St. John’s Internet Church
Weekly Online Worship Service
The Rt. Rev. Dr. +Everett A. Brown, Rector
Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
The Holy Eucharist: Rite II
INSTRUCTIONS: The words printed in “bold”
type are the words spoken
By Bishop Everett and the words in “regular” type are the words for you,
the people, to speak, either aloud, or
silently, as you worship at St.
John’s Internet Church.
The Word of God
A hymn,
song, or anthem may be sung
Bishop
Everett, the Celebrant, says:
Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
People: And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever.
Amen.
Bishop
Everett: Let us pray.
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 holy Name;
through
Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The
following hymn is sung or said
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 Lord,
you alone
are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with
the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The Gospel Lesson
Bishop
Everett: The Holy
Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Matthew 13: 24-43.
People: Glory
to you, Lord Christ.
Please take your Bible and read the Gospel lesson.
Bishop
Everett: The Gospel
of the Lord.
People: Praise
to you, Lord Christ.
The Sermon:
Citizens Of The Kingdom
"The farmer sowing good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, the good seed the citizens of the Kingdom" (Matthew 12:37-38).
When you plant a seed, you put it in the dark, quiet ground and nothing happens: no violins sing, no trumpets blow, no drums roll. Nevertheless, the spark of life begins to ignite and, slowly but surely, the seed takes root and a plant pushes itself through the ground: there is a harvest! When you turn your mind and heart to God, nothing happens -- or so it seems. No heavenly choirs sing, no thunder rolls, no lightening strikes. Nevertheless, in the quietness of your prayer, the Divine spark ignites and begins to take root in your being and, as it grows, it shows forth in your life. Something has changed. You are reaping a God-centered harvest of thought and action, different than ever before.
"The reign of God may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field," Jesus says in today's Gospel Lesson. Later He explains to the disciples that, in the parable, the "man who sowed good seed" is the "Son of Man" (that is, Jesus Himself). The "field," He says, "is the world." And the "good seed, the citizens of the kingdom."
Who are the citizens of the Kingdom? A famous track star was asked what he considered to be the most important part of a race. "The start," he replied. "I must be ready." The citizen of the Kingdom knows how to get ready. The citizen of the Kingdom learns to start each new day in the quietness of prayer: "Today is God's day. The loving Presence of Christ surrounds, guides, protects and blesses me. God's Plan for peace and brotherhood is fully present in all I do this day." The citizen of the Kingdom is like the lovable mystic, Brother Lawrence, who said,
The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility and as if I were upon my knees.
The citizen of the Kingdom is like Saint Teresa who had a wonderful vision of God's Presence when she said, "God walks among the pots and pans," then added,
"Lord of all pots and pans and things, since I've no time to be a saint by doing lovely things, or watching late with Thee, or dreaming in the dawnlight, or storming heaven's gates, make me a saint by getting meals, and washing up the plates. Warm all the kitchen with Thy Love, and light it with Thy peace; forgive me all my worrying, and make my grumbling cease. Thou who didst love to give men food, in room, or by the sea, accept the service that I do -- I do it unto Thee."
Lord, "Accept the service that I do -- I do it unto Thee." Wherever you are, whatever challenges you meet, whatever trials you undergo, whatever relationships you enter into, God is there. You are never separated from God. "Your life is hidden now with Christ in God," the Apostle Paul has written (Col. 3:3). God, who is Life, is the Giver of life. When we accept this truth we open our own life up to its full possibilities; we open the way to full expression of God's life in us; we open the door to the inexhaustible source of abundant life.
When your life seems complicated and perplexing, in the midst of the confusion and discord let yourself become quiet. Let the Divine Presence permeate your being -- your thoughts and emotions, the very atmosphere about you. Let yourself be filled with the power of God's Presence and know that you have discovered the sure way to transform things-as-they-are into things-as-they-ought-to-be. God has sown for us the seed of love. To reap a harvest of love we must cultivate the seed. The seed of love is watered with love, weeded with patience, tended with forgiveness and compassion.
The principalities and powers -- the sources of evil in this world -- have sown the seed of fear. The seed of fear is watered with fear, tended with hatred, nourished with unforgiveness and insensitivity. And the cultivators of the seed of fear reap a harvest of fear.
The idea of vengeance is a bad seed. Root it out! The desire to pronounce self-righteous judgment is a bad seed. Root it out! The attitude of indifference to the plight of a brother or sister in need is a bad seed. Root it out! The worship of the false god called "materialism" is a bad seed. Root it out! Seek first God's Kingship over you.
Once upon a time there were three monkeys standing on a seesaw. Above them hung a bunch of bananas. The three monkeys all scampered toward the high end of the board in order to reach the bananas. As they did, the high end tilted downward and became the low end. The monkeys then scampered back to the other end, with the same result. Whereupon, the brightest of the three had an idea: He would stay at one end of the board and wait for the other two to run to the other end and raise him up. Consequently, the bright monkey reached the bananas by not conforming to what the others were doing.
God has an idea for those of us who would reach up to be citizens of the Kingdom: In this confused, discordant, divided world, don't give in to the harvesters of fear. Be a nonconformist!
Centuries ago, a man named "Moses" was enjoying the security of a good marriage and a good position in his father-in-law's business. Moses had "settled down." Then God broke through all that security saying, "Moses, Moses ... I have seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry ... I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians." At first, Moses resisted God's call to be more than a spectator to the oppression his people were enduring. "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" he asked. If there are reasons for us to resist God's calling us out of our spectator's role, there are stronger ones for us to accept. In answer to Moses' objection, God said, "But I will be with you." And Moses delivered his people from bondage.
