Sunday School, February 4, 2024 5 Epiphany B

 Sunday School, February 4, 2024   5 Epiphany B

Themes:

Understanding Health

How many times do most people get sick in their lives?

If we live a long time, we get sick many times.

Sometimes it happens several times in a year.

A strong healthy child can have ear aches, strep throat and pink eye all in a month.

We get colds and we get the flu.

There are other kinds of sickness, like from an injury.  If we fall and get a sprain or a broken bone, we have to spend a longer time to recover.

We also have sickness that happen that not everyone can see.  We can be very sad and we can feel sick in our inside feelings.  If we don’t get enough to eat we can feel sick.  If we don’t get enough sleep, we can feel sick.  If we don’t drink enough water, we can feel sick.  We also can have allergies that sometimes make us feel sick.

So, we get sick and better many times in life.  And sometimes we have a sickness that stays with us for our entire lives like an allergy.

If we get sick and better many times in our lives, what is the meaning of health?

Jesus is known as a person who healed.  But the people who Jesus healed, still got sick again and again and eventually they died.

So, what does health and healing mean for Jesus?

Jesus healed the insides of people.  He healed their thoughts and their feelings and the deepest place inside of them, he healed their hearts and spirits.

And when your spirit is healed you have health, now and forever.  You have health even after you have died, because you have the promise that God is going to preserve and save your life.

Jesus also healed by starting a community of people who loved and cared for each other.  This is the greatest meaning of health.

Think about how you can health even when you can get sick many times in life?

Health is about how we care for each other and how God cares for us in this life and the next.    Health is knowing that God cares for us in this life and in the next and for now God gives us people who care for us and for the health of our hearts, souls, minds, feelings and our bodies.

Jesus is a healer because he showed us as persons and as a community to live in the most healthy way.

Sermon:

Today, we have read a story about how Jesus healed the mother-in-law of Simon Peter.  And if we read all  the stories about Jesus, we will read about how Jesus had the gift of healing.  He healed people with many, many problems.

  Jesus did have a special gift of healing.  To be able to help someone get well, is a very important gift to have.

  And even though you and I may never be able to heal people in the same way that Jesus did, we can learn to heal people in some very important ways.

  Did you know that an empty stomach is a great sickness?  Did you know that many men and women and children in our world do not have enough to eat?  So, if the people who have more than enough food help feed those who don’t have enough, then we are helping to heal the empty stomachs in our world.  People who don’t have enough to eat really feel sick.  And so we can help heal them.

  We can heal in other ways too.  When someone is hurt and crying, we can heal them by being kind to them.  When we make them feel better, we are helping to heal them.

  When people are fighting with each other, this too is like a sickness.  If we can help make peace and help to make people friendly with each other, then we can be healers, even though we are not doctors.

  When we can make people happy, give them joy and hope and faith, then we are helping to heal their lives.  Every person needs hope.  Hope means that we feel like we are going to live forever because we feel like God is inside of us in our hearts.

  And when we have this feeling that God is inside of us in our hearts, we call it salvation or health, or Good News.

  Jesus was a great healer because he was able to give people hope.  And when Jesus came back to life, he showed us that death isn’t the strongest thing in life.

  Today, we come here to celebrate the hope that Jesus has given to us.  And we also come here to remind each other that we are to help Jesus heal the people in this world who need to have hope and joy and faith.

  Jesus was a great healer and he was not even a doctor.  You and I can do many good things to help heal people as well.

  Can you help Jesus in healing this world?  You can by loving your neighbors and being kind to one another.  This is how we can help heal the many problems in our world.  Amen. 

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

February 4, 2024: The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs:  O Be Careful,  Alleluia, Give Thanks, Into My Heart, Do Lord 

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

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

O be careful little feet where you go. ……

O be careful little lips what you say….

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

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; 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 Prophet Isaiah

The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.  Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 147

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)

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 Mark

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus left the synagogue at Capernaum, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

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  Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks, Hymn # 178, in the Blue Hymnal

Refrain: Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the Risen Lord, Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to his Name.

1 Jesus is Lord of all the earth.  He is the King of creation.  Refrain

2 Spread the good news o’er all the earth: Jesus has died and has risen. Refrain

3 We have been crucified with Christ.  Now we shall live forever. Refrain

4 Come, let us praise the living God, joyfully sing to our Savior. Refrain

Doxology

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

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

Prologue to the Eucharist

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

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

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

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

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

(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.  And sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbors.

