Upper Room Liturgy - Season of Creation - Week 5 - The Harmony of Creation, September 26, 2021 - Presiders: Kim Panaro, ARCWP and Phillis Isabella Sheppard

Please join us between 9:30 and 9:55 am via Zoom
Here is the Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155

Phillis: Introduction of Theme: 

Welcome to all here present.  We gather this day to celebrate Creation, reminding ourselves that we are a part of creation and have been provided the opportunity to care for this planet we call home.  We reflect today on our role as co-creators and care-givers of the Earth, and the call to bring harmony to all that we touch with the love and beauty with which the Holy One graces Her creation. 

Let us celebrate with joy the indwelling of our God among us and all of creation.  Welcome, sisters and brothers, to the table where broken word and bread nourish us and feed our spirit.  

Opening Song:  Everyday God

https://youtu.be/G2c__bXpPAw  

Kim: Opening Prayer:

Creator, Source of all that we are, we gather to honor your Creation as an integrated and holy system of plant, animal and human life placed lovingly side by side with water, air, wind, and earth. We pray for the imagination and resolve to establish a supportive ecology so that all of Creation may not just survive but thrive as a continuing sign of your wondrous love. Amen.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

Phillis: First Reading: 

A reading by Rainer Maria Rilke 

Go to the Limits of Your Longing

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,

then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,

go to the limits of your longing.

Embody me.

Flare up like a flame

and make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.

Just keep going. No feeling is final.

Don’t let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.

You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.

These are the inspired words of Rainer Maria Rilke and the community affirms them by saying: Amen

Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia

Gospel:  A reading from the Gospel of Mark

At that time, John said to Jesus,

"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,

and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."

Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name

who can at the same time speak ill of me.

For whoever is not against us is for us.

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink

because you belong to Christ, 

amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,

it would be better for him if a great millstone

were put around his neck

and he were thrown into the sea.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter into life maimed

than with two hands to go into Gehenna,

into the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.

It is better for you to enter into life crippled

than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.

Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye

than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,

where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’”

These are the inspired words from the gospel of Mark and the community affirms them by saying: Amen

Shared Homily: Kim Panaro

“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.” 

When we read our often repeated parts of liturgy, I often wonder if I am paying enough attention to the meaning of the words. Do I really let them sink in and allow them to challenge or transform my consciousness? In this season of creation, this section of our statement of faith speaks to me. What does it mean or ask of me to have eyes to see it, hearts to receive it and hands to make it happen? During this past month, we have celebrated the beauty of nature in which we find so much peace, connection and meaning. Still, I can’t help but think that there is another dimension to the lessons of nature. 

In pondering the natural world, one of the things to notice is that nature accepts all cycles. Every season allows both death and life to co-exist. Nature does not reject anything. As our beautiful poem from Rilke teaches, God creates us to allow everything to happen, both beauty and terror. We need not fear or avoid feelings because all feelings will end, none are permanent. We don’t need to spend our lives hiding or justifying our lesser angels. We are called to transform them, knowing that any accompanying emotions are temporary. 

Animals are such good role models. In nature, animals, unless they are diseased, do not do anything that is not in alignment with their God given nature. Animals do not kill for sport or pleasure. They do not steal for fun or to needlessly amass stockpiles of goods for the future. They do not envy how much prettier another animal is. They do not lie. They do not judge, They do not hold grudges and look for revenge. So, when we do these things, we used to count them among the seven deadly sins. Now, to be clear, I believe the self hatred that was fostered by the focus on “sin” was in itself a form of cruelty. However, it’s possible that we have forgotten that part of the spiritual path is the requirement to cooperate with the Holy One to transform our hearts and minds in order to be a more clear reflection of our true nature. We are called to become, as Rilke puts it, flames creating shadows for God to dance in. 

