WEBVTT 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:08.240 Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:12.160 Blessed be God's family now and forever. 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:12.960 Amen. 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:14.560 Let's pray together. 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:23.359 Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:28.559 Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.199 Let us perfectly love thee. 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:34.320 And worthily magnify thy holy name. 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:36.479 Through Christ our Lord. 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:37.280 Amen. 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:39.200 The Lord be with you. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:41.840 Let us pray. 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:53.840 Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve. 00:00:54.479 --> 00:01:13.519 Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, for giving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:14.480 Amen. 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:18.239 Our children are invited to children's chapel with Mr. 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:19.680 Alex in the back. 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:33.680 A reading from Job. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:38.719 There was once a man in the land of Oze, whose name was Job. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:44.480 That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:54.319 One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:58.159 The Lord said to Satan, Where have you come from? 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:05.359 Satan answered the Lord, from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it. 00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:10.000 The Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:18.400 There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:26.719 He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him for no reason. 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:34.800 Then Satan answered the Lord, skin for skin, all that people have they will give to save their lives. 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:41.520 But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face. 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:48.479 The Lord said to Satan, Very well, he is in your power, only spare his life. 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:57.599 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:03.360 Job took a potture with which to scrape himself and sat among the ashes. 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:09.039 Then his wife said to him, Do you still persist in your integrity? 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:10.960 Curse God and die. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:15.680 But he said to her, You speak as any foolish woman would speak. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:20.639 Shall we receive the good at the hand of God and not receive the bad? 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:24.319 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:27.680 Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people. 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:30.000 Thanks be to God. 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:55.680 Test me, O Lord, and try me. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:01.120 For your love is before my eyes. 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:06.319 I have not sat with the worthless. 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:12.719 I have hated the company of evildoers. 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:18.639 I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord. 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:25.600 Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving. 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:31.839 Lord, I love the house in which you dwell. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:37.920 And the place where your Lord do not sweep me away with sinners. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.000 Whose hands are full of evil plots. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:49.759 As for me, I will live with integrity. 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:56.000 My foot stands on level ground. 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:38.240 Long ago, God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets. 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:48.560 But in these last days, he has spoken to us by a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:54.879 He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being. 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:58.319 And he sustains all things by his powerful word. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:13.120 When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:21.839 Now God did not subject the coming world about which we are speaking to angels, but someone has testified somewhere. 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:27.759 What are human beings that you were mindful of them, or mortals that you care for them? 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:31.680 You have made them for a little while lower than the angels. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:38.160 You have crowned them with glory and honor, subjecting all things under their feet. 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:43.839 Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:48.720 As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:07:04.079 But we do see Jesus for a little while, while he was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor, because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:16.720 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:23.759 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have but one Father. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:34.720 For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters in the midst of the congregation. 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:36.160 I will praise you. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:39.759 Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:23.920 Some Pharisees came and to test Jesus, they asked, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:28.000 Jesus answered them, What did Moses command you? 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:33.039 They said, Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her. 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:38.320 But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart, he wrote this commandment for you. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:42.960 But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female for this reason. 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:49.679 A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:52.399 So they are no longer two but one flesh. 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:55.759 Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate. 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:59.600 Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:05.440 He said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:10.559 And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:17.440 People were bringing little children to Jesus in order that he might touch them, and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:25.440 But when Jesus saw them, saw this, he was indignant and said to them, Let the little children come to me, do not stop them. 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:29.679 For it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:35.039 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:40.080 And Jesus took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:43.360 The gospel of the Lord. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:26.240 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness with you. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:30.559 In the name of one God and Father who is above all and through all and in all. 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:31.519 Amen. 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:43.360 It is a blessing to be here with you all today, and I hope it continues to be a blessing after we work through some relatively difficult scripture readings today. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:52.720 As we open this book of wisdom that Job offers, we are reminded of God's relationship to human suffering. 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:56.799 It is said that the book of Job is about trusting God. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:05.519 And that trust is through faithfulness, and that faithfulness is achieved through love. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:16.879 And this love is not because of the things that God does or doesn't do, or the gifts that God gives us, or even the mercy that he shows us. 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:19.039 It's just love. 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:22.399 The Beatles may have said it the best. 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:23.840 Love is all you need. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:26.960 They were a pretty good band, right? 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:38.559 So Job also helps us to redefine suffering and discomfort and pain as something that we just don't fully understand. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:12:03.679 Jesus helps us with this concept of just loving God by reminding us that above all the rules, above all the laws, the one most important commandment is to love God with all of your heart, with all of your being, and with your mind, as much as you're able to comprehend. 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:09.759 And this is an acknowledgement that we can't fully comprehend God. 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:16.000 And in so doing, we submit ourselves to God's will. 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:32.399 And when we let God's will be done, and we let God do what He knows we need the most in our lives, then we are receiving true love. 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:33.840 God's love. 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:44.960 And when we have that love, that belief in God's love, that faith of God's love. 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:57.200 And that knowledge that God has chosen us because He loves us, then we have achieved true faith through love. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:01.440 And I would offer that we remember that Christ is love. 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:06.720 So we receive true faith by loving God through Christ. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:16.639 And as we open up the book of Mark and expose adultery and divorce, we're going to experience some more suffering. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:18.799 And this can be painful. 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:23.600 I ask that we go gently into this topic together. 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:28.480 I know that my personal experience is one that was painful. 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:36.960 And I offer that because it is through the salt and the fire that we read about last week that puts me here today. 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:43.440 If it hadn't been for those experiences in my life, I wouldn't be who I am right now. 