All Saints Sunday - First Post Tuesday

All Saints Sunday is this Sunday. The scripture is as follows: Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11, 13, 14. Makes you wonder what verse 12 is all about? Psalm 149. Ephesians 1: 11-23. The Gospel lessons in Luke 6:27 - 36.

I have entitled my sermon "The Saints - Up Close and Personal". So where does the idea of Saints come from? According to the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, the principal theological basis of the practice is the Pauline doctrine of the body of Christ, in which all members have their particular office as fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. In Hebrews the description of Saints are as a cloud of witnesses which Christians are to imitate. In Luke 16:19-31 the idea that the the dead may intercede on behalf of the living has been found in the parable of Dives and Lazarus. And in Matt. 19:28 the gift of special privileges for certain persons in the next world is held to be indicated in Christ's promises to the Apostles.

The Gospel is about how to act. If we lived into this gospel we could be called a saint. How do we do that in today's world???
Who are current day saints?

We are all called to be a cloud of witnesses. This conjures up the person on the street corner screaming repent or the missionaries going from door to door with phamplets or people telling you to "get saved". How are we called to "witness".

What is it about the idea of sainthood that you are interested in? Do saints have a place today? I do think people want heros. The movie "Flags of our Fathers' really talks about how some of the men who held up the flag at Iwo Jima didn't really want the attention as a hero. They described themselves as just doing their job. The men who died at Iwo Jima were the real heros. But people turned out to see these men and they helped raise money for the war effort. People want to aim at something. They want to celebrate those people who have done "great things".

Let me know what you think.
Blessings,
Julie

All Hallows Eve Family Service Thursday

Thank you for all your input. No more posts now until Sunday! What I have gathered from the comments for the All Hallows Eve service is that it will be important to transition between my subjects well. This is always a challenge for the preacher! Thanks again for being open to this, it was very helpful!

All Hallows Eve Family Service Wednesday

The structure of the sermon is beginning to take form in my mind. I will start out by asking the kids to tell the congregation who they are dressed up as. Then I will talk about why people started wearing masks and costumes (keep away evil spirits, etc). Then I will move into the Lazarus story and talk about what happened to Lazarus. How Jesus felt. How he was sad. HOw we feel when people die and that we miss them.

A short discussion on life and death. Life is a gift from God. That's why Jesus could give life to Lazarus. Life after death another gift from Jesus. How do we know - our Easter story. I may connect it to the eucharist. Tell them that we tell this story every Sunday and ask them to listen closely.

End with we wear costumes today for fun because we don't have to be afraid of evil spirits.

Now, this may change between now and Sunday but I'm making public my thought process.

All Hallows Eve Family Service Tuesday

Tuesday - People today, especially youth don't have a lot of experience with death. I officiated at a funeral service on Sunday night. There were several young people there. The adults were talking and mingling while the youth kept glancing at the body in the room. Death is no longer a part of life that most people experience. My hope is to reassure the children about eternal life and that death is a normal process. The focus will be on eternal life. Also, I like the idea of starting out with Jesus wept. Our culture does not typically allow for sadness. The goal seems to be about being happy. It is good when people can express their sadness particularly when someone dies.

All Hallows Eve Family Service

Hi, this is the first posting on the new St. Peter's sermon blog. My hope is to get feedback on possible sermon topics from all of you. Also, if you read the scripture for the week which you can on line at www.textweek.com (just click on the date for the upcoming Sunday, then click on the Episcopal readings, then click on the NRSV bible translation and you are there). Textweek does not have All Hallows Eve so you will need to use the alternative method this time. Alternatively, I will list the readings here and you can look them up the old fashion way, with a Bible!

Here are the readings for All Hallows Eve: 1Samuel 28:3-25 (The Witch of Endor) and John 11:1-44.

Now, unless you decide not to come to Church since the Gospel reading is 44 verses long, remember it will be a dramatic presentation by the Youth Group.

My current idea for the family homily is to talk about the customs of Halloween (why we wear costumes, get candy etc) and then talk about ghosts and death. I am thinking about a way to talk to younger people about the Christian understanding of death and resurrection. Ok, it's only Monday. I have a ways to go. Any help would be appreciated.