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: Into My Heart  (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 126)

Into my heart, into my heart, come into my heart Lord Jesus.  Come in today, come in to stay.  Come into my heart Lord Jesus.

Into our church, into our church, come into our church Lord Jesus.  Come in today, come in to stay.  Come into our church Lord Jesus.

Into our homes….

Into our work…

Into our lives…

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: Do Lord (Christian Children’s Songbook,  # 42)

I’ve got a home in glory land that outshine the sun.  I’ve got a home in glory land that outshines the sun. I’ve got a home in glory land that outshines the sun, way beyond the blue. 

Refrain: Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me.  Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me.  Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me, ‘way beyond the Blue..

I took Jesus as my savior, you take him too.  I took Jesus as my savior, you take him too.  I took Jesus as my savior, you take him too, ‘way beyond the blue.  Refrain

Dismissal   

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

People:      Thanks be to God! 

    

Monotheism or Henotheism?

4 Epiphany B  January 28, 2024
Deut. 18:15-20  Ps. 111
1 Corinthians 8:1-13   Mark 1:21-28

Lectionary Link

We are taught that Christianity and Judaism are monotheistic religions, and yet our Scriptures indicate writings which suggests that both are henotheistic religions, which means that they acknowledge a superior deity among other deities.

The unfolding of Hebrew Scriptures includes the ascendency of a supreme God over the other gods in the invisible realm even as the God of Israel was showing superiority over the gods of the people of the land of Canaan, but mostly when the people of Israel were being obedient to the One God.

The contexts of origin of both the Hebrew and Christian religion was polytheistic, meaning that people who did not embrace the Hebraic and Christian notions of a superior  God, were people who followed a variety of gods and and goddesses.  In the Roman Empire context, there was also the cult of the Emperor who was designated as a god.

Just as the Hebrew Scriptures is a record of how the God of Israel demonstrates a superiority over the other gods in the ancient world, so too the New Testament presents Jesus Christ as one who demonstrates a power over the interior hierarchies of principalities and powers of darkness.  In the New Testament, these lords of the interior life had their messenger agents, the demons, and the unclean spirits.

St. Paul wrote that life is first an interior battle before it becomes an exterior battle.  "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." In effect, the former gods were renamed as interior principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness.

In the Gospel rendering of this Pauline view of interior cosmology, Jesus is presented as the one who went interior to flesh and blood and was known to be the Higher Power against principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness in this world.

Our interior world can be experience as an interior bundle of unnamed sensations, emotional instincts, and forces until a creative word can name, tame, and designate alternative acting out for such powers and energies.

St. Paul in giving practical advice for those who worried about food sacrificed to idols, asserted that the One God of all made false any other claim to the proper designation of the word God.   The Anselmian definition of God is that which none greater can be conceived.  St. Paul was recognizing the many divine pretenders which were part of the human experience of his time, but he was asserting the first commandment of not having any other god but the One God.  And Jesus was the human representation of the one God to be the one who could tame all the pretending forces of superiority.

In the cry of the Psalmist, was a request for a clean heart and a renewed right spirit within him.  O that I could know my interior life as a place of peace and calm and organized in such a way that I could act out with impulse control.

The words of Moses promised a prophet who would speak in the name of the interior one who could rule and tame the principalities, the powers, and the rulers of the darkness in this world.

The Psalmist proclaimed a superior Lord who if given the ultimate respect would provide wisdom for living, wisdom for impulse control, wisdom for peace, and wisdom for justice.

How is the Pauline battle of the interior presented in a narrative of Jesus?  Jesus is the ultimate interior whisperer.  He is the one who does interior repair.  He is the Eternal Christ, the Word of God, who moves again over the face of the interior deep and void of untamed forces, and he speaks and tames to peace and quietude to return people to their "right minds." 

In the religious purity code of his time, something which is designated as unclean was the ultimate in a cursed and condemned state of being.  Imagine having one's interior life designated as an "unclean spirit."  It was the extreme state of condemnation for his time.  And yet such a condemned designated person came into the synagogue to hear Jesus speak.  This person who was said to have an unclean spirit, a controlling impulse, co-existed with the volition of this person who was seeking an empowerment for his frail sense of impaired freedom.  He was the like the addict needing an experience of a Higher Power to restore his freedom to learn self control.

