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Welcome and Theme (Kim): Our theme today is our personal commitment and own inner transformation. It is through this decision and inner journey that we can live the vision of St. Francis. As he approached his own transition, his last recorded words to his brothers were: “I have done what is mine to do, and now you must do what is yours to do.”
Opening Prayer (Suzanne): Today, Creator of the Universe, I ask that you help me to accept myself just the way I am, without judgment. Help me to accept my mind the way it is, with all my emotions, my hopes and dreams, my personality, my unique way of being. Help me to accept my body just the way it is, with all its beauty and perfection. Let the love I have for myself be so strong that I never again reject myself or sabotage my happiness, freedom, and love. ~ Adapted from prayerist.com
Opening Song:
Breathe Love Susan Lincoln & Craig Tounghate
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading: (Denise): A reading from Edwina Gately
You are called to become
A perfect creation.
No one else is called to become
Who you are called to be.
It does not matter
How short or tall
Or thick-set or slow
You may be.
It does not matter
Whether you sparkle with life
Or are as silent as a still pool.
Whether you sing your song aloud
Or weep alone in darkness.
It does not matter
Whether you feel loved and admired
Or unloved and alone
For you are called to become
A perfect creation.
No one's shadow
Should cloud your becoming.
No one's light
Should dispel your spark.
For the Holy One delights in you,
jealously looks upon you
And encourages with gentle joy
Every movement of the Spirit
Within you.
Unique and loved you stand.
Beautiful or stunted in your growth
But never without hope and life.
For you are called to become
A perfect creation.
This becoming may be
Gentle or harsh.
Subtle or violent.
But it never ceases.
Never pauses or hesitates.
Only is—
Creative force—
Calling you
Calling you to become
A perfect creation.
These are the inspired words of contemporary prophet and poet, Edwina Gateley, adapted from her poem, Called to Become. The community affirms them by saying: Amen
Second Reading (Mary Brandon): A reading from the first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 2:12-14, 27)
Brothers and sisters:
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
Now the body is not a single part, but many.
You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.
Alleluia
Gospel (Jim): A reading from the Gospel writer known as Luke (Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21)
Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events
that have been fulfilled among us,
just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning
and ministers of the word have handed them down to us,
I too have decided,
after investigating everything accurately anew,
to write it down in an orderly sequence for you,
most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings
you have received.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
These are the inspired words of the person who gives us the Gospel of Luke, and we affirm them by saying AMEN.
Shared Homily - Kim Panaro
As we begin today we will take a moment in silence in honor of Buddhist teacher, monk and activist, Thich Nhat Hanh. This humble man transitioned to his new life this past Friday at age 95. His wisdom, words and teachings have blessed this community on many occasions.
Catholic christianity has had a blurry view of self-love . We are called to see the Divine in the poor, the widow, the orphan, the captive, our neighbors, the oppressed and even the flowers, rocks ,waterfalls and caterpillars. The Divine is in all things and all of Creation. However, we are not really encouraged to fully embrace love for ourselves. We are cautioned against pride and encouraged to be humble. But true humility is looking authentically and bravely at the whole truth not just the traditional “Lord I am not worthy” self-hating one. Paul tells us that there are many parts of the body and they are all valuable. By this, we could try to feel ok about being a pinky toe instead of a brain. But it can be tempting to harbor sadness or regret because brains seem more valuable. In my view it allows us to resign ourselves to differences but I don’t think it does much to increase self-love. It is through compassionate self love that we can share authentic love with others.
Our poem from Edwina Gateley encourages us to see the perfection to which we are individually called. Not someone else’s vision of perfect, but the best version of ourselves. That’s it, that is all there is. There is no ideal to which we must aspire but aspire we must. So, let’s look at the path the gospel writer we know has Luke sets forth.
Step one is the decision. Jesus was first baptized in the Jordan, making an adult and free will commitment to turn all of his life and efforts toward God. In doing so and in prayer, he awakened to the anointing of the Spirit. Imagine how radically different things would be if we woke up every morning simply saying “The Spirit of God is upon me and I am anointed”. That awareness alone would sever some ties to feelings of being broken, defective, fraudulent or incomplete.
