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Let us Kindle the Light of Hope
Welcome: Tomorrow is the Third Sunday of Advent. It is the Advent week of Joy. As always time is flying by, and we race to get everything done. Let’s take some time to slow down, pray together and recognize the Joy.
Opening Prayer: Holy One, from the beginning you have sent Prophets to us, Elijah, Isaiah, Miriam, John the Baptist, Jesus and so many more. We know that you continue to send prophets to us. May we be awake and welcoming when they come. Amen.
Opening Song:
Waiting For You - The Many - Takeaway Show
LITURGY OF THE WORD
A reading from the Letters to the Hebrews
Continue to love each other as sisters and brothers. Don’t neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
The community affirms these words by saying AMEN!
Celtic Alleluia
A Reading from the Gospel of Matthew
As they were coming down from the mountain,
the disciples asked Jesus,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.
So also will the Chosen One suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood
that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
The Community affirms these words by saying AMEN!
Homily Starter:
We frequently talk about Advent as a time of waiting. The Jews were waiting for Elijah to return. Jesus said he did return but they did not recognize him in John the Baptist. The Jews believed that when Elijah returned their world would change for the better. Their understanding and expectation made them blind to John the Baptist.
There are similar stories in the bible of someone not being recognized. Mary did not recognize Jesus in the garden, the couple on the road to Emmaus did not recognize Jesus. They did not understand, and they too were blinded by their own expectations.
In the reading from Hebrews, we are asked to be sure and offer hospitality even to strangers. If we do not, we might not recognize an angel sent to us. Who do we not see?
We are beginning the third week of Advent who are we waiting for? As children we waited for baby Jesus to bring peace to the world. All these centuries later, so many Advents, so many Christmas celebrations and we do not have world peace or inner peace.
I believe that the Holy One is still sending people to bring peace. We have heard of and honored many, Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi, the Dali Lama, Bishop Tutu, Oscar Romero, and the list goes on and on. There is however, someone very important who is not on this famous list; it is you; it is me; it is our neighbor; it is the stranger at the store or on the street. We talk about Advent being a time of waiting. The Holy One is really the one who is waiting; waiting for each of us to recognize all the angels that are sent to us every day. When we “see” we are once again taking steps on the path of creating peace in the world.
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
As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. As bearers of LIGHT and HOPE, we bring to this table our blessings, cares, and concerns. Please feel free to voice your intentions beginning with the words, “I bring to the table…..”
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
(written by Jay Murnane)
All: Source of All That Is, we seek you in this season, when the earth is resting and preparing for new life. Like the earth, we long for new life and hopeful beginnings. This is the time of the pregnant woman, filled with life and hope powerful enough to topple structures of oppression. This is the time of her song of fidelity and celebration.
During this gentle season of Advent, we recognize that you have made us capable of bringing forth justice, like a rising sun. One with all who have gone before us, we sing a song of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Karen Drucker https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI
We thank you for those in times past who believed the good news, and lived what they believed.
Blessed is Isaiah and every visionary who insisted on a better future that would break through the deception, disaster and broken promises of the age in which they lived.
Blessed is John, in the stark desert of careful focus, inviting the people to be born again in your love.
Blessed is Miriam, who believed the words of Isaiah and opened herself up to the unbelievable.
And blessed is her child Jesus, who felt the sorrows of humankind in his soul, and responded with deep and tender compassion.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: 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.
All: On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at supper with his companions and 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.
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)
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)
Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace.
Please receive communion with the words: We are all angels, and You give us all that we need.
Communion Song:
We Are All Angels by Karen Drucker
Prayer after communion:
Holy One, we are grateful for the gift of Your Spirit, always drawing beauty and balance out of chaos. And like Jesus…
Standing where he stood,
and for what he stood,
and with whom he stood,
we are united in your Spirit,
and worship you with our lives,
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
Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together.
May we, the living Body of Christ, recognize the light of the Holy One in ourselves, in one another, and in all our fellow humans. May we walk in the Light of the Holy One and may we shine.
All: AMEN
Closing Song:
Love One Another - Mix
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