Instruction III (follows the Children's Sermon)

      The Ministry of the Word continues with the Nicene Creed. We have separated the scripture readings and the sermon from the Creed this morning for the sake of instruction, but the separation is artificial. The saying of the Creed is a response to the whole message of the Word, collect, lessons, and sermon. God has acted to save us. We have heard of that action in Scripture and it has been expanded in terms of today's life in the sermon. Our response is a response of faith. The Creed is an action of the heart as much as it is an action of the head. "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the One who was to come into the world."

      After the Creed we say our prayers. They are meant to be the place where we share the concerns and the hopes of this community with each other and with God. They are the Prayers of the People and that is underlined in that they are usually led by the lector from the midst of the congregation.

      There are 7 different forms for the Prayers of the People in the Prayer Book, and we use them on a seasonal basis. During the eight o'clock service, Rite 1 has as one of its options for the prayers of the people printed in that section of the liturgy. This year we are using a form which fits the flow of the Rite one style. Actually the Prayers can be written anew every week; the 7 forms are merely suggested uses. Regardless of the form, in each one we pray for the Church. We pray for the world. We pray for the sick and suffering. We pray for those who have died. In most of the forms there is an opportunity of silence for the people to add particular concerns to make the prayers truly the prayers of the people. Those specific concerns may be added by anyone in the congregation. They may be silent, but they may also be spoken aloud so that the whole congregation joins in the care as well as the prayer. It is most appropriate to pray for concerns about the church when we pray for the Church, to remember specific people who are sick when we pray for the sick, and so on. I would suggest that we as a congregation begin to feel more free in regards to verbally adding our individual voices to the prayers. This year during Lent we are using a form of the Prayers of the People taken from the Anglican Church in New Zealand's Book of Common Prayer.

      Following the Prayers, we then kneel and confess our sins. God's action of love evokes in us two responses: a response of gratitude and an overwhelming sense that this is not something we have earned, not is it something we deserve. We have fallen short of the love that Jesus calls us to. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have failed to carry forth into the world the transformation that God has wrought within us.

      The priest then stands and pronounces God's absolution. The priest does not forgive us; God forgives us. But, on the other hand, what the priest does is not to say a prayer hoping that God will forgive us. The priest is specifically ordained to pronounce God's forgiveness. We have been given a promise by God and we lay claim to that promise. As you know, when using the Penitential order, as we are during Lent, the confession is said at the opening of the liturgy.

      On some occasions, especially in times of particular celebration such as Easter Day, and the Season following Easter, the confession and absolution may be omitted.

      We then exchange the Peace. The Peace is not a social time inserted into the middle of the liturgy. It is not the coffee hour brought into Church. The purpose of the Peace is not to talk about who's doing well in Spring Training, or the new restaurant we tried last night. It is a time to express the redemption that we share. There are many differences that separate us, not only from others in the world, but from each other as well. The thing that unites us above all other things is that each of us stands in the need of forgiveness, and that we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and reconciled with God and with each other. The Peace we share isn't just good fellowship. It is deep Peace rooted in the love of God and in the mighty acts of God.

      To share the Peace is an act of obedience. Is has nothing to do with liking each other. However, we cannot love God and not love each other. And we love each other not because of our own strength or charity, but because God loves us.