phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Katie:
Welcome and Theme:
Welcome to the Upper Room for the second Sunday of Easter. Our theme today, “touching the wounds” invites us to ponder the lessons of the risen Christ in scripture and in our present day.
Donna:
Opening Prayer:
Holy One we give thanks for the power of resurrection that continues to call us to rise up not only after our death, but every day of our lives. Help us move beyond our daily toils. Help us move beyond the mountains we face each day. Help us join you in the resurrection and find peace in our lives. Amen.
Opening Song: Namaste by Mark Hayes and Dominique Danielle
Liturgy of the Word
Readings
Mary Theresa:
First Reading: An adaptation from The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen
Many of us suffer because of the false belief on which we have based our lives, that there should be no fear or loneliness, no confusion or doubt. But these sufferings can only be dealt with creatively when they are understood as wounds integral to our human condition. Therefore, let us not live with illusions of immortality and wholeness. We need to live in a way where we remember that we are mortal and broken, but also that with the recognition of this condition, liberation starts. When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them into a common search for life, those very pains are transformed from expressions of despair into signs of hope. Thus, we can be a witness to the living truth that the wound, which causes us to suffer now, will be revealed to us later as the place where God announces a new creation.
These are the inspired words of Henri Nouwen and the community affirms them by saying: Amen
Alleluia: Dennis
Mary Brandon
Gospel: John 20:19-31
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were locked in the room where the disciples were for fear of the Temple authorities. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Having said this, the savior showed them the marks of crucifixion. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw Jesus, who said to them again, “Peace be with you . As Abba God sent me, so I’m sending you.”
After saying this, Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.”
It happened that one of the Twelve, Thomas - nicknamed Didymus, or Twin”- was absent when Jesus came. The other disciples kept telling him, “We’ve seen Jesus!” Thomas’ answer was, “I’ll never believe it without putting my finger in the nail marks and my hand into the spear wound.”
On the eighth day, the disciples were once more in the room, and this time Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors, Jesus came and stood before them, saying, “Peace be with you.” Then, to Thomas, Jesus said, “Take your finger and examine my hands. Put your hand into my side. Don’t persist in your unbelief, but believe!” Thomas said in response, “My Savior and my God!” Jesus then said, “You’ve become a believer because you saw me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus performed many other signs as well-signs not recorded here - in the presence of the disciples. But these have been recorded to help you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Only Begotten, so that by believing you may have life in Jesus’ name.
These are the inspired words from the gospel of John and the community affirms them by saying: Amen
Shared Homily - Homily starter by Katie
We staggered back up the mountain thinking we had survived without injury, but Sharla pointed at something hanging from my arm. I looked down and thought at first that there was a large piece of the white garbage bags, clinging to my skin. As I started to peel it off, I felt a stinging pain and discovered that it was not a piece of plastic; it was my skin hanging from my severely burned forearm. When we got back to Sharla’s house, I was rushed to an after hours clinic where a doctor confirmed that I had a third degree burn from the exhaust pipe that would require some extra care in the next few weeks. I had lost a large section of skin and gravel had been ground deep into the layers of muscle on my arm. I soon learned that the accident itself was not as traumatic as the days that followed.
Three times a day, either my parents or the school nurse would pour blood-red betadine on my wound, rub off the dying, damaged layers of flesh in order to extract the pieces of gravel...bit by bit. The doctor had warned that if we did not remain vigilant during the healing process, and clean the wound, that my skin might try to close up over the pieces of gravel, and then my arm would become infected. I distinctly remember this terribly-painful daily ritual where my wound had to be reopened over and over to pull out every speck of gravel. It took a couple of weeks to remove all the foreign matter. The wound would heal; the scar remains.
In today’s gospel, the resurrected Jesus invites Thomas and the Disciples to see and touch his wounds. If we are to try to be more like Jesus, then I believe we too need to be willing to reveal our wounds and our scars as well. External, physical wounds are one thing, but even more importantly, I believe that we also cannot ignore our internal wounds.
My husband, Steve, and I adopted our daughter Brooklyn out of the foster care system when she was ten years old. She came to us with many internal wounds from years of abandonment and abuse. The doctors had labeled her with five mental health disorders and had her on three medications to help regulate her erratic behaviors. She had gotten kicked out of nine foster homes, but Brook was determined to find a way to succeed in making our house her "forever home,” so she committed to several years of intense trauma therapy where she was encouraged to tell her story. Week after week, she experienced a painful re-opening of her many internal wounds. Many painful pieces of her life were carefully extracted in order to process and heal.
After three intense years, my husband and I began to notice significant changes in Brook. Medications were no longer needed to help her regulate her behaviors and wild mood swings. She began to bond with us, and most of the mental health labels no longer seemed appropriate or like they had miraculously disappeared. When Brook committed to working on her inner wounds, it was as though she underwent her own personal resurrection. Bit by bit, with professional help, Brook has worked on healing those internal wounds, and although the scars remain, they do not define who she is. Today, Brook is working on her Bachelors in Social Work. You see, in our resurrected state, once our wounds turn into beautifully-healed scars, we become healthy enough to help others with their wounds. We carry our scars forever as visible reminders of our stories, of where we’ve been, what we have survived, and what we have overcome in our own experience of resurrection. When others are able to see them, like our first reading says today, they can be used for good...to mobilize hope and a new creation.
If you have ever taken a speech class, you know that when a word or phrase is repeated several times by the speaker, it's time to pay attention. In today’s gospel, Jesus says three times: “Peace be with you.” In Jesus’s resurrected state, beyond death, beyond suffering, perfect peace is found. When we choose to move through the painful healing process of our internal wounds, we too can reach a resurrection state of mind where perfect peace is found. Like the Resurrected Jesus, our wounds are part of who we are, but do not have to define what we become.
Statement of Faith (Dotty and Joan)
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
(Written by Jay Murnane)
Donna:
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 prayers for the community.
Dennis:
Prayers for the community.
Donna:
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Katie: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together.
Blessed are you, Holy One, source of all creation. Through your goodness you made this world and called us to be Your co-creators. We give thanks for the diversity and beauty of life around us and within us.
We open our awareness to the goodness of all of creation and we remember our responsibility to serve. You invite us to build the earth into a community of love rooted in justice. You placed confidence in us, for you made us and you know that we are good.
In joy and in thanksgiving we join with all the faithful servants who have gone before us and we sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy
Katie:
We thank you for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, revealing you as God-With-Us, and revealing us as one with you and all of creation.
He lived among us to show us who we are and challenged us to know you. He taught us the strength of compassionate love.
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 died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet, so that they would re-member him.
All lift their plates and pray the following:
Donna:
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 their cups and pray the following:
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 become Communion, both love’s nourishment and love’s challenge.
You are called, consecrated, and chosen to serve.
Please receive Communion.
Communion Song: Impossible Dream written by Leigh Mitch, Darion Joseph
Prayer after communion:
Katie:
Holy One, we are willing to do everything Jesus did, to re-create the living presence of a love that does justice, of a compassion that heals and liberates, of a joy that generates hope, of a light that illumines people and confronts the darkness of every injustice and inequity.
We trust you to continue to share with us your own spirit, the spirit that animated Jesus, for it is through his life and teaching, all honor and glory is yours, O Holy One, forever and ever. Amen.
All: Amen.
Donna:
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
Katie: Let us raise our hands in blessing pray together:
May we continue to be the face of God to each other. May we call each other to extravagant generosity! May we walk with an awareness of our Call as companions on the journey, knowing we are not alone. May we, like Jesus, be a shining light and a blessing in our time! Amen.
Closing Song: Lean On Me by Bill Withers
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