We have choices this week. We could defer All Saints' Day to Sunday and use these readings. Or we could stick with the lectionary readings for Proper 27A(32A).
SO is it Revelation and the martyred saints who will be visiting you? OR Joshua exhorting the people to make a choice? or those foolish brisdesmaids who forgot to invest:
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| from Agnusday |
Another option that may be feeding some of us is that this is the Sunday before November 11. In many Canadian churches that means we will be talking about war dead and peace. Is that true in the US?
Or maybe the ongoing Occupy_________ movement still calls to touch our sermons:
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| I got this from Facebook, I don't know the original source |
At any rate, since this is All Saints' Day I offer a chance for us all to pray together: (prayer source)
God of the ages,
your saints who lived in faithful service
surround your throne
and offer you praise and worship both night and day.
May we, your saints on earth,
join our voices with theirs to proclaim
your rule of righteousness and peace,
which comes to us through Jesus Christ
now and forever. Amen.
Oh and anyone have some leftover Halloween chocolate they want me to "take care" of?????
Aloha! I chose the Joshua reading for the first lesson and am using the Wisdom (Episcopal) option for the Canticle (instead of a Psalm.) I am going to preach on the Epistle to talk about the rapture - I have no idea what I'm going to say yet.
ReplyDeleteWil...the rapture: according to theologian Colin Brown (disclaimer that he is a good friend), who may be referencing someone else, the term used for rapture is a very specific one to do with going out to meet a dignitary and bring him into the city. Definitely not any concept of going out and disappearing, a la the popular interpretation. If you would like more on this, I can get it for you.
ReplyDeleteWe are doing All Saints, with baptisms and all sorts of interesting liturgical bits and pieces, all within the context of our monthly children's service which is shorter and more interactive. Still figuring out how to do the sermon!
Betsy, that's all well and good, but the Thes text talks about the living (granted it meant the immediate hearers) "caught up in the clouds." It may well be redefining the term παρουσια along with some of the other passages, using it for common and uncommon arrivals. The NT authors were notorious for adapting established language to communicate their developing religion. There's also the issue of many people having a notion of what the rapture is apart from the text (more of an issue in my experience in my black congregations). It's a challenging text because of the "we who are alive" claims mixed with the "dead in Christ" promises. We'll see what I come up with.
ReplyDeleteI'm not ordained to preach but I went with another member of my religious Order to Occupy Philadelphia last Sunday. It was a very powerful experience.
ReplyDeleteI am going with the All Saints' option. And maybe working in some Remebrance/Armistice Day references. My early thoughts are here
ReplyDeleteAfter three weeks of not preaching [study leave and annual leave] I am focussing on All Saints this week. No idea of direction at the moment, but I have asked a teenager in the congregation to play 'when the saints go marching in' on the saxophone.
ReplyDeleteI went with All Saints Day last week, but with stewardship themes thrown in, too - - using the saints in our lives as examples of people who shared themselves and their blessings with others. This week we have a baptism, communion, and a few other things, too, so my sermon will be very very minimal in the service. Oh well. It's not the only way the gospel is proclaimed, right?
ReplyDeleteMy plan is to use the Psalm for the day that talks about telling the generations and children about God's wonderful work, etc, etc. I'll tie that into the baptism and communion as ways we tell and participate in the story of God's grace.
Because of Advent special services, a family wedding, and Christmas, after this "odd" Sunday, I only have 3 normal weeks to preach before a vacation and cruise in January. Holy cow that is so do-able!!!
We'll be going with All Saints this Sunday with candles and incense and chant - Oh my! Singing a song of the saints of God and preaching how the saints in light are connected with the saints on earth.
ReplyDeleteDoing All Saints this week! I had to preach at an ecumenical service on Tuesday, so now I feel two days behind normal... ugh. At least I'm not going out of town this weekend! I guess I'll try to be gentle on myself even as I know I'll be working Friday and Saturday.
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