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Welcome and Theme Julie: Good morning. Welcome to the fourth Sunday of Lent and our celebration of Living in the Light. Not just the light from the sun, returning as spring approaches, but the light of the Holy One, the light of our souls.
Opening Prayer and Peace Julie: Let’s take a moment to make the transition from the world of busyness and things to the world of the spirit. I invite you to close your eyes and rest for a moment. Holy One, surround each of us with your light. Let it warm us and help us bloom into the fullness of our being. Let us find it in ourselves to answer your call to live in the light. AMEN.
Opening Song: Anthem by Tom Conry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP2gwC5TGFs
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Reading 1 Mike:
A reading from Saving Jesus From the Church.
We have been travelling down the creedal road of Christendom since the 4th century when a first century spiritual insurgency was seduced into marrying its original oppressor. Before there were Bishops lounging at the table of power, there were ordinary fishermen who forsook ordinary lives to follow an itinerant sage down a path that was not obvious, sensible or safe.
In the beginning, the call of God was not propositional. It was experiential. It was as palpable as wine and wineskins, lost coins and frightened servants, and a tearful father. Students who once learned by following the teacher became true believers who confuse certainty with faith.
We have a sacred story to tell that has been stolen from us, and in our time the thief is what passes as orthodoxy itself (right belief instead of right worship). Arguing over beliefs divides us, but agreeing to following the essential teachings of Jesus could unite us. We could become imitators, not believers.
Those two roads that “diverged in a yellow wood” not so long ago looked equally fair but now one is well worn. It is the road of The Fall and redemption, original sin and the Savior. The other is the road of enlightenment, wisdom, creation-centered spirituality, and transformation. This is the road less travelled and it seeks not to save our souls but to restore them.
Our task is to let the breath of the Galilean sage fall on the neck of the Church again not by listening to formulas of salvation but to a gospel that is all but forgotten. After centuries of being told that “Jesus saves,” the time has come to save Jesus from the church.
These are the inspired words of Robin Meyers, author of Saving Jesus From the Church, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Response before Gospel (Alleluia / Spirit of the Living God) Dennis
Gospel Joan:
A reading from the gospel of John.
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Chosen One must be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in the Chosen One might have eternal life.
Yes, God so loved the world as to give the Only Begotten One,
that whoever believes may not die but have eternal life.
God sent the Only Begotten into the world not to condemn the world,
but that through the Only Begotten the world might be saved.
Whoever believes in the Only Begotten avoids judgment,
but whoever doesn’t believe is judged already
for not believing in the name of the Only Begotten of God.
On these grounds is sentence pronounced:
that though the light came into the world,
people showed they preferred darkness to the light
because their deeds were evil.
Indeed, people who do wrong hate the light
and avoid it, for fear their actions will be exposed;
But people who live by the truth come out into the light,
so that it may be plainly seen that what they do is done in God.”
These are the inspired words of the anonymous storyteller we call John and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Homily Starter Dave
Today’s gospel includes some of the most beautiful and well-known words of scripture: “For God so loved the world as to give the only begotten one.” And especially in these challenging times, I find it comforting to remember that the Divine is not some far off detached entity, but a loving one.
This gospel, however, can also be confusing and open to misinterpretation. The first reading refers to changes in thinking that occurred from 1st to the 4th century when Christianity was given legal status from the Roman Emperor and the Church altered its messaging in response to the power struggles and politics of the time.
Such changes likely explain the traditional interpretation of the Gospel reading, and one that many of us may have heard when growing up: If we say that we believe, we will be saved and live eternally. Those who do not believe will be condemned.
Let’s examine this popular but most likely incorrect interpretation, along with the meaning of the terms saved and eternal life, using 1st century thinking.
First, salvation is a gift from God, not something earned. God’s love is not conditional. At the same time, as people of free will we may choose to accept the invitation to live in the light and to bring the light or, as we all do at times, we may choose the darkness. Even then, God does not judge or condemn. But by our own choices we sometimes limit ourselves to a life that is so much less than it could be.
Many of us were taught that being saved meant saved from some original sin and that eternal life referred to living on in heaven after we die. But scripture scholars tell us that John viewed salvation as removing barriers that we have created between ourselves and the Divine and that eternal life actually referred to living in a recreated earth in the here and now. One scholar notes that many gospel verses that were speaking about the earth were “spiritualized” in order to fit the false idea of an everlasting home in heaven.
Also, the gospel never intended for us to be focused on our own personal salvation but rather the salvation of all peoples. Biblical commentator Almquist puts it this way: “The goal of life should be our transformation into the image of Jesus, working to bring this recreated earth to the hungry, the poor, the sick, and those living at the margins of life.”
And what about the word believe, which appears five times in these seven verses. Again, an interpretation that is not consistent with the gospel writer’s intention could suggest that all we have to do is believe and, as we know, many people take false comfort in the idea that the only requirement for eternal life is to name Jesus as their savior.
The insurrectionists who stormed the Capital building on January 6th carried a large wooden cross, blasted Christian music through speakers, carried signs saying “Jesus saves” and, once inside the Capital building, gathered in a circle holding hands, praying to Jesus for strength. Believing is easy; living in the light and bringing it to all peoples is not.
According to the author of the first reading, the question is not if we believe in Jesus but rather if we can follow Jesus, not are we are saved but rather are we radically disturbed and transformed by the presence of Jesus. And finally, when our faith becomes a journey toward wisdom and compassion, rather than a system of creeds and consequences, there is hope for the world.
We welcome your shared wisdom on the readings. Please remember to unmute yourself before you begin and then mute yourself when you are done.
Shared Reflections
Thank you/wrap up: Julie
Statement of Faith Susan:
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
Julie: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we share our intentions.
Dennis reads the intentions gathered from the community
Katie: With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer in one voice:
O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us as we set our hearts on belonging to you. May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all creation.
You know our limitations and our essential goodness and you love us as we are. You beckon us to your compassionate heart and inspire us to see the good in others and forgive their limitations. Acknowledging your presence in each other and in all of creation, we sing:
Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
Mary: Guiding Spirit, when opposing forces in us tug and pull and we are caught in the tension of choices, inspire us to make wise decisions toward what is good.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus, and for all our sisters and brothers who have modeled for us a way to live and love in challenging times. Inspired by them, we choose life over death, we choose to be light in dark times.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are ever aware of your Spirit in us and among us at this Eucharistic table and we are grateful for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world.
Dave: 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.
All lift the plate and pray:
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, this is my very self.
(pause)
All lift the cup and pray:
Julie: 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)
We share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity.
Please receive communion saying: I am / We are the Face of the Holy One.
Communion Song: Stand in the Light by Jordan Smith .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDrOVOoTjRU
Prayer after Communion Dave:
Holy One, your transforming energy is within us and we join our hearts with all who are working for a just world. We pray for wise leaders in our religious communities. We pray for courageous and compassionate leaders in our world communities.
We pray for all of us gathered here and like Jesus, we open ourselves up to your Spirit, for it is through living as he lived that we awaken to your Spirit within,
moving us to glorify you, at this time and all ways.
Amen.
Ed: 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
Julie: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing:
ALL: May the Fire of Love ignite our hearts and radiate through us.
May the Spirit truth and justice burn within us.
May we continue to be the face of the Holy One, and
May we be a blessing in our time.
AMEN.
Closing Song: Be a Light by Thomas Rhett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nifQoIgCRgo-
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