Month: May 2020

The Holy Eucharist:  Rite Two
The Word of God:

Celebrant:                          Alleluia, Christ is Risen

People:                            The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid:  Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen

Glory to God in the highest,

   And peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King, 

Almighty God and Father,

    we worship you; we give you thanks,

     we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,

Lord God, Lamb of God, 

you take away the sin of the world:

    Have mercy on us;

you are seated at the right hand of the Father:

    receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,

you alone are the Most High,

      Jesus Christ,

      with the Holy Spirit,

      in the glory of God the Father. Amen 

Celebrant:  The Lord be with you, 

People:       And also with you.

Celebrant: Let us pray.

ALMIGHTY God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

The Lessons:

A Reading: Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filed the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability .Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean.” But others sneered and said. “They are filled with new wine.”

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 

In the last days it will be, God declares that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and you sons and your daughters shall prophesy. And your young men shall see visions, and you old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women , in those days I will pour out my Spirit: and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the Earth below. Blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God 

Psalm 104: 25-35, 37

 25. Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great.

26. There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

27. These all look to you to give them their food in due season. 

28. When you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are   

       filled with good things. 

29. When you hide your face, they are dismayed” when you take away their breath, 

       they die       and return to their dust.

30.  When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of     

The ground.

31. May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works-

32. Who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and

       they smoke.

33. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I 

Have being. 

34. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. 

35. Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Praise the Lord!

Second Reading: form 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-13

Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says, “ Let Jesus be cursed” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord and there are a variety of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. 

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Gospel John 20: 19-23

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked  for fear  of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again ,”Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on then and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

SERMON

Prayer For The Day

Eternal and loving God, on this day you poured out on your people the gift on the Holy Spirit, so that every race and nation may come to know you as Father, and Jesus Christ as Lord. May the Holy Spirit forever bind us together in perfect love, give us right judgment in all matters, strengthen us to do your will, and finally bring us to our eternal home in Light everlasting Amen. 

Pentecost was known as the Feast of weeks, when the communities offered thanksgiving for the early grain harvest. By the first century, Pentecost had become a commemoration of the giving of the Law to Moses on Mr. Sinai, celebrating the fifty days after Passover.

The followers of Jesus were gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost when God’s empowering Spirit came upon them, accompanied by tongues of fire setting on each one to the followers. The disciples or anyone else who have been granted thee gifts, they are not to be kept for themselves but to be shared with others and fining the love of God, which we are called to

We are to share God’s word not with just those that are like us and think the way we think. The Holy spirit at Pentecost reminds us of our responsibility to share our gifts and love with those that are different from us. God empowers us to stand up and bring the gifts of the Spirit by crossing cultural, social and language barriers. 

 It is hard to pay attention to God at times like these, the virus has surrounded us with pain and suffering, lack of companionship, having to keep our distance from others. God is still with us and working in the world right now. Psalm 104 gives us places to go to be remined of the peace, the great sea and the loving things too many to number, creatures both small and great. God is working in the midst of the grief and joy of life. It is okay if we cannot always see God in a situation.  It is okay to be upset. God still meets us in this place.

In the letter to the Corinthians Paul reminds his readers that it is the gift of the Spirit that “Jesus is Lord.” The church is created by the Spirit, which gives its members the faith to believe. We are also reminded we are intended to be in community with one another deeply living into our relationship with God and with each other. By sharing of everyone’s gifts of the Spirit knits together the Body of Christ.

Many of us have been subject to doubt on occasions. The story of “Doubting Thomas.” Jesus implores Thomas not to let doubt get the better of him. Thomas was not the only disciple that had trouble believing in Christ’s return. It is not whether we are going to be subject to doubt, but instead, what are we going to do about it? When we are out in the world forgiving others, loving others, and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ – we are not letting doubts get the better of us. We Have been empowered to struggle with doubts and still be the loving rejoicing, forgiving, disciples Christ called us to be. 

