Please join us between 4:30 and 4:55 pm 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
You Are Worthy
by Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman
Inspired by Luke 13:1-9
Welcome and Theme
Julie: Welcome to you all. We gather this afternoon to celebrate the third weekend of Lent. Lent is often a time of fasting and self-deprivation. Given that our theme today is You Are Worthy, I invite you to fast from feelings of unworthiness and to deprive yourself of overwork, hustle, and exhaustion.
Opening Prayer
Come, all who are thirsty.
Come, all who are seeking.
Come, all who are waiting.
Come, all who labor.
Come, all who need rest.
Come, all who dream dreams.
Come—
whether you’re young or old,
confident or curious,
lonely or hopeful.
All are welcome here.
Let us worship holy God.
Adapted from a prayer by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org
Our Opening Song of Peace
Deep Peace, Sara Thomsen, video by Denise Hackert-Stoner
https://youtu.be/5dIAcqaUUz4
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
Gospel
A Reading from the gospel attributed to Luke 13:1-9
At that time, some people among the crowd told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of Roman sacrifices.
Jesus said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you don't repent, you will all perish as they did!
“Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them, do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”
Jesus told them this parable: “Once, a farmer had a fig tree planted in the orchard. Coming in search of fruit on it, the farmer found none. The farmer then said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree and have found none. Cut this tree down. Why should it waste the soil?’ The gardener, however, said in reply, ‘Sir, leave it this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it. It may bear fruit in the future. If not, then you can cut it down.’”
These are the inspired words of the anonymous storyteller we call Luke, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Spirit of the Living God
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3967aJi6UU
Second Reading
A reading from Rev. Sarah A. Speed (A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org)
What I Forgot
Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree.
No fruit here, just soaking up the sun,
growing roots, turning green,
stretching out my branches until
I can hug the horizon.
Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree,
because she doesn’t produce,
and she’s not exhausted,
and she probably gets eight hours
of sleep at night.
And her branches,
unlike my shoulders,
are not heavy with work—
pulled toward the ground,
threatening to break.
And her trunk,
unlike my spine,
is not fighting to stand tall
while holding it all together.
Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree
because she knows
what I forgot
many years ago.
You are still worthy
even if
you don’t produce.
These are the inspired words of Rev. Sarah A. Speed and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Shared Homily
I have a confession to make. I like to waste time by playing with my phone. My favorite is checking out the dogs on Twitter. Of course, sometimes this gets me into trouble, as when the real, live, in-person dog discovers I’m watching videos of internet dogs. #relationshipproblems
One of the non-dog accounts I follow on Twitter is the Nap Ministry, the work of the Nap Bishop herself, Tricia Hersey. Her work is focused on Rest as Resistance. It is social justice work based in what she refers to as “a deep unraveling from white supremacy and capitalism.” Ms. Hersey points out, “We are no longer divine human beings in this system and instead machines.” This system has exhausted us, exhausted our bodies, exhausted our minds, exhausted our spirits. This system has convinced us that like the fig tree in the gospel, we have no value, no reason to exist, if we are not productive.
I see this kind of thinking all the time in my work as an interfaith chaplain at Albany Medical Center, patients who are scared of what life will be like if they can no longer work due to injury, illness, or age. Who will they be? What will their family think? What will their purpose be? I wish I could say that I’ve never fallen prey to such thinking myself, but I have. It’s hard not to when you live in a culture like ours that glorifies hustle and grind and work work work.
In our second reading, Rev. Speed envies that fig tree, even as its existence is being threatened for lack of productivity. And why not? That tree is rested, unstressed, not fighting to hold it all together, just soaking up the sun. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Wouldn’t that be an absolutely delicious way to go through life? So how do we reconnect with our worthiness separate from our productivity? How do we separate our being from our doing? The Nap Bishop recommends taking radical action by “closing your eyes for 10 minutes, taking a longer time in the shower, daydreaming, meditating, praying.” And, of course, napping.
What did you hear? What will you do? What will it cost you? We would love to hear your insights on the readings. Please remember to remute yourself when you are finished sharing.
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.
Presider: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please feel free to voice your concerns beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”
We pray for these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
adapted from Diarmuid O’Murchu
Presider: With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together:
Gracious God, source and sustenance of life, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy Spirit, who enlivens and inebriates all that exists, we beseech your healing power upon us and all we pray for today.
Down through the ages, you rescue us from darkness.
you light up our ways with wise and holy people. You restore our spirits and you revive our dwindling hope.
May the Spirit of life and wholeness transform us that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love, and healing to those whose lives we touch.
For all you bring to our lives, and for all we seek amid
pain and suffering, we acclaim your love and greatness,
and we join with all creation to sing our hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy
(Words and music by Karen Drucker)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTewBnxBy30
We are holy, holy, holy.
We are holy, holy, holy.
We are holy, holy, holy.
We are whole.
Spirit Divine, Come to Me,
Healing Love, healing Me.
Open my heart, allow me to see,
Beauty and love, lives in me.
You are holy, holy, holy.
You are holy, holy, holy.
You are holy, holy, holy.
You are whole.
Presider: Please extend your hands in blessing.
Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind, and spirit, we bring before you the darkness of our world, and the pain and suffering of your people.
We seek to be healed and made whole; we seek to be reconciled and united; we seek peace in our hearts and in our world.
We ask you to awaken anew in our hearts the empowering grace of your abundant Spirit, who infuses these gifts of bread and wine with the transforming energy of life, to nourish and sustain us in our time of need.
As we gather around this friendship table, we recall God’s
blessing and love from ages past, and we celebrate anew
the gift of life which we share among us at this Eucharistic feast.
The bread we break and the cup we share are symbols of our world of abundance where all are invited to partake of the fullness of life. But that life we often impede by our greed and selfishness and by our exploitation of other people.
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. Once again, he showed us how to love one another.
All lift the plate and pray:
Back at the table, he took the Bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying, Take and eat, this is my very self.
All lift the cup and pray:
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)
Presider: We share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity.
Please receive communion saying: “I am worthy.”
Communion Song:
How Could Anyone Ever Tell You by Shaina Knoll, video by Denise Hackert-Stoner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr66u-fTxik
Prayer After Communion
Presider: In faith and hope we are sustained,
In grace our dignity reclaimed,
In praise we thank our God.
Grant that we may strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the God of life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, until the Kin-dom arrives in the fullness of time.
This prayer we make in the name of our healing and nurturing God through, with, and in whom we offer these gifts, sources of life, love, and goodness, now and forever. Amen.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
O Holy One, who is 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 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 (Miriam Therese Winter)
Blessing
Presider: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
May you be awestruck by the beauty of this world.
May you laugh, and may it be contagious.
May you overflow with love for those around you.
May you be effusive with hope and quick to point out joy.
And in all of your living, and breathing, and being,
may you find yourself full to the brim with God’s Holy Spirit,
and may it change your life.
In the name of the Lover, the Beloved, and Love itself—
go in peace, full to the brim. AMEN.
Adapted from a prayer by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org
Closing Song
I Am Worthy by Karen Drucker
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