon.  We don't give up on those who suffer.  Life tells us that we cannot always solve in quick order the causes of crying, but we keep trying?

Why? because we want the child to be in the state of mind to enjoy the gifts we want to give them. 

So, on this Christmas, as we endure the crying time of the Christ Child in the conditions of hurt in our world, we hope that the crying hurt of the world will fall asleep, so that all of us can begin afresh in a new day of general health for the lives of people in our world.

I apologize for a different kind of Christmas sermon but a parent never does regret staying with a crying baby.  And that is our Christmas attitude for tonight.

Christ is born; and he is crying.  And tonight we are called to comfort the ones in whom he is crying, even when we don't have immediate soothing effect.  And the Christ in you is reaching out to the Christ in me as we let the Christ in us reach out to the crying Christ in our world tonight.

And we whisper to the crying babe in our world tonight.  Merry Christmas, we will stay with you, because Christ has stayed with us.  Amen.

God's Family Planning

4 Advent B        December 20, 2020
2 Samuel 7:4,8-16     Ps.89       
Romans 16:25-27     Luke 1:26-38  

Lectionary Link

Today we read the account of the announcing to Mary of her impending conception and birth of the Christ Child, delivered by the Archangel Gabriel.
I would like to ponder the wisdom story of salvation history in the Bible using the notion of God's family planning.  What indeed, according to the wisdom insights of the Bible, was God's great family plan?

God crafted the first child, out of dust and Spirit to make a living soul Adam so Adam was dust and deity.  Woman should not that Eve was crafted out of higher material, the rib of a man and Spirit, thus accounting for the superior nature of women.

In the wisdom story and allegory, God's plan for these innocent people was to train them progressively into the path of holiness so that they could partake from the Tree of Life at the center of the Garden.  They got tricked from the training program by a crafty trickster and came to the knowledge of good and evil in the wrong way, and they lost their dominate God-identity and took on the dominate earthly identity.  The image of God within became covered up to the point of being seemingly lost.  So, God's family planning needed a strategy of the recovery of the realization of being God's children.  People needed to know that God was their creator parent.

God's family plan to help people recover knowing themselves as God's children, involved making covenants with specific persons and with the people of Israel.  This was done not to limit membership in God's family to but a few, but to use these specific covenants as the launching place to reach all people.

God's family planning included marvelous births.  The births of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah, the birth of Samuel to Hannah.  God's family planning involved miraculous protection, as in the sparing of the life of baby Moses from the infanticide in Egypt.  God's family planning included building a house.  The unlikely youngest son of Jesse, David became the king of Israel and God asked him to build a house, God's house, a Temple to be a house of prayer for all people.  The people of Israel were chosen to be a particular family of God and they were to distinguish themselves by honoring God in a special way to be a witness to the nations. 

Israel in their history became too involved with just maintaining a separate identity 

from the rest of the nations, as a mode of protection against assimilation, so how could the family plan of God be realized to all people?

God went from marvelous births to a miraculous birth.  And this brings us to story of Mary and the angel Gabriel.  Once again, God did some family planning.  And the gift of Jesus was given to Mary and to the world.

Jesus was the unique exemplar child of God who was given to this world so that all could realize their status as children of God.

And Jesus was born to Mary.  And the Risen Christ is born in us and all as the way to be restored in the original image of God upon our lives.

Let us be a part of the family planning mission of God today.    How do we do this?  By thinking that we're exclusively children of God because of our particular church affiliation?  Not at all; we are part of God's family planning mission as we convince people of their inherent dignity and worth in bearing the image of God as a children of God.  

The Risen Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit can help us fulfill God's family planning for everyone in the world.  And we like Mary should accept the announcement of the birth of Christ in us, and say, "Let it be according to your word."  Let it be! Let it be!  Speaking words of wisdom, let it be!  Amen. 