Jesus Christ is presented in the Gospel as the Higher Power to the release of our human freedom to give us power to repent and be on the path of becoming better each day.  Jesus is the One who can make real within each person a new monotheism out of the henotheistic past lives of having yielded control of our lives to many unworthy principalities, powers, and rulers.

May each of us be delivered from our apparent henotheistic devotions to other gods, idols, and controlling impulses, and may we see the One God of Jesus Christ rise in us as the one who whispers our lives to the freedom of self control which comes from the Holy Spirit being the clean heart within us.  Amen.

Sunday School, January 28, 2024 4 Epiphany B

  Sunday School, January 28, 2024  4 Epiphany B

Theme:

Being a people whisperer.

Have you ever seen a mother calm her crying baby?  How does she do that?

Have you ever seen a dog owner calm a barking dog?  How does a person do that?

Have you ever seen a horse trainer, tame and calm a wild horse?  How does a person do that?

Some one who knows how to calm an animal is called a whisperer.  A dog whisperer is able to be so friendly with a dog that a dog becomes calm, friendly and peaceful with a dog whisperer.  A horse whisperer can be so friendly with a wild horse that they horse calms down and will let the horse whisperer ride without being bucked off.  How does a horse whisperer do that?

It is something that you can learn, but it is also a special gift.

We might call Jesus a people whisperer.  Today we read about Jesus meeting a man who was really upset.  He was like a crying and screaming baby out of control.  But he wanted to be in control.  He wanted to find someone who could calm him.  The people were afraid of this wild acting man and they wanted him removed, but Jesus calm the man down and showed him how he could be friendly and peaceful.  Jesus was a people whisperer.

You and I are supposed to be people whisperers too.  How do we do that?  When people are hurt or in pain or when people are sad and angry, we can help them by being kind and feeling safe.

When we say: The Peace of the Lord be with you, we are accepting our role to be people whisperers.  We are to learn how to make people feel calm and peaceful and we are to learn how we can accept the help of others when we need it to have some calm in our lives.  

Let us remember that Jesus was a people whisperer and he taught us to be people whisperers today.  Remember we exchange the greeting of peace today, we are accepting our role as people whisperers.

Sermon:

Today, we read about when Jesus went to a synagogue.  A synagogue was a place where people in the time of Jesus went to pray and to read their holy book. 

  And Jesus surprised the people by how he taught.  Usually, the teachers of his time were taught by a famous teacher or rabbi.  And when a someone graduated from the  school of a famous rabbi, a student’s diploma depended upon the reputation of the teacher whom he studied with.

  So, the people were surprised by the teaching of Jesus.  Because they did not know where he had learned everything that he knew.

  They said that he taught with authority.  What is authority?  Authority is a power and strength and ability.  We say a doctor has authority, because a doctor knows all about medicine.  A doctor can use knowledge of medicine to help patients recover from their illnesses.  So, a good doctor has authority…power and ability to make people better.

  Jesus was a person who had authority.  He had power and ability to make people better.

  How can you and I get the kind of power and authority that Jesus had?  We like powerful people.  We like football heroes, baseball heroes because of their strength and their ability.  We like super heroes because of their power.

  Big muscles may make us strong and powerful, but that does not give us the kind of power and authority that Jesus had.  Jesus wants us to have the same kind of authority and power that he had.

  And how can we have that same authority?  How do you and I get authority in our lives?  We get authority by keeping our word, and by doing the right things that we’re supposed to do.

   Why is it hard to clean your room?  Why is it hard to do your homework?  And why does it look easy when your mom or dad are cleaning your room?  If we do not have practice in cleaning our room, we do not have authority or power.  Mom and dad have cleaned before many times and so they have authority and power to clean.  The same thing with our homework.  Mom and dad can do your homework because they have practiced.  So they have authority and power to do it.

  Jesus wants you and me to have authority.  And how do we get authority?  We get it by practicing.  When we learn how to do something well, then we have authority.  Sometimes practice is very difficult, but we need to remember that with practice we are gaining the power to have authority.  We are gaining the power to do something well.

  Jesus wants each of us to have authority and power today.  He wants us to work hard at practicing how to live good lives, so that we can have power and authority.  Jesus wants each of us to be a superhero of our own lives.  I am powerful.  I have authority.  I can control myself.  I can practice to be better everyday.

