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Pentecost 17, Proper 21 Instructed Eucharist Lesson: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
September 27, 2009 Psalm 124
The Revs. Karen Evans & Wallace Marsh Epistle: James 5:13-20
St. James’ Church, Marietta Holy Gospel: Mark 9:38-50
I speak to you in the Name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Good morning. My name is Karen Evans, and along with my Associate, Wallace Marsh, we will be talking to you about what we are doing as we go along today. Kirk Lee will be the Celebrant (that is the liturgical leader) at this service, and Jean Ann Wright, who is a Deacon, will read the Gospel and lead the prayers. The service this morning is called a “Eucharist,” which comes from the Greek word for “thanksgiving.” So we will be giving thanks to God for all the blessings God has given us, and most especially for Jesus Christ.
The liturgy we use in the Episcopal Church comes from the worship services held in house churches in the days of the first Christians. Directions were put down for the leaders of the worship, and we have fragments of some of them still today. We also have the diaries and letters of pilgrims who participated in worship in Jerusalem in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. After the Reformation made it to England, the various prayers and directions on how to celebrate the Eucharist were combined and translated into English. Our Book of Common Prayer is the direct descendent of those books. We use it to ensure the maximum participation by everyone present. I have found that using the same prayers week in and week out, they become part of you, get in your bones, as it were, and even if I do not have the book anywhere nearby, I find myself quoting it both in my prayer and in everyday conversation.
There are some questions that we are routinely asked by people who come to the church for the first time. Let me speak to some of them.
When you came in you were given a bulletin. The numbers on the right side of the page refer to The Book of Common Prayer, which has a red cover. You can follow the service as we go along or just watch and listen. The numbers on the left side of the page refer to The Hymnal 1982 (dark blue) or Lift Every Voice and Sing II, which is black and red. The hymns with an “L” in front of them are from Lift Every Voice and Sing. The music with an “S” in front of it refers to the parts of the service that are sung and can be found in front of The Hymnal.
It can be a challenge going back and forth between the bulletin, prayer book and hymnal. (They call it the “Book and Bulletin Juggle!”) You can get a head start on it by opening the Prayer Book to page 355, and then using your bulletin to mark the next hymn as we go along. Our opening hymn will be 546.
Probably the question I get asked most often is when and why and how do you make the sign of the cross. The how is easy: with your right hand, you touch your forehead, then your heart, then your left shoulder, and then your right shoulder. Most of us end by bringing our hand back to the heart area. The sign of the cross is a way to say, “I take what is being said as my own.” Mostly, it is used with the priest is blessing or absolving the congregation. To be more specific, it is used at the opening Acclamation, the Absolution after the Confession of Sin, and the Blessing at the end of the service. Some people also cross themselves when they enter a pew, at the words about the Resurrection in the Creed, and during the Prayer of Consecration at the words: “Sanctify us.” It is not appropriate to cross yourself at the beginning of the Prayer of Consecration, at the “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” since it is descriptive of Jesus and not directly related to us. Having said all that, there is no requirement to cross yourself at all. It is a devotional practice that helps some people, but it is totally optional.
If you look through The Book of Common Prayer, you will see that the service is laid out for us. At the same time, there are many options. Today we will be using Rite II, contemporary language, Eucharistic Prayer A, and Prayers of the People, Form VI. We will announce the pages as we go along. As Rector of the parish, it is my prerogative to choose among the various options for the liturgy. It is also my prerogative to choose the hymns, which I do with Steven Schneider, our Organist/Choirmaster. Steven is particularly good at identifying hymns that fit with the lessons we will be reading on any given Sunday, which is the main criterion for choosing a particular hymn.
Having said that, our opening hymn, if you remember, is Hymn 546 in the blue hymnal. I encourage you to sing, and if you cannot sing, then read along. You will find that the words add to what we are doing. Would you please stand….
In this part of the Liturgy of the Word, we sit to listen to readings from the Bible. It is our custom to stand, sit or kneel at different parts of the service. Typically, we follow the biblical (Jewish and Christian) traditions of standing to praise God, sitting to listen, and kneeling in order to express penitence or devotion.
We use a fixed pattern of Scripture readings, called a lectionary, that allows us to hear most of the Bible within a three-year period. This makes sure that nothing important is left out, and that preachers do not overlook some passages in favor of others. There is some rigidity in this, but there is also some beauty in that the preacher must proclaim the Word of God in every passage, whether the passage of Scripture is easy or difficult.
