Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
The Spirit of Ubuntu
Opening Prayer: God of all creation, lover of life and of everything, please help us to love in our very small way what You love infinitely and everywhere. We thank You that we can offer just this one prayer and that will be more than enough, because in reality everything and everyone is connected, and nothing stands alone. To pray for one part is really to pray for the whole, and so we do. Help us each day to stand for love, for healing, for the good, for the diverse unity of the Body of Christ and all creation, because we know this is what You desire: as Jesus prayed, that all may be one. We offer our prayer together with all the holy names of God, we offer our prayer together with Christ, our world. Amen.
Reading: Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis
Even before COVID-19 showed up in our global family, we were living in what I call “hot-mess times.” In our current context, race and ethnicity, caste and color, gender and sexuality, socioeconomic status and education, religion and political party have all become reasons to divide and be conquered by fear and rancor. Put simply, we are in a perilous time, and the answer to the question “Who are we to be?” will have implications for generations to come.
We have a choice to make. We can answer this question with diminished imagination, by closing ranks with our tribe and hiding from our human responsibility to heal the world. Or we can answer the question of who we are to be another way: We can answer it in the spirit of ubuntu. The concept comes from the Zulu phrase Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, which literally means that a person is a person through other people. Another translation is, “I am who I am because we are who we are.”. . . With this in mind, who I will be is deeply related to who you are. In other words, we are each impacted by the circumstances that impact those around us. What hurts you hurts me. What heals you heals me. What causes you joy causes me to rejoice, and what makes you sad also causes me to weep. By channeling the ancient wisdom of ubuntu, we can engineer a badly needed love revolution to rise up out of the ashes of our current reality. . . . The empathy that grows from listening to others, from connecting with our neighbors, and from loving our neighbors as we love ourselves can define the courses of action we take.
Silent Reflection
Affirmations and Intentions: By Joyce Rupp
May we look for your goodness in others when it hides beneath layers of coldness. Let it be so.
May we behold your radiance in the ones we neglect or spurn at home or work. Let it be so.
May we discover your love in our deepest self when we feel unloving and irritable Let it be so.
May we embrace you in the persons whose faithfulness we take for granted Let it be so.
May we see your empathy in those serving the wounded of the world. Let it be so.
May we recognize your courage in the valiant people who speak out for justice Let it be so.
May we notice your non-judgmental acceptance in those who keep an open mind. Let it be so.
May we search for your gentleness when the harshness of another hides it. Let it be so.
May we observe your generosity in every gift we receive, no matter how small the gift. Let it be so.
May we reveal your mercy when we pardon someone for having turned against us. Let it be so.
May we welcome your joy in the delightful voices and the easy play of children. Let it be so.
May we convey your compassion when we visit those with illness and poor health. Let it be so.
May we detect your patience in those who put up with our impatience and hurry. Let it be so.
May we unite with your peace hidden beneath the layers of humanity’s disharmony. Let it be so.
Silence to add your own intentions.
Closing Prayer: Holy Presence, we thank you for your gift of life that you have given us, filled with love, grace, joy and suffering. May we always feel the presence of your love and support however it may manifest in our lives. Knowing you are never farther than our next breath, may we breathe in and out with each other expanding our capacity to love and care for our brothers and sisters without hesitation. Through all the angels and saints, and Mary, Joseph and Jesus may we come alive.
Closing Song: By Breath by Sara Thomsen
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