Intergenerational liturgy with Holy Eucharist

January 28, 2024: Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs:

To God Be the Glory, Christ Beside me, Dona Nobis, We Are Marching

Processionial Song: To God be the Glory, Renew! # 258

To God be the glory great things he hath done,

so loved he the world that he gave us his Son,

who yielded his life an atonement for sin,

and opened the lifegate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!

O Come to the Father through Jesus the Son,

and give him the glory, great things he hath done.

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

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First 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 Book of Deuteronomy   

Moses said, The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb…

The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 111

Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, *in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.

Great are the deeds of the LORD! *they are studied by all who delight in them.

His work is full of majesty and splendor, *and his righteousness endures for ever.

He makes his marvelous works to be remembered; *the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

He gives food to those who fear him; *he is ever mindful of his covenant.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

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

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

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

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

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

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

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

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

   Thanks be to God!

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

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. And Jesus healed a man who was troubled in his heart.  They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. …At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

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

Offertory Song:  Christ Beside Me   (Renew! # 164)

1          Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me—King of my heart;  Christ within me, Christ below me, Christ above me—never to part.

2            Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand, Christ all around me—shield in the strife:  Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting, Christ in my rising—light of my life

3          Christ be in all hearts, thinking about me, Christ be on all tongues, telling of me; Christ be the vision, in eyes that see me, in ears that hear me, Christ ever be.

4  Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me—King of my heart; Christ within me, Christ below me, Christ above me—never to part.

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.

All are born into the family of God by Baptism.

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 neighbors.

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, 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 may rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

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

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

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

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

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

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

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.

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

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, 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!

Word of Administration.

Communion:  Dona Nobis Pacem, (Renew # 240)

Dona nobis pacem, pacem, dona nobis pacem. 

Dona nobis pacem, dona nobis pacem. 

Dona nobis pacem.  Dona nobis pacem.

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: We are Marching in the Light of the Lord, Renew! # 306

We are marching in the Light of the Lord;

            we are marching in the light of the Lord

            We are marching in the Light of the Lord;

we are marching in the light of the Lord

We are marching in the Light of the Lord;

we are marching in the light of the Lord

We are singing in the Light of the Lord…..

           

Refrain: We are marching, marching, we are marching, oh,

we are marching in the light of the lord.       

We are marching, marching, we are marching, oh,

we are marching in the light of the lord.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

Faith in America

Faith in America

January 16, 2024

In light of the encroachment of Americans who want to end the American practice of the separation of church and state, it is time to articulate more clearly and directly faith in America, not faith as being an adherent of one of the religious faith communities of  our country, but rather faith in the founding ideals of our system itself.

Why articulate faith in America among faiths in theistic Being or beings?  I would like to promote the similarity between faith in American and having faith in God or some other systems of holistic lifestyle practices.  I would begin this study of similarity by noting what is common in the New Testament word for faith, and the classical Greek word for persuasion found in Aristotle's Rhetoric.  The New Testament koine Greek word for faith is pistis.  The classical Greek word for persuasion is also pistis.  One of the goals of rhetoric is persuasion whether in politics, law, artistic speech, or public speaking events such as funeral discourse/eulogies.  The contexts in the way Aristotle used pistis and the way in which pistis is used in the New Testament are centuries apart but what is common is the notion of persuasion.  The New Testament writers defined their lives as having faith in Jesus Christ, and it could be synonymous to say that the New Testament writers were persuaded about Jesus Christ and the messages which attended his witness in the tradition derived from him.

I would like to promote faith in America as being persuaded about certain ideals of formation and identity as a country which originated in the experience of our founders and how those ideals were articulated in our founding documents.

The founders were aware of the practice of religious faith in England and on the Continent.  They were aware of how religious faith was established in the monarchies which made those who did not embrace the established religious faith non-conformists and less than equal in their rights within society.

The founders of our country proposed a persuasion about political practice which would prevent any person losing their rights and privileges as a free citizen because of their practice or non-practice of any particular religious belief.

The evidence of competing Christians harming each other, even to discrimination, persecution and the burning of heretics at the stake, was evidence of the consistent failure in practice of what one might call Christian charity.  The founders of our country proposed a political system of persuasion to referee among Christians who often fought with each other, but also a system to protect anyone of any system of persuasion.  The requirement of the founders in our political system was that our citizenry live according to laws which tolerated the differences in religious beliefs and other systems of persuasion.

