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Afire with Divine Presence
Welcome: Tonight we will explore the meaning or meanings of the Parable of the Sower. Where do we fit in? How do we see ourselves in this story? Let us begin with our opening prayer.
Opening Prayer: As we gather here this afternoon, let us open our hearts and minds to the gift of grace, given to us freely and lovingly from the Divine to sustain and empower us in our role as co-creators.
Opening Song: The Summons by John L. Bell & Graham Maule
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: Adapted From Diarmuid O’Murchu’s book Ancestral Grace
Some have suggested that human beings are prone to evil and unable to do much about it. This belief then led to the subsequent belief that without a rescuing God, we are all condemned to absolute meaningless and ultimate despair. It is based on these false narratives that the theology of redemption makes sense and grace becomes understood as a supernatural power of rescue, with Jesus as the great rescuer. Sadly, the consequence of this is that we began to lose sight of the blessed, empowering love of God which had flourished in creation for billions of years. The religious reductionism referred to above hardened the otherwise empowering and liberating endowment called grace.
But this is only a development of the past few thousand years. Grace has been triumphant throughout the billions of years of creation’s evolution and throughout the seven million years of our great human story. Despite the horrendous suffering and injustices of our time, people are not convinced that creation is hopelessly flawed. In fact, more than ever before people strive to make the world a better place because innately and intuitively, we know it can be better and it should be better. We can reclaim grace for what it foundationally means in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures: the great gifting power of God nourishing and sustaining everything in being. Redemptive rescue makes sense no longer. Grace abounds, grace sustains, and grace enables us to live gracefully with the paradoxes that characterize creation’s great story.
These are the inspired words of Diarmuid O’Murchu and the community affirms them with AMEN!
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia By Christopher Walker
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel of Matthew (Mt.13: 1-9)
Later that day, Jesus left the house and sat down by the lake shore. Such crowds gathered that he went and took a seat in a boat, while the crowd stood along the shore. He addressed them at length in parables.
One day a farmer went out sowing seed. Some of the seed landed on a footpath, where the birds came and ate it. Some of the seed fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seed sprouted at once since the soil had no depth. But when the sun rose and scorched it, it withered away for lack of roots. Again, some of the seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it. And some of it landed on good soil, and yielded a crop of 30, 60, even 100 times what was sown. Let those who have ears to hear, hear this.
These are the inspired words according to the gospel writer known as Matthew and we affirm these words with AMEN!
(pause)
Shared Homily
When I looked at the Gospel reading for the day I had some concerns. This reading has always made me uncomfortable because I've always found myself wondering which category I fall into in terms of the different soils. It's sort of like when I was a kid in school. Before returning tests one of my teachers would preface it with the following: “Some of you did very well, some of you did average, and some of you did below average.” Of course, the ultimate question is Which group am I in?
Barbara Brown Taylor, from the Center for Action and Contemplation, suggests that perhaps we’ve had things backwards all these years. Rather than being about us, maybe this parable is about the Sower; perhaps it is about the amazing generosity and grace that the divine provides to all. The Divine is never deterred by the conditions, never stingy in sharing seeds to all and never judgmental.
The first reading, adapted from Diarmuid O’Murchu’s book, Ancestral Grace, states that many of us have misunderstood grace based on the misconception, strongly promoted by the traditional church, that humans, by nature, are flawed and need to be saved. From this, it seems logical that grace is some sort of a “supernatural rescue.” Sadly, this view has prevented many of us from understanding that grace is a blessed, generous, loving gift from the Divine that has empowered and celebrated all of creation, even with the flaws and struggles that are part of our history.
The good news is that O’Murchu also states that we can reclaim the true understanding of grace by using what we see as our vulnerabilities in service of others.
This is beautifully illustrated by one of my favorite stories told by Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, in her book Accidental Saints. She describes being invited to speak to an audience of 35,000 (teenagers and parents) at the Lutheran Church’s 2012 National Youth gathering, held in New Orleans. She initially declined the invitation because, in her own words, she is a “sarcastic, heavily tattooed, angry person who swears like a truck driver and has a history of alcoholism, drug abuse and stealing.” After the organization insisted that they still wanted her to speak, she agreed and used the opportunity to remind the young people in attendance that God has always used imperfect people. God, she explained, is present to us in the most ordinary ways: wheat, wine, water and words and the Divine will use all of us, not just our strengths but our failings too, moving us to create something beautiful.
My hope for us all is that will strive anew to embrace the entire mix of who we are, thereby opening ourselves to the gift of grace and allowing us to more fully participate in the sacred works we are called to do.
Statement of Faith
We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.
We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.
We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.
Prayers of the Community
As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
We pray for these and all the unspoken intentions that are in our hearts. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
(Portions from Diarmuid O’Murchu and from ARWCP worship resources)
Holy One, you are always with us. In the blessed abundance of creation, we gather to celebrate Your nourishing gift of life. May our hearts be open to You as You invite us to participate in the wise and wonderful work of co-creation.
May we be ever aware of Your Spirit within and among us as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty into the fullness of life.
We are grateful for Your Spirit whose breath inspired the primal waters, calling into being the variety and abundance we see around us. Your Spirit sustains and animates our every endeavor, inviting us to act in wisdom and in truth.
In gratitude and joy we embrace our calling and we lift our voices to sign a song of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Music - John Bacchus Dykes, words by Peter Mayer, video by Denise Hackert-Stoner
As a community, we gather in the power of your Spirit, refreshing wind, purifying fire and living breath, for the variety and diversity of life. We seek to live as Jesus taught us, wise and holy as Spirit-filled people, courageous and prophetic, ever obedient to your call.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are grateful for your Spirit at our Eucharistic Table and for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world.
On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly with them, he bent down and washed their feet.
lifts the plate
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat, share and go love one another.
(pause)
lifts the cup
Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
(pause)
What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives; as we share communion, we will become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. Please receive the bread and wine with the words: The Holy One’s gift of grace sustains me and nourishes me.
Communion Song: God Beyond All Names by Bernadette Farrell, Video by Denise
https://youtu.be/8K6i08rFlh4?si=J4uEYHk-Gtu_rY4w
Post-Communion Prayer
In union with all peoples living and dead, we unite our thoughts and prayers, asking wisdom and courage to discern more wisely your call to us in the circumstances of our daily lives: to act justly and courageously in confronting the pain and suffering that desecrates the Earth and its peoples; to take risks in being creative and proactive on behalf of the poor and marginalized; and to love all people with generosity of heart, beyond the labels of race, creed and color.
Holy One, your transforming energy is always moving within us and working through us. Like Jesus, we open wide all that has been closed about us, and we live compassionate lives, for it is through living as Jesus lived, that we awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to glorify you,
At this time and all ways.
Amen.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Holy One, you are within, around and among us.
We celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come; your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us,
now and forever, Amen.
Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter
BLESSING
Presider 1: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together.
May we be guided and inspired by the deeply spiritual and loving life force called Grace that enables us, in all of our humanity, to create new paths to love and justice for all people. May we continue to be the face of God for each other. May our light shine for all to see.
All: AMEN
Closing Song: Love Can Build a Bridge by John Jarvis, Naomi Judd and Paul Overstreet
