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Welcome everyone to this liturgy on the eve of Valentines Day. As the florists and card sellers embrace the business of this holiday that celebrates love, may we think about our relationship to love with the goal of being in the right place. The place of unconditional love is described as the position that fosters happiness for all living beings. May we follow Jesus and all prophets of the past and present in the way of peace, love, truth and happiness.
Opening Meditation: Loving Kindness
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading (Rudy)
A reading from an excerpt of a speech of Martin Luther King Jr. (adapted with inclusive language)
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [humans] are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the [children] of former slaves and the [children]of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brother [and sister]hood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
These are the inspired words of Martin Luther King Jr. and the community affirms them by saying: Amen
Responsorial (Kim)
Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of Yahweh,
and on this law they meditate day and night.
R. Happy are they who hope in Yahweh
They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
R. Happy are they who hope in Yahweh
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
for Yahweh watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
R. Happy are they who hope in Yahweh
Alleluia
Gospel (Kathy W.)
Luke 6:17,20-26 (The Message Bible)
Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. They had come both to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. Those disturbed by evil spirits were healed. Everyone was trying to touch him—so much energy surging from him, so many people healed! Then he spoke:
You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all.
God’s kingdom is there for the finding.
You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry.
Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal.
You’re blessed when the tears flow freely.
Joy comes with the morning.
“Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don’t like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.
But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made.
What you have is all you’ll ever get.
25 And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself.
Your self will not satisfy you for long.
And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games.
There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.
There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.
These are the inspired words of the gospel of Luke and the community affirms them by saying: Amen
Shared Homily (Donna)
We are all created to love God, others and ourselves. Some are called to be spouse, parent, friend, sibling, and/or servant of all. The life-giving bond in a relationship that is deep permanent, unshakeable and freely offered is what I will call unconditional love. We want those we love to be happy. Happiness is not defined as situational fun. True happiness is rooted in joy, peace, fulfillment and purpose. The path of Buddhism is often referred to as “Buddha’s psychology of happiness.” In the gospel of Luke we hear about Jesus’s psychology of happiness.
In Greek the word for blessed can be translated to happy and is repeated in the beatitudes. The challenge that Jesus and prophets like Martin Luther King Jr. promote is to extend unconditional love to all living beings, not just those in our own circle. We are the children of, and created in the image of, Love.
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus is pictured giving the sermon on the plain which implies being on the same level as everyone instead of the sermon on the mount where he would be looking down on everyone. This slightly different version of the beatitudes supports the theme in this gospel of equality and servant leadership. Before the sermon on the plain, Jesus has just called his disciples. When Simon Peter is called, we see him leave his profession of being a fisherman to follow Jesus. This amazing radical change in lifestyle shows Peter leaving boat loads of fish to become a fisher of humans following Jesus.
When Jesus called Peter, Peter was already living his version of the American dream. He had a thriving business with his brother, he had a home, a wife, and children. He belonged to a faith community that told him if he followed certain religious law he would be standing in the right place with God and the community. What did he sense in Jesus’s call that would cause him to abandon everything he knew and worked for?
Peter’s call to a counter cultural life is our call today as described in the gospel reading. In our lifetime Martin Luther King Jr. echoed the call saying, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [humans] are created equal.” King’s dream is about being in the right place with love. The call of Jesus and prophets tells us to seek true happiness for ourselves and others. True happiness requires that we constantly evaluate our relationship toward money, food, adversity and public image. When we are in the right place with unconditional love we will foster all relationships in a lifegiving way. Living out of unconditional love leads to a change of heart. The good news is in doing this we will foster happiness for ourselves and all living things. I think the poet Hafiz beautifully expresses what being in the right place with love is: “Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth “you owe me.” Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky.”
Statement of Faith
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)
Diane:
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.
Prayers for the community.
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Donna: 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:
Here in this place
Diane: 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:
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:
Donna: 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: Be Still and Know by Shaina Knoll
Prayer after communion: (Diane)
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.
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
Donna: Let us raise our hands in blessing pray together:
May our thoughts be true light, finding their way into words which have the weight of shadow to hold the layers of truth.
May we never place our trust in minds claimed by empty light, where one-sided certainties are driven by false desire.
When we look into the heart, may our eyes have the kindness and reverence of candlelight.
~Adapted from For Light by John O’Donohue
Amen.
Closing Song: Change of Heart by Holly Near
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