phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Welcome and Opening Prayer:
Welcome to our Saturday evening liturgy. Tonight we look at the lineage we know as evolution. As we trace the blessed family tree of life on earth we celebrate the Spirit that loves every branch, every twig on that tree. We recognize this as the same Spirit that filled Moses, that filled Elijah, that filled Jesus. And we celebrate that this same Spirit fills us, and calls us into the future.
Opening Song: All You Works of God – Marty Haugen – Shortened
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: Psalm 24, adapted by Nan Merrill
The earth is yours, O Giver of Life,
in all its fullness and glory,
the world and all those who
dwell therein;
For You have founded it upon
the seas,
and established it upon
the rivers.
Who shall ascend your hill,
O Gracious One?
and who shall stand in your holy place?
All who have clean heads and
pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls
to what is false,
nor make vows deceitfully.
They will be blessed by the
Heart of Love,
and renewed through forgiveness.
Such is the promise to those
who seek Love’s face.
Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up,
O ancient doors!
that the Compassionate One
may come in.
Who is the Compassionate One?
The Beloved, Heart of your heart,
Life of your life,
this is the Compassionate One!
Alleluia: Alleluia (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
Second Reading: The Family Tree (Adapted from Mark Hom, MD)
Bacteria
Green Algae
Ferns
Conifers
Palms
Bananas
Grasses
Yeasts
Mushrooms
Sponges
Jelly Fish
Snails
Squid
Crustaceans
Millipedes
Flies
Moths
Starfish
Tuna
Carp
Sharks
Amphibians
Crocodiles
Pigeons
Ducks
Chickens
Iguanas
Snakes
Lizards
Marsupials
Rodents
Dogs
Cows
Horses
Whales
Monkeys
Chimpanzees
Humans
This is the genealogy of life on earth, our family tree. We all spring from the same root, the same trunk, the same life within our lives, which is the Holy One. We all spring from the same soil, which is love.
This family tree has been adapted from the work of Mark Hom, MD. We affirm our family tree by saying Amen.
Homily Starter:
Today’s gospel reading is Matthew’s rendition of the genealogy of Jesus, and I started out with that in mind. But the more I thought about it, the more I was called to take a broader view; a global view; a view from deep time.
When I studied the beautiful family tree designed so simply and elegantly by Dr. Mark Hom I was moved by the flow of creation as played out in the evolutionary process. I invite you to look at the image now. Notice that all of the forms of life on this tree, each of which represents so many other related forms, whether their cells are powered by bacteria, mitochondria, or chloroplasts, they (we!) all have our source in the same trunk, and spring from the same ground. We are all related. We are all family. It is a family tree, a tree of life.
Our tree of life springs from the ground of Love; the love of the Holy One that overflows into all of creation and continues to call forth new life every second of every day. We have taken up that love, just as a tree takes up nourishment from the soil. It has become part of us. That’s why we can say with confidence that we are “sparks of the Divine.” We have the love of the Holy One incarnate in our beings, just as Jesus did. And like Jesus, we are responsible to carry that love forward. Jesus showed us how. That was his mission on earth and how perfectly he completed it! Now, as we ready ourselves to once more celebrate his birth let us prepare to follow his lead. Let us carry forth that love which is our birthright, the soil from which we continue to grow.
Please share your thoughts on today’s readings.
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
Denise: 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…..”
Denise: We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Denise: 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
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.
Denise: 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.
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:
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)
Denise: Please receive communion using the words “I am a spark of the Divine.”
Communion Meditation/Song: St Francis Canticle of the Creatures
Denise: 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.
Denise: 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
Denise: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together.
Holy One, you are our soil, our trunk, our life. We are rooted in your love. May we continue to evolve, to turn our branches toward your light, and shed your love to all we meet.
All: AMEN
Closing Song: By Breath by Sara Thomsen (Video by Denise Hackert-Stoner)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.