Our gospel today talks in such violent terms of chopping off body parts and gouging out eyes. Perhaps we can consider this as a metaphor for how difficult and painful but necessary it is for us to do the hard work of spiritual evolution. For some, it may seem less painful or easier to lose a body part than to change lifelong patterns of misused anger, jealousy, judging others, anxiety, reactivity, gossip, comparing……to name only a few. But, if we are to have eyes, hearts and hands to live in the kindom, this is our call. We cannot make anything good happen if our hands are clenched in fists of anger and holding onto old hurts or wounds. Our eyes can’t see the kindom if our vision is distorted by old, unhelpful patterns of “seeing” things. A heart that is perpetually surrounded by a wall of protection cannot easily receive or express authentic love. We are all called to walk in faith and joy through the valley of the shadow of death , that is, transformation, knowing God is with us and guiding us. The earth, animals, and our human companions on this life journey are all for us. We have so many allies and as the gospel says, whatever is not against us is for us. Living an awakened, healed, brave life is not for the faint of heart. It is however the best hope for us, and for our children and this planet we call home.

Statement of Faith – Community Member 

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. 

Phillis: 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.

Intentions read

We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace. 

 

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Kim: Please join us, with arms raised, in the praying of the Eucharistic Prayer. 

Great Mystery surrounding us, we lift up our hearts to understand that our spirits are one. You are with us, and we live. Everything lives because of you, and everything is one. 

Your wisdom moves among us like the wind, and we are blessed.

So now we enter into the oneness of creation, attune ourselves to join in the harmony, let ourselves embrace that oneness with thankfulness and joy. And so, we join with all of creation and sing in glory for the beauty that encircles us.

Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ

Phillis: Creator of the whole universe, we glory in the environment, especially forests, that surround us. May we have the vision and strength to protect all forest ecosystems and the whole of Your creation, which have been corrupted by human exploitation, pollution, and destruction, so that the whole of creation may be renewed and made whole, 

We join with the earth and with each other, to bring new life to the land, to restore the waters, to refresh the air.

We join with the earth and with each other to renew the forests, to care for the plants, to protect the creatures.

We join with the earth and with each other to celebrate the seas, to rejoice in the sunlight, to sing the song of the stars.

We join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving mystery: for the healing of the earth and the renewal of life.

We join together and call the Spirit upon the gifts of the earth, bread and wine, as we bless them and remember our call to be the Body of Christ in the world. 

On the night before he died, he sat at a table with friends and relived with them his work, his teaching and wisdom of the universe. Then he went among them as servant, washing their feet, touching their hearts.  

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 

Kim: Then he took the cup of blessing, 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

Please receive the blessed bread and cup with the words, “I am a steward of Creation”. 

Communion Meditation:  Psalm 23 by Bobby McFerrin

https://youtu.be/000AuO_lBJk

Kim: Mystery of Life present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures, embrace with tenderness all that exists. May the power of divine love rain down upon us, that we may protect life and beauty. Help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth. Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards divine light and love. We are thankful for the pulse of life that fills us each day. May we be encouraged and strengthened for our struggle for justice, love and peace in the world.

Community Member: Let us pray the prayer of Jesus:

Let us pray as Jesus taught us with an eye toward this Season of Creation:

Generous Creator, the intricate and elegant biodiversity of our world is your hallowed autograph on our lives, on our souls and in our hearts. 

We yearn for the wholeness of being in harmony with Your will and with all living things. 

Each day we draw on your creative, life-giving energy with gratitude and awe as we find nourishment in, seed and field, river and forest. 

May we be stewards and co-creators with you in caring for the gifts of Your Creation.  

We acknowledge our shortcomings, especially our neglect of the environment on this Creation Sunday. We seek to be reconciled with those we have hurt and we resolve to do better.  

With your unfailing wisdom and the wind of Your Spirit, inspire us that we may reach out and love one another and care for the world, our home.

Strengthen us to work for local and global justice so that we may one day reap a harvest of equality and fairness as if they were wildflowers, propagating spontaneously, unerringly and in surprising abundance. Amen.

BLESSING

Phillis: Let us raise our hands and pray our closing blessing:

Go out from this place, ready to hear creation’s call. 

Go out, ready to answer, “I am here, standing up for you!” 

And as you go, know that the love of Divine Mystery surrounds you, 

the peace of Christ empowers you, 

and the companionship of the Spirit moves within you 

and all of creation, now and always. AMEN

Closing Song: What a Wonderful World by Playing for Change

https://youtu.be/qdp1LfUkaY4