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:49.679 So, although it was painful, I'm grateful for that. 00:13:51.279 --> 00:14:09.840 So in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is in Judea teaching, and the elders, the Jewish elders, the Pharisees, have asked him to comment on this adultery and divorce topic because, well, it's relatively prevalent in the royal houses of Judea, apparently, Herod's wife and things like that. 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:13.840 Now, they probably really don't care much about what Jesus has to say. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:23.120 They're really just trying to get him embroiled in some political drama so that the government comes and takes him away and they get to wash their hands of him without worrying about him. 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:35.919 And so the Pharisees ask Jesus this question, and he responds in typical Jesus fashion, saying, Well, what do you think? 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:37.120 He's a good teacher, right? 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:38.000 What do you think? 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:42.639 And they throw him, um they throw him some Jewish law from Deuteronomy. 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:43.120 Okay. 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:54.159 And Jesus then says, Well, this is because God has told you these things because of your hardness of heart. 00:14:54.320 --> 00:15:03.759 And this is our first window into probably what Jesus is telling us, because the word in Greek, scleracardia, means hardness of heart, and that's a compound word. 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:09.360 Sclera being scar tissue, damage, and cardia being heart. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:14.960 But in the scriptures, heart in Greek never means that pumpy thing in our chest. 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:20.480 Cardia is said to be the center of our spiritual being. 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:28.559 It is what is born of God and God breathed into each and every one of us. 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:52.320 Now, I would like to take a bit of poetic license and share with you that my view of this story is a story about children and divorce, about broken relationships, and about teach about Jesus as a teacher and as a protector of small children, a father figure. 00:15:52.960 --> 00:16:23.039 And I believe this is an opportunity for us to look at and examine our roles as protectors of small children and our relationships with one another and with God as we think about and feel our way into our role as instruments of God's grace and as leaders in the church and as students of Christ. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:28.320 So the Pharisees are trying to put Jesus in a box. 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:30.720 They're trying to make God a rule. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:38.559 And Jesus explains to them that it's not about a container, it's about a relationship. 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:41.679 And this relationship is dynamic, isn't it? 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:45.519 It's continually moving and morphing and shape-shifting. 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:49.519 And yet it's also very consistent. 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:51.440 It's always the same. 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.399 It's the one thing that we can count on. 00:16:55.840 --> 00:17:12.559 And herein lies the mystery of God and our opportunity to deepen our relationship with our Creator through prayer, revelation, and love. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:21.440 So diving into the text a little deeper, Jesus goes on to quote Genesis. 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:27.119 Now, we know that because it's a quote from Genesis, but I didn't know that at first. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:30.640 But I was led into it because it said, in the beginning of creation. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:34.799 So I thought to myself, huh, maybe he's talking about Adam and Eve. 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:35.599 And he is. 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:40.559 So remember that God creates Adam, Adam, which is said to be humanity. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:45.119 And from Adam, he creates Eve, life. 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:54.960 So we could start to rephrase what we read in Mark today, what we heard in Mark, and say that in the beginning, God created human life. 00:17:55.519 --> 00:18:01.200 And then the passage goes on to talk about man leaving his mother and father and marrying his wife. 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:05.839 Now, these are the words that we hear today, with our point of view in our 21st century. 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:11.440 Two thousand years ago, my guess is that that was heard differently. 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:25.359 These words in Greek were understood as we believe them today to be understood, as things like to leave, to cast off, to leave behind, to walk away from, to put something down. 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:32.480 To join, to come together like glue, to be adhered to one another. 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:34.000 I think of Velcro. 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:37.039 Hard to get apart, right? 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:47.519 And to become one is rooted in the word genomine, which is to be born, to give birth. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:55.200 And it is said that this is to create to birth one universal being. 