Sunday School, December 20, 2020 4 Advent B

 Sunday School, December 20, 2020   4 Advent B

Theme:

Mary, the mother of Jesus

Review events in the life of Mary

The Archangel Gabriel came to Mary and told her she would have a special Son, who would be God’s child

Mary was surprised by this but she said “Let it be according to God’s word.”

Mary sang a song about God’s favor and about God’s justice winning in our world.

Mary, when see was expecting her baby, met with her cousin Elizabeth who was the mother of John the Baptist

Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to register for paying taxes.  While in Bethlehem, Mary’s Son Jesus was born in a stable because she could not get a room at the inn.

Jesus was born to Mary.

The early Christians believed that the Risen Christ is born into the hearts of every Christian.

And this birth of Christ in us is done by the Holy Spirit.

Following the example of Mary, we say about the birth of Christ in us: “Let it be to us according to God’s word.”

In baptism, we celebrate the birth of Christ within us as our spiritual birth.

So, in important ways, our baptism is like Christmas.

Be thankful for the birth of Jesus to Mary and be thankful for the birth of Christ into our lives.

Sermon:

  What is the most popular and most often said prayer throughout the Christian church today?  It’s probably the Lord’s Prayer or what we call the “Our Father.”

  What is the second most popular prayer throughout the Church?  It is a prayer that is probably the most popular prayer in the Roman Catholic Church.  It is called the “Ave Maria or in English, the “Hail Mary.”  And many Christians use prayer beads called the Rosary to say the “Hail Mary” and to meditate on the mysteries of Jesus Christ.

  For football fans a “Hail Mary” is a last second pass thrown in an effort to score a touchdown just before the clock runs out.  But really the Hail Mary is a very popular prayer.

  And what are the words of the Hail Mary and where did they come from?  “Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed be the fruit of thy womb Jesus.  Holy Mary, mother of God.  Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death.  Amen.

  Some of the words of this famous prayer came from the words of the cousin of Mary, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth was the wife of the priest Zechariah, and she was told that she was going to have a baby, even

though she was too old to have one.

  The angel Gabriel told Mary that she was going to have a very important son who would be the son of God.

  So, when Mary and Elizabeth met before their babies were born, the little baby who was in Elizabeth jumped in his mother’s tummy, because he was excited to meet the mother of Jesus.

  The baby of Elizabeth was John the Baptist.  And when Elizabeth saw Mary she said, “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?

  So, these words of Elizabeth became a part of the famous prayer: Hail Mary.

  We know that famous parents can also make their children famous too.  But also, a famous child can also make their parents famous.

  Mary became famous because she was the mother of Jesus.  She obeyed God.  And she has become the second most important person in the entire Christian history.

  Let us remember today, Mary, who was a good mother.  She obeyed God and brought into this world the most important person who ever lived.  And so today, as we get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we thank God for Mary, the mother of Jesus and like Elizabeth we say,

 “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Amen.

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

December 20, 2020: The Fourth  Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs: Light a Candle,  

Song: Light A Candle   (tune: Jimmy Crack Corn)

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

2-Light a candle for peace today…

3-Light a candle for joy today….

4-Light a candle for love today…

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

People:            And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

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

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

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

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: 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

Liturgist:   A reading from the letter to the Romans

Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-- to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together 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.

He has mercy on those who fear him *

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm, *

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, *

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

The promise he made to our fathers, *

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

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 the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

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

Since God is so great and we are so small,

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

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

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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

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

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his 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 up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

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

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

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

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

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

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

You have made us in your image

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

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

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

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

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

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

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

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 can we love God and our neighbor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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: 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 O Come, O Come Emmanuel (tune, Farmer in the Dell)

O come Emmanuel, O come Emmanuel. Come and save your people now, O come Emmanuel.

Now let us sing with joy, now let us sing with joy. Jesus came to save us all, now let us sing with joy.

O come Emmanuel, O come Emmanuel. Live within our hearts we pray, O come Emmanuel.

Dismissal   

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

People:      Thanks be to God!