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Sermon
September 25, 2005
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An Instructed Eucharist Offered in Place of
a Sermon at St. Stephen's Church on September 25, 2005.
This Instructed
Eucharist was prepared by the Rev. Cork Tarplee and
delivered at the 10 a.m. service by the Rev. Cork Tarplee,
the Rev. Herb Tinning and The Rev. Lynn Czarniecki
Entrance Hymn
CORK : Our service this morning is an
“instructed Eucharist.” As we proceed with our normal church service, we will
pause occasionally for commentary that explains what we are doing and the
meaning behind it. Providing our commentary this morning will be our two
deacons, the Rev. Herb Tinning and the Rev. Lynn Czarniecki. Later we’ll say more about what a deacon is
and does, Here’s Lynn
with our first commentary:
LYNN : Our worship service is like a drama or a play in which everyone
takes part. The goal of the service is
to take us out of our everyday lives for a little while and to give us a
glimpse of heaven. We have just started
our drama with an overture—just like a Broadway show—John played a “Prelude” on the organ designed to put us in a worshipful mood. Then
the action of our play began with a parade, a symbolic procession out of the
work-a-day world into our sacred space. Next we’ll remind ourselves that God is
present with us, and then celebrate God’s presence with a song of praise. Then
we will say the Collect of the Day that states the theme of our readings. Our service begins on page 355 in the prayer
book.
Opening Sentence
Collect for Purity,
Gloria, Collect of the Day
HERB: The first
major part of our worship service is called “The Word of God” because it sets
the scene for our drama in the words of the Bible. Readers from the
congregation read selections taken from three parts of scripture: first from
anywhere in the Hebrew scripture, then from that special part of the Hebrew
Bible called the Psalms—these were the scriptures used when Jesus was growing
up. Next we will read from the Epistles—letters written to local congregations
in the early days when Christianity was just forming. After that we read the Gospel. The Gospel receives special treatment because
its account of Jesus’ life and teachings is the most sacred part of the Bible
to us. We’ll introduce the Gospel with a
hymn and another parade. The procession
from the altar to the congregation symbolizes the good news coming to God’s
people. A deacon reads the Gospel. In the early church one of the deacon’s
duties was to teach new Christians about Jesus.
Reading the Gospel is one of the ways deacons today continue to teach
us. Let’s listen to the readings.
The Readings
The Sequence Hymn
The Gospel
The Sermon Hymn
CORK : The commentary on our service
takes the place of a real sermon today.
Normally the sermon amplifies the Bible readings and helps us relate
them to everyday life. That prepares us
to respond to God. But first,
immediately after the sermon, there is a summary of faith, the Nicene
Creed. This balanced statement of faith
follows the sermon to fill in any gaps the preacher might have left. Then our
first response to God’s word is to pray the “Prayers of the People.” You may have noticed that we ask the whole
congregation to participate in these prayers so that they truly reflect the concerns
we all share. We end the prayers with a
special prayer of confession, opening our hearts to God. And whenever we open our hearts to God, we
also open them to all of God’s people.
Naturally the confession is followed by the passing of the peace—a time
for us to greet the people around us, especially those from whom we are
estranged and those whom we do not know very well. We continue with the Nicene Creed on page
358.
The Nicene Creed
The Prayers of the
People
Confession &
Absolution
The Peace
Announcements
Offertory Sentence:
“Walk in love…”
HERB: Having done
all we can to be in a state of love and charity with our neighbors, we now move
into the second great section of our service: the Eucharist--a Greek word
meaning, “The Great Thanksgiving.” We
begin by preparing to have a meal together—the way families often do when they
gather for special occasions like birthdays or Thanksgiving Day. The ushers bring to the altar bread and
wine—in the same way they will in a moment bring money. Both the money and elements are offerings
that represent our lives and labors. In a symbolic way, then, we place our very
lives on the altar. As you will see, we
will pray that God will transform the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of
Christ and at the same time we will pray that God will also transform us, so that we will become Christ’s
body, serving the World in His name. The
deacon, acting as a servant--which is what deacons are called to be--sets the
table.
Offertory Anthem
Doxology
Sursum
Corda
Sanctus
LYNN : The celebrant has just started
the long prayer which “consecrates” or sets apart the bread and wine and sets
apart those who will receive it as “holy food for holy people.” The prayer begins with a dialogue between the
celebrant and the congregation. Ancient
Jewish blessings took a dialogue form like this. The dialogue included our
special reasons for being thankful, and it ended with the song “Holy, holy,
holy,” called in Latin, “the Sanctus.”
Now, after the Sanctus, our prayer will recall the most important thing
we have to be thankful for, Jesus’ giving his life for us. In a symbolic way, time telescopes at this
part of the prayer. We remember that
Jesus began the tradition of Holy Communion at the Last Supper and the priest
will hold up the bread and wine at this point in imitation of Jesus. The ancients called this part of the prayer
the Anamnesis—the reverse of amnesia—more than a memory, a fresh calling into
the present the things that happened.
Then the priest will invoke the Holy Spirit on the bread and wine and on
the congregation, making the sign of the cross first over the elements and then
over all of us. The prayer of consecration ends with the Lord’s Prayer, the
breaking of bread, and the reception of the “holy food and drink” by all the
people. The part of the prayer after the
Sanctus is considered the most sacred part.
Some people prefer to kneel as a sign of devotion for this part of the
prayer, but the Prayer Book also encourages people to stand—in the most ancient
posture of prayer and the posture the celebrant uses—for this part. You may now kneel or remain standing as you
prefer.
Post Sanctus
Memorial Acclamation
Lord’s Prayer
Fraction
Post Communion Prayer
CORK : Our service is almost
over. We have eaten at God’s table in a
symbolic banquet that reminds us of the great feast of Heaven. “A great feast,” by the way, is what Jesus
most often compared heaven to—a feast to which all are invited whether they
think they deserve it or not. We have
just said a special prayer thanking God for accepting us as God’s household and
praying for the strength and courage to go out into the world as more loving
people. Next the priest will pronounce a
blessing or benediction on the congregation, reminding us that we are
loved. The blessing I use balances male
and female imagery and so reminds us that God’s love extends to all of us
equally. After the blessing we’ll have
another symbolic parade. Now we move back out of the sanctuary, out into the
world. The deacon will dismiss us, reminding us, as deacons always do, that all
of us are called to serve.