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
Welcome and Theme — Dave: Today we consider our call to serve those who are marginalized not only through our personal, individual acts of compassion and support but also by our willingness to call out the entrenched and biased systems that create marginalized groups.
Opening Prayer — Lynn: We gather this morning aware of the beauty and joy that life offers, especially in the love of those who brighten our lives and the care and love of the Divine. May we also remember that whenever love and support turn into action, justice reigns, courage inspires, peace flows and all things become possible with God. Amen.
Opening Song: Standing on Their Shoulders
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading — A Reading from the speeches of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela
With true structural change there would be far less need for charity; without it the very best charitable efforts will never be enough. (MLK). A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside, but that will be only an initial act.
One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. (NM)
These are the inspired words of heroic Christian activists Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.
A Reading from the Gospel of Mark (12:38 – 44)
In his teaching, Jesus said, “Beware of the religious scholars who like to walk about in long robs, b greeted obsequiously in the market squares and take front seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. These are the ones who swallow the property of widowsand offer lengthy prayers for the sake of appearance.
Jesus sat down opposite the collection box and watched people putting money in it, and many of the rick put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny.
Then Jesus called out to the disciples, “The truth is, this woman has put in more than all who have contributed; for they have put money in from their surplus, but she has put in everything she possessed from the little she had — all she had to live on”
These are the inspired words of the gospel writer known as Mark and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
(Pause to consider readings)
Homily Starter — Dave
When I first read today’s gospel some themes emerged: be generous but not showy in our generosity. Give quietly and with no hopes of recognition. Give not from your abundance but from your poverty. If, for example, time is what we lack, maybe that is the very thing that we can offer to others. Maybe we are called to dig deeply and give from those things that are most precious to us. Certainly, these themes are important but even after much thought and research I continued to feel that I was missing something.
I expressed my concern to Lynn at our first planning meeting and she shared with me an article by D Mark Davis entitled “Pretentious Pretenders Pressuring Penurious Pensioners.” Davis’ article provided what I believe to be the deeper and more useful interpretation of the gospel and the more urgent message for each of us.
Davis points out that, unlike the Old Testament, where wealth symbolized blessings and poverty symbolized curses, in the New Testament wealth is associated with exploitation and poverty is associated with being exploited. Suddenly, the gospel takes on a very different meaning and tone for us.
Note Jesus’s words that certain religious scholars “swallow the property of widows” while at the same time trying to impress people with their long prayers. It was customary at that time that widows who, like most of the population, were illiterate, relied on scribes to help them manage the very limited income they had. Sadly, it was also common that scribes cheated these women, who often ended up losing their homes.
Interpretations of this gospel have often focused on how moved Jesus was by the widow’s generosity. But Others have suggested that Jesus was, also saddened or even angered by the injustice it represented. Davis suggests that the widow is participating in a system that consistently oppresses her and does it in the name of false piety. Although it is clear that the widow is demonstrating generosity, she is, at the same time, contributing to a system that exploits her and others like her. Davis notes the tragic nature of this dilemma and suggests that the widow may not have much of a choice.
The unfair status quo of the first century remains with us. How do we respond? The first reading, from two heroes of justice, calls us to the same revolutionary love of the poor and marginalized that Jesus displayed as he went out of his way to provoke the powers that be, to question their false piety and their long-held traditions. He was a fierce champion of justice who provided the way for a better future for all.
Jody Tishmack, in another article “Inequality, Poverty and Injustice: A Problem of Too Much and Not Enough,” takes us back to being a child and playing the game Monopoly. She notes that the playing field is equal with everyone starting with the same amount of money, the same rolls of the dice, the same set of rules. She then asks us to consider how we might feel if one person had 100 times more money than others? If one person had several dice rolls each turn and always got the “Get Out of Jail Free” card. She suggests that we would not even want to play.
The poor and the marginalized are among us and they continue to participate despite their lack of access to good schools and better health care. They continue to participate in jobs where they are under-appreciated and with stagnant wages. They continue to participate in a system where even in a pandemic the wealthy add to their fortune as others wait in food lines.
Today’s readings call us to oppose the structures and traditions that delay justice. They remind us that that kindness and generosity along the road are not enough when the road itself needs to be redirected, expanded and paved anew. We can bring about change by standing firmly with those who are viewed as the least among us and working to take down all structures of oppression.
As always, we welcome your insights regarding the readings and the theme for today.
Statement of Faith — Judy
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
Lynn: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to the table our prayers and intentions. Please voice your intentions beginning with the words, “I bring to the table…..”
Lynn: We pray for these and all unspoken intentions in our hearts. Amen.
Dave: Let us pray our Eucharistic prayer with open hearts and hands:
Holy One, we yearn to be close to you and to live in the embrace of your gentle wisdom. Your divine grace leads us away from our anxieties, fears and distractions and toward all that is blessed and joyous so that we might live in the Spirit and serve the cause of justice.
Each of us is divinely created in Your image. We are precious to you and to each other because of who we are. We are beloved and blessed in your unconditional love, quite apart from how we act or fail to act. We resolve to look upon all our sisters and brothers as precious and deserving so harmony and peace may replace division and conflict.
Thankful for Jesus who treated all of Creation with respect and abundant love, we resolve to follow his example to be a light in the darkness. We recognize Your loving Presence here with us today and always, and we sing:
Here in this Place https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ
Lynn: O Compassionate One, there are times when we feel scarcity and emptiness even though we know You love us more than our human imagination can grasp. May we have the presence of mind to live in Your love. We strive to see You reflected in every person we meet. Guide us in sharing our gifts as well as in being open hearted to accept help from others.
We thank you for Jesus, who knew what it was like to be an outsider in occupied and foreign lands. May his presence prompt us to bring gospel kindness and understanding to disputes among nations, citizens and neighbors and within families.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We call upon your Spirit that is present in us at this Eucharistic table. We are grateful for the bread and wine that remind us of our call to be the light of Christ to the world.
Presiders stand at the table
On the night before he faced betrayal and death, Jesus shared supper with his 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.
Zoom community members and Lynn lift 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, this is my very self.
(pause)
Zoom community members and Dave lift the cup
Dave: 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 offer communion with the words “You are a disciple of justice”
Holy One, your transforming grace inspires us to follow our consciences and bring comfort to wherever people are in need. We pray for wisdom, patience and persistence to make a difference in our world. We resolve to love as Jesus loved, to discern the better angels of our nature with hearts open to your Spirit. Amen.
Lynn — 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
Communion Song: What Shall I Give by Sara Thomsen
https://sarathomsen.com/track/1917665/what-shall-i-give
Prayer after Communion — Dave
Loving Source of our being, you call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. Guide us to see how and when structural obstacles and stubborn customs prevent equal opportunity for our sisters and brothers. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity in Your Presence.
Closing Blessing
Lynn — Please extend your hands in blessing and join in one voice:
May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships
So that we may live deep in our hearts.
And may God bless us with enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done;
To bring justice and kindness to children and marginalized peoples.
Amen.
Closing Song— We are the World Together at Home Edition 2020
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