In our time, we need to shore up the refereeing function intended by the founders of our system of political persuasion, and indeed we need to be renewed in our faith in America. 

January 17, 2024

The persuasion about American ideals that our founders proposed was informed by the influences of the Enlightenment with a dependence on reason for the practical governance of community.  The Enlightenment with an emphasis on reason gave the founders a different kind of discourse, a discourse which is more scientific or social scientific discourse than a religious discourse.  Just as the Enlightenment resulted in a more poignant division between the discourses of science and religion, so the American founders proposed a legal system a rule of law which would be freed from specific religious judgment criteria while being committed to impartial observations, observations which might be enjoined by people of all persuasions.  The discourse of faith in America, or persuasion about our ideals, is a discourse which admits/invites the discourse of people of religious persuasion to the conversation, but the American founders assumed that our government does not deliberate because of a specific religious faith, even though the values of justice might be the similar in any faith tradition.

Often interfaith groups in our country gather for local community benefit and participation in many things.  They gather not to try to convince each other to believe and pray the same; they gather to share what might be call orthopraxy, that is right practice of justice and charity within the community on which they agree.

One might say that the founders of America wanted us in a similar way to be a system of orthopraxy, that is, a system of right justice for our diverse citizenry.

January 19, 2024

As dignity for the states of being has come to awareness as to who deserves rights and inclusion in the equal benefits of human community, the power groups of community have been slow to to recognize and share rights and inclusion of many to the full privilege of membership.

How many religious denominations have been separating because of women, gay, lesbian, transgendered people wanting full inclusion?  The Holy Book interpretations, doctrine, and practice of many religious groups set a limit on the acceptance of persons with unchosen human conditions of being and even designate them as "sinful."

Some religious communities believe that the practice of persuasion about God and Christ needs to be inclusive of persons who discover themselves in unchosen states of being that still allow them to make vows of love and justice consistent with the love which Jesus showed to those who wanted to always be better and yet who were not given acceptance within religious community.

In a similar way our faith in our American system is being threatened with division, even civil war, by persons who do not think that they can tolerate the level of diversity which our citizenry is now presenting to us.  Many Americans seem to want a white, male, controlled society with a certain kind of Christian control.  They would return white males to seeming paternalistic roles on behalf of women, and minority groups.  In paternalistic practice, those who have the control by law, wealth, and power make the decisions on behalf of their version of a diverse society.

Having faith in American should mean being persuaded about a dynamic political system which is able to integrate the arising in awareness of the diversity of people who are now living within our borders.  Faith in America should be dynamic process to include and expedite the ideal expression of justice for all within our border.  Hence, faith in America has to be known as a refereeing faith among other faiths, especially religious faith communities which have a history of poor treatment of those with whom they disagree.  A single religious faith community cannot be the established faith community to negotiate among the other expressions of faith in our country.

January 20, 2024

As brilliant as our founding documents of our country are, the writers of these documents did not believe that they were final.  The documents themselves prescribe Congress as a legislative body to perform the continuous work of law making.  This means that faith in America requires the continuous work of articulating what is permanent about our ideals into the changing contexts of our American life.  If being originalist about our Constitution and Declaration of Independence meant the retaining of the cultural practices from which these document derived, it would be original to still practice slavery, not allow women to vote, and allow only muskets as valid arms to be permitted.  No one is naive enough to be strict originalists so as to assert that we maintain the exact cultural practices from which the founding document derived.  Being American is not like being Amish in trying to freeze cultural practices and technology to the cultural practices and technology of one "model" period in history.

Part of the wisdom of incorporating change in the America experience of justice has to do with creative advance in self-awareness.  What self-awareness often reveals is our hypocrisy, that is, the discovery that our ideals proclaimed have not/are not being lived up to in actual practice.  Where has America had to learn painful lessons of self-awareness?  We have had to admit that all "men" being created equal did not apply to women, native peoples, black Americans, and more recently people who have understood their gender identities different from binary or heterosexual designation.

As diversity increases within our populace and as collective minorities gain voting power, there is fear of the eroding of the dominant influence of the once privileged group.  As the popular vote can no longer guarantee the privilege of those who once controlled the political situation, there has been a retreat by some from democratic ideals to a proposal that our Constitutional democracy actually means that constitutional governing bodies can overturn the results of election.

