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Third Sunday of Advent
Susan: Welcome and Theme
Welcome to the Third Sunday of Advent, as we await and open to the joy of God’s loving presence.
As a way of embodying this idea of awaiting and opening, we offer the The Prayer of Julian of Norwich. Some sources claim that the 14th century mystic herself originated the prayer, but most say it is a contemporary body prayer that uses four key words from the Order of Julian of Norwich: Await; Allow; Accept; and Attend. Each word has an associated body movement with it, which you may do either standing or sitting, and we welcome you to join in now if you like while watching this short demonstration.
Body Prayer of Julian of Norwich
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lKdXykzTXk
Lighting of Advent Candles
Advent Candle Lighting Blessing Prayer
Suzanne: Like our ancestors, we honor the cycles and the seasons that remind us of the ever-changing flow of life. Ritual acts give life meaning—they honor and acknowledge the unseen web of Life that connects us all.
Week 3 – Presider lights candle as member of community prays:
We light this third candle and remember that in the heart of every person on this earth, and in all of creation there burns the spark of luminous goodness – the presence of the Divine.
And so we respond: Let us kindle the light of joy!
Suzanne: Indeed, let us welcome the light within each other!
Opening Song: All this Joy by John Denver
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
These are the inspired words of the farmer, environmentalist, and poet Wendell Berry, and the community affirms them by saying “Amen.”
Second Reading:
Oh, let us dare to be vulnerable!
Let us dare to believe that we are as capable
as Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr.
and even Jesus,
of acts of love and compassion!
But first we must be vulnerable.
We must acknowledge and accept
our own fear and insecurity
before the enormous task of transformation.
Yet still, in the face of God’s grace,
we must cherish our possibilities.
It is then, from within our grace-filled trembling,
that we dare to step forward in trust and tenderness
to the brokenness of others.
God will transform our small hearts
into vessels of great grace.
We are capable of healing the world.
These are the inspired words of poet, theologian, modern day mystic and prophet, Edwina Gateley
Alleluia: https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU
Third Reading: Isaiah: 35 1-6
Let the desert and the wilderness exult! Let the Arabah rejoice and bloom like the crocus!
Let it blossom profusely, let it rejoice and sing for joy!
The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of YHWH,
the splendor of our God. Strengthen all weary hands,
steady all trembling knees. Say to all those of faint heart:
“Take courage! Do not be afraid! Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
the ears of the deaf will be unsealed. Then those who cannot walk will leap like deer
and the tongues of those who cannot speak
will sing for joy. Waters will break forth in the wilderness,
and there will be streams in the desert. The scorched earth will become a lake;
the parched land, springs of water. The lairs where jackals used to dwell
will become thickets of reed and papyrus. And through it will run a highway,
a road called the Sacred Path. The unclean may not travel by it,
but it will be for God’s people alone;
and no traveler—not even fools—will go astray. No lions will be there,
nor will any fierce beast roam about it,
but the redeemed will walk there— for those whom YHWH has ransomed will return.
They will enter Zion shouting for joy,
with everlasting joy on their faces;
joy and gladness will go with them
and sorrow and lament will flee away.
These are the inspired words of the writer known as Isaiah and the community affirms them by saying “Amen.”
Suzanne: Homily Starter and Shared Reflections
The writer in the passage from Isaiah 35 paints a compelling picture of joy in the natural surroundings familiar to the people of Israel. Images of flowers, strong cedar trees, bursting streams in the desert and springs of water in thirsty ground connote vibrancy and life. This representation of abundance in desert life is so appropriate for today, Gaudete Sunday, in which the tradition focuses our attention on joy as we await the celebration of the coming of Love into our world.
Yet, as the passage continues, several physical challenges are also highlighted: feeble hands, weak knees, faint of heart, and hearing and vision impairment. I will go out on a limb and recognize that the majority of our Upper Room community fall into the season of ‘late, late middle age’ and these ailments are all too familiar. Isaiah rejoices that all these unfortunate conditions will be healed. Hope is expected. There is no gray area in this passage, just the expectation of healing.
However, let us focus on the vulnerability of frightened hearts. This one is all too real for us - no matter our age. When one is gripped in fear, the image of water flowing in the desert is not going to do it for us. “Hope sounds hollow to those who are enduring the wretched parts of life.” (Dr. Christine Hong, Sanctified Art.). We all have our personal stories when life is indeed wretched. So where do we put joy in the midst of our darkness and fear?
When sitting with someone who is in deep psychological pain, I have finally learned that it is the sitting, not the words that comfort. Some of you have probably heard the story of the teacher and author, Parker Palmer, who was experiencing a deep clinical depression. Friends arrived offering advice to go outside in nature or acknowledged what a gift he is to the many people he has helped. This well-meaning advice fell flat. He then describes one friend who truly helped. Palmer says, ‘With my permission, Bill came to my house every day around 4:00 PM, sat me down in an easy chair, and massaged my feet. He rarely said a word. But somehow he found the one place in my body where I could feel a sense of connection with another person, relieving my awful sense of isolation while bearing silent witness to my condition.
By offering me this quiet companionship for a couple of months, day in and day out, Bill helped save my life. Unafraid to accompany me in my suffering, he made me less afraid of myself. He was present - simply and fully present - in the same way one needs to be at the bedside of a dying person.”
Susan and I chose John Denver’s song “All this Joy” because it is real. Only a poet who has known both deep joy and unbearable sorrow could so poignantly express these emotions. So, on this Gaudete Sunday, we will celebrate joy, knowing that joy and sorrow come to each of us at different times and in different ways. As we learned earlier from the body prayer of Julian of Norwich, we await, allow, accept, and attend.
Susan: Thank you for sharing, now let’s pray the Statement of Faith together:
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
Susan: 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…..”
Susan: We pray for these blessings, cares, and concerns and bring them to our table of friendship and love. Amen.
Suzanne: 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:
Please Prepare Me by Beautiful Chorus
All: 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.
All lift their plates and pray the following:
This is the bread of life for all who hunger. This is the cup of compassion for a broken world.
What we have heard with our ears we will live with our lives. As we share communion we will become communion, both love's nourishment of love's challenge.
(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)
Suzanne: Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace.
When offering communion you are invited to speak the words: “You are a grace-filled vessel.”
All consume their bread and wine at this time
Communion Meditation/Song:
Abwoon D'Bashmaya - The Lords Prayer in Aramaic by IndiaJiva
Prayer after communion:
All: 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,
Amen.
Suzanne: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
O Breathing Source of Life,
Your name shines everywhere! Hollow out a space to plant your presence here. Come, really come, and guide us to the good place where your vision is fulfilled. May your delight be fulfilled in each life, as it is in the shining realm of your full Presence.
Illuminate our circle of life with the wisdom and nurturing we need now, for body, mind and spirit. Empower us to stop crossing the boundaries of others; allow us to let go of the tangled threads of others’ faults we hold in our hands; release the knots of sin in our lives. Help us to be neither too outer nor too inner, lest we bear unripe or rotten fruit.
For to you belongs the enlightened vision, the empowering energy, and the song that brings all together in harmony, from gathering to gathering. This is the ground of being from which my actions will come. Amen (A translation by Neil Douglas-Klotz)
BLESSING
Suzanne: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together.
All: As we await and abide the great mystery of the Christmas season,
May we rejoice with faith and bloom with hope.
May we be blessed with soft hearts and resilient spirits to welcome all this joy.
And may we always know the grace of the world and the peace of wild things.
All: AMEN
Closing Song: Abide Sung by Carrie Newcomer & Lyrics by Parker Palmer
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