00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:59.200 And I believe this to be the body of Christ. 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:17.920 So as we reconstruct this, then God created human life, cleaned it up a little bit, recrafted it, and rebirthed it as we are born again into this one universal being, which is the body of Christ. 00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:20.880 Things are going pretty good so far, right? 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:24.880 Because we're joined as one, and then we add this word in. 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:27.119 One flesh. 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.599 So that ties into adultery and divorce pretty well. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:36.079 That's what we think of many times in the scriptures. 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:37.920 This is a carnal word. 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:41.119 It is something that is not of interest to God. 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:43.759 It is said to be of self-interest. 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:49.599 It is said to be the things that God leaves behind when he recrafts something beautiful. 00:19:51.119 --> 00:20:02.960 But in the context of this passage, flesh means the perfect, sinless body of Jesus. 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:13.440 And it means the physical form that is necessary to live out that which God puts within. 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:24.160 Now, as we think about this, I would like to remind us of our story and understanding of Jesus. 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:27.599 God who comes down into human form. 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:32.880 The sinless, perfect body of Christ. 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:53.440 And then puts on this human body so that he can live out as we do as human beings, live out that faith that God has put in him, that divine spiritual nature that is in that cardiac, that heart of Christ, and in each and every single one of us. 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:13.599 It is with that love, with that spirit, that Jesus is trying to warm up and soften these Pharisees who have become divorced in their relationship with God. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:20.240 That I believe is what Jesus is offering us in the Gospel of Mark today. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.400 And then, out of nowhere, he starts talking about children. 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:38.559 In four verses, we can infer a lot, but after having this divine spiritual conversation, what I really believe Jesus is telling us about these children is that that's us. 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:40.559 That's you and me. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:45.039 We are these children of God that He is speaking of. 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:57.519 Because those of us who are young and tender on our spiritual journey in need of nourishment and encouragement and protection. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.079 Are children. 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:09.200 And it's a beautiful relationship when we think of how children operate in this world. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:14.079 When they see something with eyes for the first time. 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:19.680 In awesome beauty and magnificence and wonder. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:23.599 And a whole lot of questions. 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:36.240 That is how I believe Jesus wants us to be because that is how we can experience the mystery of God with childlike eyes. 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:50.720 I was speaking with a friend of mine the other day, someone I care deeply about, and we were discussing spirituality, and it became apparent that our point of view, our belief systems were different. 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:52.559 And that's totally okay. 00:22:52.880 --> 00:23:03.039 But what we agreed upon is that we both were deeply interested in increasing our understanding of our Creator and deepening that relationship. 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:09.440 And this is where I believe Jesus is going with this gospel of Mark. 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:22.640 I believe that Jesus is inviting us in a childlike fashion to engage in God's creation with eyes and see things for the first time. 00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:27.039 In childlike amazement. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:39.680 I know Jesus to be a father figure, a protector, a nurturer, a comforter, a friend and a companion. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:44.640 I am a child of divorce. 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:48.480 And I'm a parent of children of divorce. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:56.799 And it is my experience that most of the time we adults mess things up. 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:02.000 And it's the children of divorce that just wish their parents would be more Christ-like. 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:05.519 And if they were, things would work out a lot better. 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:09.920 And this is generally my experience in life. 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:15.599 You see, we don't have to choose Christ Jesus. 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:25.279 We don't have to accept and surrender God's will and relax into the forgiving, loving arms of Jesus. 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:28.720 God's going to love us either way. 