Rev. Kathyleen Funk

Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty
maker of heaven and earth, 
of all that is, seen and unseen

.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, 

the only Son of God, 

eternally begotten of the Father, 

God  from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God, 

begotten, not made, 

of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made. 

For us and for our salvation 

  he came down from heaven:

by the power of the Holy Spirit

  he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,

  and was made man. 

For us and for our salvation 

   he came down from heaven: 

by the power of the Holy spirit 

    he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, 

     and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; 

    he suffered death and was buried.

     On the third day he roe again 

     in accordance with the Scriptures; 

he ascended into heaven

      and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again glory to judge the living and the dead, 

      And his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord. The giver of live.

        Who proceeds from the father and the Son.

        With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.

        He has spoken through the Prophets.

        We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

         We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

         We look for the resurrection of the dead.  

              and the life of the world to come. Amen 

Prayers of the People

 Form II

I ask your prayers for God’s people throughout the world; for our Bishop(s)__________; for this gathering; and for all minister and people. 

Pray for the Church.

I ask your prayers for peace; for goodwill among nations; and for the well-being of all people.

Pray for justice and peace.

I ask your prayers for the poor, the sick, the hungry the oppressed, and those in prison. 

Pray for those in any need or trouble.

I ask your prayers for all who seek God, or a deeper knowledge of him. 

Pray that they may find and be found by him. 

I ask your prayers for the departed {especially_______) 

Pray for those who have died.

I ask your prayers for _______.

I ask your thanksgiving for  _______.

Praise God for those in every generation in whom Christ has been honored {especially_______ whom we remember today}.

Pray that we may have grace to glorify Christ in our own day.

Lord, hear the prayers of thy people; and what we have asked faithfully, grant that we may obtain effectually, to do glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Sermon

Seventh Sunday of Easter
Year A
May 24, 2020

First Reading: Acts 1:6-14
Psalm: 68:1-10,33-36
Second Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
Gospel: John 17:1-11

Collect:
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen

On this Memorial Day, we pray for those who courageously laid down their lives for the cause of freedom. May the examples of their sacrifice inspire in us the selfless love of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Bless the families of our fallen troops, and fill their homes and their lives with Your strength and peace.

Amen.  

Gospel: John 17:1-11

Jesus looked up to heaven

“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

This is a beautiful gospel; I would suggest you grab your bibles and read this lesson, in its entirety.  

Meditate on the words of Jesus to his Father; Let the prayer, enter your thoughts and slowly settle in on your hearts.

Knowing that Jesus is asking God now, to glorify him as he was, before being sent to be among us.

This is Jesus’ final prayer for himself and his farewell to his disciples. The hour has come for Jesus to manifest his eternal glory. 

Before he goes, He prays.

I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. 

Jesus is praying to God, and He is praying for those who belong to him. You can say, He is praying for you and I. 

How comforting is that to know that Jesus is praying for us?

He says, they were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. (17:6)

We know that everything that God gave Jesus, he gave to us, to continue to do has he has taught.  

He gave us the Holy Word of God. He said “they have received them and know in truth that” I came for you; and they have believed that you sent me.”

We are glorified in Christ “All mine, are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.”

Jesus was glorified by God and we were glorified by Jesus, WE are part of this bigger picture, “He in God and We in Him!”

We have been given eternal life, through the death and resurrection, because we believed, we know the true God and we know that God sent Jesus to be with us and to teach us, to comfort us, He also will send the Holy Spirit has his advocate, to show us the way. 

We have tried all our life, to understand and make meaning of the scriptures, and we will continue to read and study the scriptures and the lessons of the parables, we might not always understand, but that is where faith comes in. 

Saint Augustine wrote:
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, do not seek to understand in order to believe, but believe that you may understand”.

Conclusion:

Because of our Faith, we believe in things that we cannot see.