It has long been a tradition among Christians that lay people read the first and second lessons. The first lesson is taken from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Then we all participate in singing or saying the Psalm together. The Psalms are the ancient hymnal of the Jews, and Christians have continued to use them in worship.
The second reading is taken from one of the Letters of the New Testament. It is labeled the Epistle, and that simply means “letters.” Now a majority of these letters come from Paul, and they are written to different churches about particular issues. Guess what! Churches have been arguing about certain issues from day 1, so we listen to Paul’s letters today for important instruction.
The final reading at a service is always from one of the four Gospels. Christians have long given special importance to the Gospels because that is where we hear directly the words and actions of Jesus. We express this importance by having an ordained minister do this reading, and by standing when we listen to it.
If there is a deacon present, it is always the deacon’s responsibility to do the Gospel reading. What you will notice is that the Gospel is taken from the altar, processed down into the congregation to be read. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is always with and speaking to the people, so the Gospel is read in the midst of the congregation; it gives us the idea that Jesus, himself, is coming to us and speaking his words in our very midst. Whenever the Gospel is read it is appropriate to turn so that you are facing the reader, so to honor the teachings of our Lord.
After the Gospel is the sermon, which is always based on one of the Scripture readings. We do have some choice in that we can choose one of the three readings, but our responsibility as Episcopal preachers is to stay focused on that text and bring it to life. We really do not have the liberty to go off and preach on a topic of our choice. The Church wants us to stay true to the Scriptures and use the text as the basis of our sermons.
If we succeed in bringing the Scripture to life, wonderful! If we accidentally lead you into heresy, no worries, because after the sermon we will all stand and say together the Nicene Creed, a statement of faith and orthodoxy. This summary statement of Christian belief was adopted by the undivided church in the year 481, and is one of the oldest texts of Christian worship. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we join with them who have gone before us.
The bread and wine that we will use for our communion has now been brought forward, along with the money collected for the operation of the church and our mission in the world. We present these gifts at the altar as symbols of ourselves and our lives, and we give thanks that through Jesus Christ, they are transformed by God’s action.
The Episcopal Church believes that in the Eucharist, Christ is really present in the consecrated bread and wine. Exactly how that happens is a mystery. All we know is that because we follow the command of Jesus, God transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
When Kirk begins the Eucharistic Prayer in must a moment, he will tell us to “lift up your hearts.” Cyril of Jerusalem in the 4th century said, “so the priest is virtually commanding you at this moment to lay aside the cares of this life, your domestic worries, and to keep your heart in heaven on God…” And Leonel Mitchell says, “…in the Eucharist we are brought into the presence of God in Christ, not by our bringing Christ ‘down’ to our Eucharistic assembly, but by God’s lifting us ‘up’ to heaven.”
You will notice in your Prayer Book on page 363, at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, there is the word AMEN in big letters. That AMEN is our agreement with all that the priest has said on our behalf. Please say it with enthusiasm.
In this parish, all baptized persons, no matter where they were baptized or what age they are, are welcome to take communion. It is our custom to have the people come forward to the altar rail. Most people kneel, but folks like me with bad knees or hips, or just if it is your preference, stand. We hold our hands with the right hand on top of the left and up a bit so that the priest can put the bread into your hand. You may eat it immediately and then drink from the cup when it comes by (helping the chalicist guide it to your lips by holding on to the base of the cup), or you may hold on to the bread and dip it into the wine (called intinction). Some people have grown up with the priest putting the bread or the bread and wine into their mouths. We can do that too. Finally, if you prefer not to receive communion or any part of it, you may come forward for a blessing. Just let us know by crossing your hands in front of you.
Now I will get out of the way and let Kirk continue our prayers, starting on page 361.
You probably noticed that the deacon cleared the altar in much the same way as you might clear your own table after dinner, removing the dishes and cloths, and easting or storing any leftovers. At St. James’, we generally consume any leftover wine and put the bread in the tabernacle so that it can be administered to the sick.
After communion, we all recited the Post-communion Prayer and were given a blessing. In just a few seconds, we will sing a concluding hymn with a closing procession. However, the final act of our common worship is the Dismissal, which formally closes the worship with a call for us to go as Christ’s servants out into the world. It reminds us that the purpose of worship is not simply to encourage and build ourselves up, but for all of us to be empowered and sent forth, out of these doors, as ministers of Christ.
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Sermons and Lectionary