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:35.279 But when we do, life is so much easier. 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:44.480 In the psalm that I opened with, that's verse two and three. 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:49.200 And it addresses testing or examining our heart and mind. 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:52.400 And I believe that our readings today do that. 00:24:52.559 --> 00:25:21.759 I think they ask us to look into deep questions about relationships, about our own interpersonal relationships, about our relationship with God and how we achieve that, leaving our individual selves behind so that we can become ad ease to God, making God the center of our life, putting God first in our life, in love. 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:28.000 I would offer that this week as I was praying, preparing for today. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:30.000 I said, God, I want to thank you. 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:39.519 And I stopped because trying to be authentic, I was about to say, we don't need to thank God to thank God, but because he did something, we just want to say, I love you, God. 00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:42.079 So I tried that and it was hard. 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:43.920 I felt like a child. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:45.279 I felt kind of weird. 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:47.119 God, I love you. 00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:51.359 I tried it a second time and it got a little bit easier. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:54.559 But I will confess to you, it was difficult. 00:25:55.200 --> 00:26:09.279 So I continued throughout the day, and when I would be grateful for something in our creation, the sunshine and not the rain, or the rain, I said, I love you, God. 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:17.759 And it got easier and easier and easier. 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:21.039 I offer that to you as just my experience this week. 00:26:22.319 --> 00:27:09.440 So what I'm trying to say is that if we have examined and tried our heart and mind, now our eyes walk faithfully with God, with Jesus beside us as our companion, shouldering that burden, us as a family of Christ, as a unified, universal being in the body of Christ, shouldering each other's burdens as we walk along together through this life, through these difficult moments of life, our happy moments and our sad moments, with childlike eyes that see things for the first time in magnificence. 00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:17.759 Because it is in these things that the family of God survives and thrives. 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:10.079 We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, who made ever, of all that is seen and unseen. 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:30.000 We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the eternal begotten of the Father, God from God, life from light, true thought of true thou, begotten of the man, the only being of the Father, the reading of all things to be. 00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:41.920 By the power of the Holy Spirit, he became heart from the Virgin Mary and was saved man. 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:48.400 For our Savior and conscious father, he suffered death and spirit. 00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:58.720 On the third day he rose again, and according to the scriptures, he ascended to heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:05.359 He will come again in glory to judge the living and the death, and his kingdom will have no end. 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:13.279 We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:16.960 Who the Father and the Son, he is worshiped and glorified. 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:19.920 He has spoken through the prophets. 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:24.000 We believe in one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:28.000 We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:33.119 We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. 00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:34.079 Amen. 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.319 Father, we pray for your one holy Catholic Church. 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:11.440 Grant that every member of the church may truly and humbly serve you. 00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:27.200 We pray for Michael, our presiding bishop, for Andy, Hector, Jeff, and Kai, our bishops, and the diocesan cycle of prayer, St. 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:28.960 Mark's Beaumont, St. 00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:31.680 Paul's Orange, and St. 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:45.359 Paul's Woodville, for Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury, for the priests in our community, Mike, Craig, Bill, and Lillian, and for all bishops, priests, and deacons. 00:30:50.559 --> 00:31:08.559 We pray for all who govern and hold authority in the nations of the world, and for all the members of the armed forces, and for all of those who struggle for peace and justice, that they may act with prudence and vision to plant the seeds of your kingdom everywhere. 00:31:08.799 --> 00:31:12.160 That there may be justice and peace on the earth. 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:15.359 We pray for our parish and our vestry. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:21.920 We pray for St. 00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:27.119 Thomas, the Apostle's School, for those who teach and for those who learn. 