In these days of the coronavirus, a virus we cannot see, it makes us feel isolated from those we love, from our church and community.

It is not a feeling of comfort for some and can be scary for many. And yet, we know we are not alone. 

We know that all things will pass and we can sit aside all the fears, anxiety and wait.

Take this time to read the Holy Scriptures, meditate on them.

Most importantly, Pray! For those who have lost loved ones, those who lost jobs and their income. Pray for the world and all who are alone and isolated.  

Believe in the God of Love and through that Love, all things will be well. 

“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:38)  

Good News: 

This virus, or anything or anyone, will never separate us from the love of God and his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Rev. Lola Culbreath

17 May 2020 Sixth Sunday of Easter

Let us Pray:

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Today’s readings remind us that the one true God who made the world and everything in it, who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.

As Paul reflected with the Athenians as he visited their shrines and places of worship, that they had identified an unknown presence amongst their deities. That their own poets reflected concerning this unknown God “For we too are his offspring.”

Paul reflected that since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. That while God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

So, as we are His offspring then what should we fear? If we are subjected to suffering in our quest to share Jesus with the world we can be assured that our efforts do not go unnoticed. As John reminds us in his gospel Jesus assured the apostles, and assures us that we will not be alone in our faith. HIS gift of the Holy Spirit is with us today as Jesus promised and provided to the apostles in their time, and the Holy Spirit continues to fill us with strength, hope, peace and love today. So as we go through the current trials and tribulations our assurance of HIS presence gives us peace and comfort even in the most trying of times. As we support each other and reach out to those are still searching for hope let us not ever forget the passion that Jesus
exhibited to provide us the awareness of our kinship with HIM.

While we pray and share the assurances of our faith with each other don’t allow the hysteria and confusion the enemy uses draw us from our Father in heaven who has made our place with HIM clear.

My prayer for us this day is that together we support and share in the most precious of gifts given to us from love, so as to reflect the true commitment Jesus gave us. Love our God with all our heart, soul and strength and love our neighbors as God loves us.

May the blessing of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with us with us this day and remain with us forever.

Amen

Fifth Sunday of Easter

When the Sanhedrin heard that Stephen was speaking Blasphemy, he was to be stoned to death. The passages from Acts shows the risks and suffering faced by the first Christians as they lived out  their faith. When he was brought before the council in Jerusalem Stephen  gave a fiery speech and accused the people of Jerusalem of consistently resisting the Holy Spirit, persecuting God’s  prophets, disobeying the law, and murdering Jesus. The crowds were angry and dragged him outside the city, to stone him to death. Stephen’s vision of heaven as he died was an affirmation, of victory over death promised by the Resurrection of Jesus and also proclaimed in the Psalm for today. “I take my refuge in the Lord – deliver me in your righteousness. You are my rescue, lead me, guide me. I commit my spirit – deliver me my faithful God.” 

Peter calls us to “Come to him a living stone, rejected by humans but chosen by God, and precious to God – you, like living stones, are being built, into a spiritual house.” (Greek for stone may mean a common stone but frequently is a specially cut stone suitable for a building: The Greek word oikos translate as “house,” but also as a household. Our Christian life is a pattern of study, prayer, and worship. This is the footprints of those who follow Jesus. We must live our lives of faith with the life of the community – seeking the “pure spiritual milk”, of God’s word in study and offering praise and Thanksgiving. We are the living stones, not people set in stone.

The gospel today is Jesus’s farewell address to his disciples. It is the evening of the Last Supper. Jesus says to the disciples. “ I am with you only a little longer” , and He reveals that where he is going the disciples can not follow, but he assures them. Do not let your hearts be troubled”.  Jesus never wanted his disciples, then and now, to have a life without trouble. But Jesus promised that we could have an untroubled heart even in a troubled life. Basically, we are being asked to “Set our Hearts” at ease and unclench our heart and let go of our fears. Put our trust in God; for the last several weeks we have been staying at home and distancing ourselves from our friends, and our church community worried about the future and when we will see everyone again. For us today this is an invitation to put our trust in God and to find peace in Jesus. It is not hiding our fears, but to be aware of our fears and our anxieties and to put our trust in the living God.