Faith in America means that we can embrace new self-awareness which exposes our hypocrisy of the past in living up to our ideals of justice for all who are created equal.

January 21, 2024

The thesis of this writing is that "faith in America" is insightful about our political way of life.  By faith, I mean being persuaded about the founding ideals of our country that still lack achieving of what might be referred to as a perfect union.  Our hope is to be at the work of becoming a more perfect union, and such perfection in this union would mean a practice of common good which provides equal justice for all who are participants in this union.

By faith, I have harkened back to the New Testament work for faith, which in Aristotle's Rhetoric meant persuasion.  (pistis = persuasion). I have posited that our American founders proposed a political lifestyle to referee among the many persuasions in our lives.  Why do we need such a referee?  Because when our religious faith persuasion do not end up being universally persuasive, there has been the tendency for people of religious faith out of pride and fear of rejection of their cherished truths, to be prejudice toward, persecute, harm, or even kill people who do not practice allegiance to their faith perspective.  Our founder proposed being persuaded about a system of community interaction which involved having faith in a refereeing process for the many persuasions which people have in their lives.

I would argue for the benefit of faith in America as a refereeing or regulatory faith among the other persuasions of our lives, ones which if are not regulated can end up with the persecution of people who are are not persuaded.  To try to establish the Christian faith or any religious faith as the established faith of the government is to end in the persecution of members of the populace who cannot freely enjoin themselves to such an established religion.

In proposing defining faith as persuasion, I am casting faith as a definite rhetorical function.  And I would argue that faith in America involves rhetorical function, one of which is regulatory because it involves the generation of laws to fulfill the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by all participants in this collectivity which we call a Union, or the United States.

As humans we exist within a rhetorical field, that is, we are constituted by the ways in which we have come to use language.  We express ourselves in language in different ways, and these ways of expression might be called discursive practices.  The various discursive practices which we use might have something in common with what Wittgenstein called "language games," in that they are practices within language which have their own specific rules.  We can name some of these discursive practices which have rules that pertain to their practice: religious discourse, philosophical discourse, juridical discourse, political discourse, psychological discourse, social discourse, ethics, and a vast array of aesthetic discourses such as prose, poetry, theatre, cinema, and music.   We cannot avoid embodied language, "word made flesh" expression of language, or the body language which represents actions with intended purpose and meanings.  We cannot avoid that our actions and the environments that we live in are completely coded with predesignated meanings because we use language and are choreographed by the ways in which we have taken on the language of our lives.

The American founders in their deliberations and attending documents are asking that each American for the purposes of attaining a more perfect union, check their others faith egos at the door, not for the purposes of their abandoning their own spiritual and religious lives, but for the specific purpose of living together in most adequate ways for the common good of all people.

Our religious faith egos are the most difficult ones to surrender.  What can claim to be more expansive than the divine?  How can having a faith in God, play second fiddle to faith in America as a most adequate way of living together?  Such would seem to diminish one's faith in God by a practice giving preference to faith in America over one's specific faith in God.  People who often oppose their faith in God to faith in America do so using an appeal to civil disobedience and they might cry like the evangelists in the Acts of the Apostles, "we have to serve God rather than man."  People who make that claim also have to be honest about the Gospel wherein Jesus is not presented as a person who is opposing the Roman Government authorities.  He is quoted as saying "render unto Caesar the things that belong to Caesar...."  St. Paul as a member of two religious minority groups in the Roman Empire, as a Jewish follower of Jesus, enjoined his church members to pray for the authorities, even as being ordained or established by God.  Apparently Jesus and Paul both knew how to be religiously faithful, and still be participants in a political system which did not establish their faith perspective as the official religion.

People of religious faith can have conflicting consciences on specific issues within the American system without having the Christian religion or any religion be established as the required religion of America.

Another insight to arrive at in the midst of dilemmas of conscience and apparent contradiction is the insight about the human person being a multi-discursive being.  Each discourse has its own rules and when one conflates rules which pertain to a specific discourse confusion, and conflict can arise.  If one tries to use the rules of chess in the game of checkers, confusion arises.  If one tries to treat poetic imagery as though it were empirically verifiable occurrences, then conflict, absurdity, and comedy can result.