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:36.720 Give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake. 00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:44.880 Have compassion on those who suffer from any grief or trouble. 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:47.920 That they may be delivered from their distress. 00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:54.480 Give to the departed eternal rest, including Helen, Mars, and John. 00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:00.240 We praise you for St. 00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:05.119 Thomas the Apostle and your saints who have entered into joy. 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:34.160 Let us give thanks for our blessings and pray for our own needs and those of others, especially Ronnie, Chris, Nancy, Sean, Aaron, Cynthia, Ken, Jan, Aaron, Janice, Nancy, and those the congregation wishes to name at this time, silently or aloud. 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:46.319 Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit, you have made us one with your saints in heaven and on earth. 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:57.519 Grant that in our earthly pilgrimage we may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know ourselves to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. 00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:08.480 We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whom all our intercessions are acceptable through the Spirit, and who and who lives and reigns forever and ever. 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:09.519 Amen. 00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:16.640 We pray to you also for the forgiveness of our sin in mutual confession. 00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:32.240 Before God with the people of God, I confess to my own brokenness, to the ways I wound my life, the lives of others, and the life of the world. 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:39.039 May God forgive you, Christ be you, and the Spirit enable you to grow in love. 00:33:39.839 --> 00:33:40.480 Amen. 00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:52.559 Before God, if you confess our wickedness to the ways we move our lives, the lives of others, and the life of the world. 00:33:52.880 --> 00:34:00.640 May God forgive you, Christ renew you, and the Holy Spirit enable you to grow in love and joy. 00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:02.000 Amen. 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:54.159 If you're new to us or haven't done this before, just behind this room is a little room we call an RFX, and there's some little cards that say welcome, and we'd be most grateful if you'd fill one of those cards out so we have a record of your visit. 00:34:54.239 --> 00:34:55.920 And thanks for worshiping with us today. 00:34:56.320 --> 00:35:03.599 I've got several announcements to call to your attention, but one of them is that this is the first Sunday in October. 00:35:03.760 --> 00:35:11.360 So if you were born this fine month, I'd like to invite you forward so that we can hear and celebrate your birthday. 00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:31.440 And as you're coming up, our custom is we share our name, the day of our birth, and either where we were born, when we were born, or both of those. 00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:41.039 Hello, my name is Maite Sample, and I was born October 4th, 1982, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 00:35:41.840 --> 00:35:43.360 My name is Tom Wolfers. 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:49.039 I was born October 4th, 1939, in Cape Girada, Missouri. 00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:55.920 Meg Glocker, St. 00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:59.280 Joseph Hospital, Houston, Texas. 00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:00.559 What else am I saying? 00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:01.599 What day is that night? 00:36:01.920 --> 00:36:02.800 October 4th. 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:03.280 Tomorrow. 00:36:03.599 --> 00:36:04.400 Fourth, look at that. 00:36:04.480 --> 00:36:05.199 Three in a row. 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:06.800 Not the fourth. 00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:10.000 Sandra Gladden, October 20th, Big Spring, Texas. 00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:11.760 This is Evelyn. 00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:14.639 She was born October 9th in Houston. 00:36:14.880 --> 00:36:20.239 And I'm Mike, and I was born October the 7th in Lexington, Kentucky, 1979. 00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:27.199 So let's say, we're not singing, we're gonna not sing, but we are gonna say a blessing prayer for all of us. 00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:29.039 So let's pray together. 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:35.519 God, we know that every year, every moment of our lives is in your hands. 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:48.880 Grant that we, your children, would continue to grow in wisdom and grace, and above all, strengthen our trust in your goodness and love all the days of our lives through Christ our Lord. 00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:49.840 Amen. 00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:51.920 Happy birthday. 00:36:58.960 --> 00:36:59.280 Okay. 00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:04.880 So as always, it's good to know the good work going on in our facilities. 00:37:05.039 --> 00:37:08.400 So yesterday we had another, we just had a hat-trick on birthdays. 00:37:08.639 --> 00:37:10.800 We had a hat trick here yesterday as well. 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:24.159 Um we had more than 150 people run a 5k and a kid's K, and some of those people immediately ran, literally ran over and distributed food to more than 325 people. 