Here is the Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Should you not be able to connect via ZOOM, here is the phone-in information (audio only).
Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
LITURGY: We Are One
Welcome and Theme
Welcome to the Upper Room. Whether you are a longtime friend or new with us today, you are most welcome. Our theme today is a challenging one for many of us. It has to do with how we can cull the gifts of these turbulent days we are living in. We face a pandemic of fear fertilized by political and social unrest, COVID-19, personal and communal tragedies and illness, and uncertainty about what our future holds. Wisdom teachers of all traditions and across cultures invite the seeker to find that space within the self that no circumstance can touch. In the words of Pema Chödrön: “Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.”
Let us ponder together.
Opening Prayer:
Loving God
Open our minds and touch our hearts,
so that we may attend to your gift of creation.
Help us to show creative solidarity in addressing the
consequences of this global pandemic.
Make us courageous to embrace the changes that are
needed in search of the common good.
Now more that ever may we feel that we are all
interconnected and interdependent.
Enable us to listen and respond to the cry of the earth
and the cry of the poor.
May the present sufferings be the birth pangs of a more fraternal and sustainable world.
Amen (Excerpt from Laudato Si)
Opening Song: Dance Then Wherever You May Be, Lyrics by John Ogrodowczyk
I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced in the Moon, and the stars, and the Sun
I came to the Earth and I danced on the sea
From the dust of stars I came to be.
Dance then, wherever you may be
I Am the Life in your dance you see!
And I'll lead you all, and you will dance with me,
For I am Life, The Great Mystery!
I danced for the strong and I danced for the weak,
I danced for those who wouldn't dance with me,
I danced for the rich and I danced for the poor,
I danced till the king’s gold lustered no more.
Dance then, wherever you may be
I Am Life, The Great Mystery!
And I'll lead you all wherever you may be
and I lead you all in your dance with me.
I danced in the springtime, in the summer and fall
I danced when the cold winds blew in winter's call
I danced in the rain under rainbow's bend,
I danced in the sun to horizon's end.
Dance then, wherever you may be
I Am the Life in your dance you see!
And I'll lead you all, and you will dance with me,
For I am Life, The Great Mystery!
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading
I believe the spirituality we are being called to at this time in our history is to go deeper…..to be forced to fall within ourselves , to be in touch with nature, the earth and the amazing revelation of creation. We have a Christian tradition of hermits- desert mothers and fathers- who withdrew from the world and spent much of their lives in seclusion and prayer. Julian of Norwich lived in a cell for 30 years. St Charles de Foucauld, who was once a playboy , spent most of the rest of his life as a hermit in the Sahara desert. Withdrawal, prayer and solitude are pre-requisites for discernment and a deeper understanding of our own call in life. We don’t need to go to the desert or hide in a cell- but we do need to stay home and listen…….to discover the value of no-thing and the potential wisdom of silence and deep listening. Maybe now we can sit down, wait for our souls to catch up, and give God space to love and comfort us in the pain of our struggling world: “Let your God Love you….” (Psalm 59)
These are the inspired words of Edwina Gateley, contemporary prophet, and the community affirms these truths by saying “AMEN”
Second Reading
Life is a good teacher and a good friend. Things are always in transition, if we could only realize it. Nothing ever sums itself up in the way that we like to dream about. The off-center, in-between state is an ideal situation, a situation in which we don’t get caught and we can open our hearts and minds beyond limit. It’s a very tender, nonaggressive, open-ended state of affairs.
To stay with that shakiness — to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge — that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic — this is the spiritual path. Getting the knack of catching ourselves, of gently and compassionately catching ourselves, is the path of the warrior. We catch ourselves one zillion times as once again, whether we like it or not, we harden into resentment, bitterness, righteous indignation — harden in any way, even into a sense of relief, a sense of inspiration. Fear is a universal experience. Even the smallest insect feels it. We wade in the tidal pools and put our finger near the soft, open bodies of sea anemones and they close up. Everything spontaneously does that. It’s not a terrible thing that we feel fear when faced with the unknown. It is part of being alive, something we all share. We react against the possibility of loneliness, of death, of not having anything to hold on to. Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.
If we commit ourselves to staying right where we are, then our experience becomes very vivid. Things become very clear when there is nowhere to escape.
These are the inspired words of Pema Chodron, and the community affirms these truths by saying “AMEN”
Gospel Acclamation
Gospel Mark 4:38-40
Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
These are the inspired words of the author known as Mark and the community affirms them by saying “AMEN”.
Homily Starter
There are many times in life when I act like I forget that I believe in anything at all. Anything of value that is. Crisis’ come, conflicts occur with family, friends or colleagues, political winds blow and threaten to destroy what I hold dear, loved ones get sick, some die, AIDS and now Covid threatens the lives of thousands if not millions, the economy tanks, jobs are being lost and so on. Like the disciples in the boat, I so easily panic, get caught up in hurts, terror, and anger. Just like the disciples who acted like Jesus didn’t care and all would be lost, I act like chicken little declaring “the sky is falling” with each emotional trigger. The spiritual challenge for our time , I
believe, is to learn the discipline of “remembering”. Remembering that Nothing, no situation that we label as good or bad is permanent. All that is permanent is Love. The Love we call God. There is a place in us where the holy one dwells that is beyond time, space, and circumstance. But what do we do when the icy grip of fear about the next election, disease, economics, relentless low self-esteem and insecurity, or any unforeseen threats squeezes our hearts and makes it hard to breathe?