Step 2 is the the testing in the desert. Jesus went to face , as we heard last week from Clare Julian, the ego. The temptations of greed and power are but a few. How about the temptation toward gossip, shopping/eating/drinking/sexual behaviors as substitutes for authentic relationships with ourselves and others, the temptation to give in to fear not trust, the tendency to protect our image by blaming and judging others for our own shortcomings. These are a tiny handful of normal human ego struggles. Jesus’ temptations, following his commitment in baptism teach us the critical step, the non-negotiable necessity to self examine with open hearts and minds. Not in order to see that we are really rotten at the core. Quite the opposite, it is to humbly and without hesitation, embrace the whole of our humanity. It increases self-love to embrace the example of our brother Jesus in the desert. This step mirrors Thich Nhat Hanh when he said “ For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them”. This must include what we believe about others as well as ourselves .
Third, our gospel today from Luke shows us Jesus quoting Isaiah in the temple. He declares that his path is not about sacrifices in the temple and following rules. It is Love in Action. Period. We are each called in our own way, with our own unique gifts, to a perfection that fully embraces our shadows, temptations, the missteps. When I was at the College of St Rose in 1982 studying Christology, The teacher, a priest said, “Jesus was misquoted. He surely must have said to love yourself as you love others since that is a much harder and brave step”.
So, Luke’s prescription is personal commitment, self-examination and ministry rooted in love of self, others and the Divine.
What did you hear in the readings today?
Statement of Faith (Mary T. 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
Suzanne: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we lay our stoles upon the table as a sign that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. Please voice your intentions beginning with the words, “I bring to the table…..”
Suzanne: We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Kim: Let us pray our Eucharistic prayer with open hearts and hands:
We are grateful for our brother Jesus teaching us the way of compassion through entering into the suffering of others. May we care for ourselves as Jesus cared for us, seeing humanity through the eyes of “Love”. Through his loving eyes we are healed and we open our hearts to the pain and suffering of others.
Because of your empowering unconditional loving Presence Beloved, we are aware of your presence in and among us. Your love radiates from our hearts, minds, and bodies. The nurturance of ourselves and one another empowers your embodied presence. “We are not the survival of the fittest but the survival of the nurtured.” (Cozolino)
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.
In gratitude and joy we embrace our calling and we lift our voices to proclaim a song of praise:
Here in this Place by Chris Grundy
Suzanne: Holy One, you speak to our hearts and say “I don’t need anything from you for me to love you - I don’t need you to evolve for me to love you - I don’t need you to grow for me to love you - I don’t need you to succeed for me to love you - I will stay with you in any circumstance. I was here at the beginning, I am here in the middle, I will be here in the end. There is nothing you can do to lose me.” “Just your being is love to me”.
We thank you for Jesus who heard the Divine voice of deep love for him as “this is my beloved son”. Jesus showed us a path to comforting ourselves as the Divine Beloved would comfort us and as we would nurture our own children, family and friends. May we hear God’s voice as Jesus did to love and forgive ourselves so that we may more fully love and forgive each other.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
Kim: 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
Suzanne: 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.
Suzanne lifts plate as the community prays the following:
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.
Kim lifts the cup as community prays the following:
Kim: 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)
Please receive Communion with the words:
Let us share this bread and cup with love in our hearts.
Communion Meditation/Song: Return to Love by Andrea Bocelli & Ellie Goulding
https://youtu.be/gB-Yxy5BTGQ
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
Kim: Let us raise our hands in blessing pray together:
Today is a new beginning. Help us to start our lives over beginning today with the power of self-love. Help us to enjoy life, to enjoy relationships, to explore life, to take risks, to be alive and to no longer live in fear of love. Let us open our hearts to the love that is our birthright. Help us to become grateful, generous, and loving so that we can share this gift with all of Creation forever and ever. Amen. ~ Adapted from prayerist.com
Closing Song: Love is My Religion by Ziggy Marley
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