00:37:24.480 --> 00:37:32.480 And then this 50-foot tractor trailer of pumpkins rolled up, and we uh unloaded more than 2,000 pumpkins to support our scouts. 00:37:32.559 --> 00:37:37.519 Now you can see out there that pumpkins are really lovely and they put you in the fall spirit. 00:37:37.679 --> 00:37:39.039 And that's an open invitation. 00:37:39.119 --> 00:37:43.920 Not only is it a service to the community, but this is our scouts number one fundraiser. 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:49.440 Uh those are all organic food grade pumpkins, and I'm really happy to tell you they come from Navajo Nation. 00:37:49.519 --> 00:37:52.719 So this is a win-win win that we do this. 00:37:52.800 --> 00:37:57.920 And uh, if you're interested, if you're going to get pumpkins in your life, you ought to get them here. 00:37:58.000 --> 00:37:59.199 I'm telling you that is your proof. 00:37:59.599 --> 00:38:06.239 And so that's open, and we have people that accept that, but take a look because even if you don't want a pumpkin, man, it's beautiful. 00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:09.119 Really puts you in the fall, in the false spirit. 00:38:09.360 --> 00:38:11.280 And all of that happened yesterday. 00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:25.199 Now, today there's a thing going because many of you know, in the church, when we celebrate a saint, that is somebody who pointed us into holier living, we celebrate them not on their birthday, we celebrate them on the day they enter into larger life. 00:38:25.280 --> 00:38:26.400 And tomorrow is St. 00:38:26.559 --> 00:38:33.440 Francis Day, which means in honor of Francis, who taught us to revere with all in wonder our animal companions. 00:38:33.679 --> 00:38:37.519 We are having a pet blessing today at 4 p.m. 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:41.679 in the white gazebo right here adjacent to our property. 00:38:41.760 --> 00:38:43.519 So it's a community pet blessing. 00:38:43.679 --> 00:38:48.239 It's in the neighborhood park, it's short, and you might think, can I bring my horse? 00:38:48.320 --> 00:38:48.639 Yes. 00:38:48.880 --> 00:38:55.599 You might also think, I've had that happen before, somebody came up with a horse, a goat, a sheep, and two chickens, and it was a lot of fun. 00:38:55.840 --> 00:39:01.679 Um, if your animal is not super well behaved or you're worried about your animal, bring a facsimile. 00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:08.719 But it is a joyful way that we can commit to experiencing all in reverence in our pits and to receive God's blessing on the year. 00:39:08.800 --> 00:39:12.159 Now, I don't guarantee that will extend uh their life in any way. 00:39:12.239 --> 00:39:13.679 So it's just good, good to know. 00:39:14.159 --> 00:39:17.840 We do this to be good stewards of the gifts God has given us. 00:39:18.400 --> 00:39:29.199 In the Narthex, we are updating our parish directory, and uh please do have a look on your way out and make sure we've got your address and phone number, email appropriate. 00:39:29.280 --> 00:39:33.280 But I also want you to know I love sending you cards on your birthday, I really do. 00:39:33.440 --> 00:39:34.800 And I don't have everybody's birthday. 00:39:34.880 --> 00:39:37.519 So if you don't get a card from me, it's because I don't have your birthday. 00:39:37.679 --> 00:39:43.039 So please add it so that I can send you a card because it actually is a joy for me to do that. 00:39:43.360 --> 00:39:47.280 Um nearly new. 00:39:47.519 --> 00:39:53.039 Many of you know that we have an all-volunteer run thrift shop in the neighborhood called Nearly New. 00:39:53.360 --> 00:40:01.039 It's been temporarily closed as the Delta variant spike, but as we're coming down, we're looking to reopen October the 12th. 00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:04.239 Now, some people think, oh, we just did this to raise revenue. 00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:06.239 And let me tell you, that's only part of the deal. 00:40:06.400 --> 00:40:11.840 The Nearly New mentors people of all ages and abilities. 00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:18.000 It creates space for people, it actually creates income for people who are on the edge through consignments. 00:40:18.079 --> 00:40:20.159 So all of this wonderful ministry is happening. 00:40:20.400 --> 00:40:34.719 I want you to know it's open again October the 12th for donations and shopping, but also if you haven't experienced the nearly new, I invite you to do it so that you can see the ways in which it's not just profit sharing, the way it's building lives up. 00:40:34.880 --> 00:40:39.519 And there's people on the room who can testify to how the nearly new touched their families' lives. 00:40:39.599 --> 00:40:40.239 There are. 00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:44.239 And uh so I encourage you to think about the nearly new, to visit it. 00:40:44.320 --> 00:40:47.760 And if it appeals to you, they always need more servers. 00:40:47.920 --> 00:40:54.320 So um you can talk to Vicky or Joyce, who's right here, or myself if you're interested in the nearly new. 00:40:55.280 --> 00:40:56.159 There's a lot going on. 00:40:56.559 --> 00:41:00.320 This is a lot of going on month for probably all of us in all of our lives. 00:41:00.480 --> 00:41:08.000 Um, the end of the month, reminder, we're holding space for our community picnic, which will be right out here on October 30th. 00:41:08.079 --> 00:41:15.119 And the night before that, we're we're hosting a trunk retreat for our school and our church kids. 00:41:15.280 --> 00:41:20.639 That's because some of you know that our parents uh are uneasy with retreating. 00:41:20.719 --> 00:41:24.239 Some of them are because our kids can't get vaccinated. 00:41:24.320 --> 00:41:25.760 Let's just be honest about it, right? 