Today is Mother’s Day and I would like to share this reflection from Erma Bombeck: describing the complex task God had in creating mothers. Afterall, He had to create a creature who would “run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that disappears when she stands up; a kiss that can cure anything form a broken let to a disappointed love affair; six pair of hands and three pairs of eyes.” It went something like this:  An angel pleaded with God not to work so hard. “Lord” said the angel gently. “Come to bed.” “I can’t,” said the Lord, “I’m so close to creating something so close to Myself.” The angel circled the model of a mother slowly and said with a sigh, “It is too soft.” “But tough!” said the Lord excitedly. “You can’t imagine what this mother can do or endure.” Finally bending over and running her finger across the cheek. The angel pronounced: “There’s a leak. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model.” “It is not a leak.” Said the Lord, “It is a tear.” “What is it for?” asked the angel. The Lord answered , “It is for joy, sadness, loneliness, pain, disappointment and pride.” “You are a Genius, “the angel replied. The Lord looked somber, “I didn’t put it there.”

Fourth Sunday in Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday)
Year A
May 3, 2020
First Reading: Acts 2: 42-47
Psalm 23
Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25
Gospel: John 10:1-10

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want 

The Collect this Morning:

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Gospel: John 10:1-10

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again, Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

In the Gospel of John 9:6, Jesus heals a man born blind, and the Pharisees are investigating the healing done by Jesus and they are still with the crowds that follow Jesus.

The healed man, that was blind, but now see’s, he is one of the sheep who hears Jesus’ voice; and the leaders, the Pharisees, expelled him from the synagogue. They treated him as if he was not part of Israel. 

In light of Old Testament background, however, Jesus as the good shepherd, it corresponds with God, in Psalms 23:1;28:9; and Isaiah 40:11, it affirms that the blind man is one of his sheep. 

In the Gospel, Jesus wants to make this clear to the leaders of Israel.   

“The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and sheep hear his voice.”

As, we read more in the Gospel, it is apparent that Jesus is the gate keeper and he is the true shepherd; he is the one who opens the gate.

Jesus calls his own sheep by name and they hear his voice. He tells the pharisees, when God’s people are all out, he will go ahead of the people, and when they hear his voice, they will follow him. Just as the blind man could not see, but could hear Jesus’ voice.

Jesus was all about teaching love and compassion for others. Teaching that all people are God’s people. The Pharisees knew all the old scriptures and would challenge Jesus, they were hypocrites and he is very direct in his response to them. 

The pharisees and others in the crowd, didn’t understand this parable, so, Jesus said to them. 

“Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. 

They will come in and go out, and find pasture.”

(Act 2:42-47) The Apostles’ devoted themselves to teaching and fellowship, to breaking of bread and prayers. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Conclusion:

The Apostles were the first to walk through the gate, giving up their livelihood, their possessions and goods and giving all, they had to those in need.

And still, day by day the Lord has added to the numbers of followers who put their trust in the Lord, knowing that he is our Good Shepherd who watches over us day and night, good and bad, we can be assured in these difficult times that we have nothing to worry about, with faith and trust.  

 “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Good news:

(Verse 11:1) “I am the good shepherd. The shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Christ Jesus gave himself for us, he makes it clear to all who are listening that he is the Good Shepherd, he is the gate keeper and he is the gate in which we follow and walk through, he is the way, that will lead all to salvation and eternal life.

Jesus knows our name, he calls us by name and asks us to follow him through the gate, the gate he has so gracious opened for us. The Joy in following Jesus is that he knows us completely, eh is able to lead us effectively and he will give us what we need, when we need it.

Amen
Rev. Lola Culbreath