Because God is Love, we are called to respond to Him and to one another in love. As a Christian people, we have chosen to follow the example of the nonconforming Jesus in making this response. Jesus delivered people from all manner of physical and spiritual afflictions. But again and again he returned to the plight of the poor. Jesus talked more about money and human greed and the plight of the poor than anything else. "What would He say and do in our hard and uncertain times, in a world one-half of whose children never so much as open their mouths to say 'aah' to a doctor, a world in which almost every country is robbing the poor to feed the military? ... The world with its triumphs and despairs, its beauty and ugliness, has moved next door to every one of us ... Only blindness of a willful sort can prevent our seeing the face of Christ in the faces of the suffering poor."
The redemptive force in today's world is a minority factor. Jesus compared it to a tiny seed, a yeast or leaven, a spark of light in the vast darkness. The hope of a better world rests in today's living heirs of that redemptive minority who, two thousand years ago, "turned the world upside down."
In a world where human existence itself is at risk, the role of "innocent bystander" has been abolished. No longer, through indifference, can we evade responsibility for things-as-they-are. We must choose between accepting responsibility for things-as-they-ought-to-be or renouncing our citizenship in the Kingdom. Jesus said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest" (Mt. 9:37-38). Indeed, the laborers are few. But, few as they are, they have no fear. They go forth to reap a harvest of love, believing in God's promise, "I will be with you ... I will be with you! ... I will be with you!"
Amen.
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 our sake he was crucified under Pontius
Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of
the Father.
He will come again in 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 life,
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.
The Prayers of the People Form V
In peace,
let us pray to the Lord, saying, "Lord, have mercy."
For the holy
Church of God, that it may be filled with truth
and love,
and be found without fault at the day of your
coming, we
pray to you, O Lord.
Here
and after every petition the People respond:
Lord, have
mercy.
For Bishop Everett, for all bishops, priests, deacons, and other ministers,
and for all the holy people of God, we pray to you, O Lord.
For all who
fear God and believe in you, Lord Christ, that our
divisions
may cease, and that all may be one as you and the
Father are
one, we pray to you, O Lord.
For the
mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may
preach the
Gospel to the ends of the earth, we pray to you, O
Lord.
For those
who do not yet believe, and for those who have lost
their faith,
that they may receive the light of the Gospel, we
pray to you,
O Lord.
For the
peace of the world, that a spirit of respect and
forbearance
may grow among nations and peoples, we pray
to you, O
Lord.
For those in
positions of public trust,
that they
may serve justice, and promote the dignity and
freedom of
every person, we pray to you, O Lord.
For all who
live and work in our communities,
we pray to
you, O Lord.
For a
blessing upon all human labor, and for the right use
of the
riches of creation, that the world may be freed from
poverty, famine,
and disaster, we pray to you, O Lord.
For the
poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for
refugees,
prisoners, and all who are in danger; that they may
be relieved
and protected, we pray to you, O Lord.
For this online
congregation [for those who are present, and for
those who
are absent], that we may be delivered from
hardness of
heart, and show forth your glory in all that we
do, we pray
to you, O Lord.
For our
enemies and those who wish us harm, and for all
whom we have
injured or offended, we pray to you, O Lord.
For
ourselves; for the forgiveness of our sins, and for the
grace of the
Holy Spirit to amend our lives, we pray to you, O
Lord.
For all who
have commended themselves to our prayers; for
our families,
friends, and neighbors; that being freed from
anxiety,
they may live in joy, peace, and health, we pray to
you, O Lord.
For all who
have died in the communion of your Church, and
those whose
faith is known to you alone, that, with all the
saints, they
may have rest in that place where there is no pain
or grief,
but life eternal, we pray to you, O Lord.
Rejoicing in
the fellowship of all the saints, let us commend ourselves,
and one
another, and all our life to Christ our God.
To you, O Lord our God.
Silence
For yours is
the majesty, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
yours is the
kingdom and the power and the glory, now and
for ever.
Amen.
Confession of Sin
Bishop
Everett:
Let us
confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence
may be kept.
Minister
and People
Most
merciful God,
we confess
that we have sinned against you
in thought,
word, and deed,
by what we
have done,
and by what
we have left undone.
We have not
loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved
our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly
sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake
of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy
on us and forgive us;
that we may
delight in your will,
and walk in
your ways,
to the glory
of your Name. Amen.
Bishop
Everett:
Almighty God
have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins
through our
Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all
goodness,
and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in
eternal life.
Amen.
The Peace
Bishop
Everett: The peace of the Lord be always
with you.
People: And
also with you.
Here
you may greet those present and worshiping
with
you in the name of the Lord.
To
complete your worship service without Holy Communion continue.
To continue your worship with an Online Service of Holy Communion click on the words below.
Bishop Everett:
And now, as
our Savior
Christ has
taught us,
we are bold
to say,
People
and Celebrant
Our Father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this
day our daily bread.
And forgive
us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us
not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is
the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Bishop
blesses the people.
Bishop
Everett:
The blessing
of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be upon you
and remain with you now and forever.
Amen.
Bishop
Everett:
I rejoice
that we can worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ together in our gathering
through this electronic online media. It is
provided as a supplement to your regular worship. I encourage you to attend the church of your choice and to give
your tithes and offerings to your home
Church.
Dismissal
Bishop
Everett: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
People: Thanks
be to God.