The most common phrase in scripture is “Be Not Afraid”. So, if we are people of faith, what do we do with fear? Fear is at pandemic levels right now. Edwina Gateley in our first reading encourages us to think of the value of solitude. Not as something to be dreaded or rejected but used as a time-honored opportunity to deeply listen to our call.
There was a group of African porters carrying the baggage of European explorers in Africa in the 1940s. At some point, the porters sat down and refused to continue on the
journey. When pressed by the Europeans, they said, we are waiting for our souls to catch up. We study and admire the mystics of many traditions but are we willing to do what they did in order to get what they got? Stop, sit down, listen, wait, notice, return again and again, face everything there is to face and let our God love us? If we are willing to do this as a practice, our souls catch up and we will find the true meaning of Be Not Afraid.
Pema Chodron however reminds us that everyone does feel fear. It is normal. The spiritual traditions of Christianity and Buddhism, like most paths, ask us to be Mindful of whatever shows up when we stop running and distracting ourselves with tv, reading, alcohol, shopping, talking, compulsive meditating…..anything that takes us out of the moment. Just as a mirror reflects whatever is in front of it, without judgement, we are called to notice whatever thoughts and feelings that arise. But
remembering that mirrors do not hold on to the image it reflects, so are we called not to grab on to whatever we notice in contemplation. We cannot embody “Be Not Afraid” if we hitch our mental and emotional wagon to every thought and emotion that arises. Like waves crashing on a shore, they are impermanent. We detach so that we can allow what Buddhism calls annihilation. That is, we surrender the small ego “I” in favor of the great “I am”. We live in the space between “no longer and not yet”. In the words of the old hymn, we stand still and let God move. The now is all we have, nothing is for certain except for impermanence of all things but Love. If we live like we really believe this stuff, how differently would we be experiencing our current personal and shared realities?
What did you hear?
Shared Homily
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.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Presider 2: These are the prayer intentions received from the community:
Presider 2: We pray for these and all unspoken concerns of our hearts. Amen.
Presider 1: Let us join with open hands to pray our Eucharistic prayer together:
All: Source of Love and Light, we join in unity of Spirit, love and purpose with Your people everywhere, living and crossed over. With all of creation across billions of galaxies, we open our hearts and souls to become One.
In your loving embrace we are liberated from division, fear, conflict, pride and injustice. We are transformed into wholeness which we resolve to bring to all whose lives we touch. With gratitude, we meld ourselves Your Divine Presence which knows all, shelters all and transforms all into love, abundant and eternal.
In one voice, we praise Your loving, healing ways and the glory of all You have Created:
Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
We thank you, Holy One, for Jesus, a man of courage whose exquisite balance of human and Divine points our way and who strives with us in our time of need. We yearn with passion to live as Jesus, one with you and your Spirit, in peace and justice.
May our desire to be one with You join us to all living things. We seek to heal the differences that isolate us so that we may live in healthful unity with all people, of every ethnicity, skin color, gender orientation or class. May we have the imaginative sympathy and love of Your Spirit to move with courage beyond the confines of bias, miscommunication, ignorance and hurt and into the healing place where Divine light and love abide.
Presider 1: Please extend your hands in blessing of bread and wine.
All: Together, we call on Your Spirit, present in these gifts - bread that satisfies our hunger and wine that quenches our thirst – to make us more deeply One, living in the fullness of holy compassion and Sophia wisdom.
Anticipating the likelihood of betrayal, arrest and pain, Jesus wanted more than anything to be with his friends, to share a meal, exchange stories and create fond memories. To strengthen the bonds of friendship that evening, Jesus washed the feet of his friends in an act of love and humility.
All lift the bread.
All: Back at the table, he took the bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying, Take and eat, this is my very self.
All lift their cups.
Then he took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink of the covenant
Made new again through my life in you.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you. (pause)
All consume their bread and cup
As we celebrate and recognize you in this bread and wine, we recognize you in each other. Sharing the bread of life and wine transforms us and opens us to your Spirit. Knowing that Jesus spent his time with the lowly and hurting, the needy and shunned, we seek to remain open to how we can bring love, healing, and unity to whomever is in need. We ask for the grace to see with the eyes of Jesus, touch with the hands of Jesus and heal with the heart of Jesus. Amen.
Presider 2: Let us join with disciples of all ages to pray together:
O Holy One, who is 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 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 (Miriam Therese Winter)
Presider 2: Our Communion Meditation is God Alone Is Enough by John Michael Talbot
https://youtu.be/_hYRA2PYkos?t=29
Let nothing trouble you
Let nothing frighten you
For everything passes
But God will never change
Patient endurance
Will obtain everything
Whoever has God
Wants for nothing at all
God alone is enough
God alone is enough
Whoever has God
Wants for nothing at all
God alone is enough
God alone is enough
Whoever has God
Wants for nothing at all
Closing Blessing: Presider 1: Please raise your hands in blessing and join together in our closing prayer:
We pray for harmony in the midst of divisiveness and for hope in the middle of hurt. We bless our civic leaders and ourselves and all peoples with a call for harmony and deep peace: May Deep peace be a blessing onto you. May we know the deep peace of the running wave. May we know the deep peace of the flowing air. May we know the deep peace of the quiet earth. May the moon and stars pour their healing light upon us all. Amen.
Closing Song: Let It Be – Lennon/McCartney
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