The faith in America or being persuade about our American ideals means that one can be a multi-discursive faith being, having multiple kinds of persuasive practices in the many different discursive practices of our lives. The faith in America proposed by our founders asks of us a wise and mature multi-discursive mental and psychological soundness.  The ideals of our American faith persuasion allows us to be a poet, a scientist, an eye-witness reporter, night dreamers, day dreamers, religious, and much, much more because we are asked to act and be toward the common good.  Faith in America encourages us to keep our personal faiths personal and individual and practiced in families and smaller communities so long as they do not harm or injure the common good.

This of course sounds simplistic and we know that defining the common good is the continual process of justice in our quest of becoming a more perfect union.

A New Family Business?

3 Epiphany B  January 21, 2024

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 62:6-14

1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20

 Lectionary Link

Can you imagine being on the shore of the Sea of Galilee where the fishermen have their boats moored? Perhaps there were some shingles with the business names on them. One might say, "Jonah and Sons fishermen," and another might read, "Zebedee and Sons Trawlers." For a long time, businesses were mainly family businesses and if one was born into a family, the sons in the family knew what their future vocations and callings would be.

There was no luxury of going to a liberal arts college for six years with undeclared majors in order to wait for one to discover one's true interest or be loaded up with so much college debt that one is forced choose to do something to start to dig out from under the debt.

When businesses are generational and handed on, the next generation of the business are important. One can imagine that Jesus of Nazareth going along the Sea of Galilee and enticing sons from their fathers' fishing businesses might be quite controversial.

Jesus himself, perhaps had left his father's carpenter business to pursue desert seminary training with his cousin John the Baptist.

It is true that a son may not have the same aptitudes as his father. Did Jesus say to his father Joe, "Dad, I don't like to do woodwork, can I do something else?" Could Zebedee have thought, "James and John, never had their hearts and minds into the fishing business; it's no wonder they were coaxed away by a rabbi preacher." Did Jonah think that Peter was too impatient for fishing and he was a hot head, and his brother Andrew always had to steer him in toward doing something more compatible with his personality.

The other possibility for both fathers, Zebedee and Jonah was that they were relieved to lose their sons to the calling of Jesus. It could be that there were other sons and the fishing business could only support so many, and so when Peter and Andrew, and James and John left, there was perhaps more to go around for the other brothers.

Whatever the circumstances, the call of Jesus upset the generational lines of the family business.

One might say that in the message of Jesus, we encounter a fatherization of God. Jesus called God his father, and he taught his followers to do the same.

So what does this mean as regard the main business of life? Jesus came to teach us that there was a new family business. It really was not a new business, but only a forgotten business or a neglected business or an undiscovered business. Adam and Eve in the creation story are proto-typical man and woman and son and daughter of God their maker. On them the divine image resided, the very spiritual DNA of God.

The phenomenon of sin is the habit of forgetting that we are supposed to realize our calling within the family business of God our Father.

Jesus left the carpenter shop, not because he did not love and respect his father and his trade; he left his carpenter vocation to promote the original but new family business, the family of God the Father.

The wonderful thing about the new family business of God the Father, is that you can be called and involved in all earthly business and still acknowledge the family business of God the Father-creator. But for a few, some had a particular vocation of going far and wide to proclaim the reality of this original but new family business of God the Father. This business was not about telling people that God was a human male figure in heaven; rather that God was divine originating personality of life who shared personal essence within each person by being the Word of God inhabiting the human community.

Peter, Andrew, James, and John were called from their fishing trade, in order to become involved in a persuasive trade of using words. They were to model and speak what it is like to be made in the image of God in the ways in which Jesus as God's unique Son showed them.

The stories, the history, and the legends regarding where their callings took them are many. But it's safe to say they went far beyond the Galilean Sea even to the capital city of the Empire and throughout the known world of their days.

They were called to go beyond their fathers' family businesses to the ends of the world to be people who reminded their listeners about God the Father's business, which is everyone's business to realize once one accepts oneself as a baptized son and daughter of God, with whom the Father is well-pleased.

The Gospel for you and I today is to embrace the Family Business of God our heavenly Originator and be energized to fulfill our family heritage which is stamped upon us as God's image.

So whether we're in ordained ministry or any vocation at all, let us realize that we are first in the family business of God, our heavenly parent, and Jesus is our CEO big brother on earth who has given us the business mission to proclaim membership in the family of God known through the practice of love and justice with each other. Amen.