00:41:25.840 --> 00:41:36.960 So uh these are kids who are in a pod, and so we're having a closed event for our school and church kids, and we need people to open their trunks and hand out candy to 85 kids. 00:41:37.039 --> 00:41:38.159 That's really what it looks like. 00:41:38.320 --> 00:41:42.960 If you choose to go all out in decorations, it'll be more fun for you and everybody else. 00:41:43.119 --> 00:41:47.280 But really, just we need some people uh to help support the trunk or tree. 00:41:47.840 --> 00:41:49.679 Okay, two more things that are lovely. 00:41:49.840 --> 00:41:58.079 We didn't, I didn't call them out in birthdays, but we have this new tradition of putting a rose on the Lord's table when there's a new baby. 00:41:58.239 --> 00:42:00.320 And so we've got two new babies this week. 00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:04.639 Uh Dee Hicks, who's at the 8 o'clock normally, she's our school board chair. 00:42:04.719 --> 00:42:08.400 Uh, she welcomes her third grandchild, Alani, this week. 00:42:08.559 --> 00:42:18.079 And then David and Laura Stuff have welcomed a new uh a new child, Liam, into their family as a transitional but hopefully long-term grandchild. 00:42:18.159 --> 00:42:20.800 Their children are bold and they foster children. 00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:25.360 And um, so we're celebrating uh both Liam and Alani this morning. 00:42:25.599 --> 00:42:32.480 Reminder: if you have a new birth in your family, just let me know and we'd be grateful to put a rose up on their behalf as well. 00:42:33.119 --> 00:42:35.679 Okay, one more thing, and this is kind of a big one. 00:42:35.840 --> 00:42:41.280 Um we didn't do her birthday either, but some of you know Katie Carmen, she was one of the founding members of St. 00:42:41.440 --> 00:42:44.400 Thomas, and she turned 98 on Thursday. 00:42:44.639 --> 00:42:52.719 Um her husband, Ben, this is interesting, literally built the offices with his own hands uh many, many, many years ago. 00:42:52.880 --> 00:42:54.880 So these people were integral in the parish. 00:42:54.960 --> 00:43:08.159 She turned 98, and I went to see her on Tuesday, and uh I don't think she'll mind me sharing this story, so I'm going to, and I need you to know, by her own admission, Kitty's a little bit harder of hearing than she used to be. 00:43:08.480 --> 00:43:14.159 So she said to me, You know, Mike, I don't really know how I got to be 98 years old. 00:43:14.480 --> 00:43:15.760 I just don't know what happened. 00:43:15.920 --> 00:43:19.039 And they said, Well, Kitty, why do you think you made it to 98? 00:43:19.199 --> 00:43:20.559 And she didn't miss a beat. 00:43:20.639 --> 00:43:22.639 She said, Exercise. 00:43:22.800 --> 00:43:28.079 I've been exercising since I was 60 years old, three days a week, and I still do it. 00:43:28.320 --> 00:43:31.519 And I said, Well, Kitty, it's probably also because you've got a good heart. 00:43:31.760 --> 00:43:32.239 She does. 00:43:32.400 --> 00:43:36.159 And she said, Oh yeah, there's no heart disease in my family at all. 00:43:36.320 --> 00:43:41.599 I said, No, kitty, I mean, you're a generous, kind hearted person. 00:43:41.920 --> 00:43:44.480 And she said, Well, there's no other choice. 00:43:44.719 --> 00:43:47.119 I said, Kitty, there's lots of choices. 00:43:47.280 --> 00:43:51.440 Without missing a beat, she said, I'm not interested in any of those. 00:43:52.320 --> 00:43:58.559 Now that story touched my heart, and I share it with you not so you can get not just so you can hear some wisdom. 00:43:58.800 --> 00:43:59.760 Well, I gotta tell you. 00:44:00.559 --> 00:44:04.320 To my own detriment, I sometimes am interested in other choices. 00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:06.000 So this is really amazing. 00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:10.480 She's not interested in any other way of being. 00:44:10.719 --> 00:44:20.159 And I hadn't meant to connect these, but it occurred to me, you know, today we're starting our stewardship season for next year's ministry and fiscal budget. 00:44:20.320 --> 00:44:21.920 So, as many of you know at St. 00:44:22.079 --> 00:44:37.199 Thomas, we ask us every year to think about making pledges for the time and talent we're going to share with the church for the ministries we have and also financially so we can make a budget for both a ministry budget and a fiscal budget. 00:44:38.000 --> 00:44:40.800 And uh, you know, I put this in the letter. 00:44:40.880 --> 00:44:45.119 By the way, I have an envelope with everybody's name on it alphabetically in the northex. 00:44:45.280 --> 00:44:47.360 I'd love to hand them to you to save on the postage. 00:44:47.440 --> 00:44:50.000 If you miss them, I'll mail them tomorrow, no big deal. 00:44:50.159 --> 00:45:04.000 Um this part is in the letter because I, my mentoring rector, his father was a priest, and he served uh as a priest and a dean of a cathedral, and I've talked to the Reverend Jim McGill here about this a number of times. 00:45:04.079 --> 00:45:20.079 And what Edward told me in his experience is that the people who choose, who really choose to give of their time and their wisdom and their finances, depending how it goes, he said, you know, Mike, uh in my experience, the people who are the most generous are the healthiest people. 00:45:20.320 --> 00:45:22.000 And I said, Well, why do you think that is? 00:45:22.159 --> 00:45:24.159 He said, Because generosity is good for you. 00:45:24.239 --> 00:45:27.039 And I just, I had never thought of it that. 00:45:27.199 --> 00:45:31.760 Of course, what we all realize is generosity is good for the rest of us. 00:45:31.920 --> 00:45:41.039 And I have to tell you, one of the things I love about serving in this community is that people don't ask me, Well, why'd you drive to Katie to go visit that that member? 00:45:41.440 --> 00:45:47.840 We understand that ministry involves having somebody who can drive to Katie to visit people. 00:45:48.159 --> 00:45:56.320 We understand that celebrating funerals for people we've never met before is a gift, is God's gift to the community. 00:45:56.639 --> 00:45:57.519 You know that. 00:45:58.000 --> 00:46:01.280 And your generosity and your support make that happen. 00:46:01.519 --> 00:46:03.199 So I just want to encourage you. 00:46:03.280 --> 00:46:16.639