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Welcome: Every time we gather, our readings, our sharing and our praying together brings something new into our lives. Who knows what we will hear tonight. Be ready.
Let us pray: Holy One, you are forever showing us who you are. We were born to co-create with you and every day you give us a chance to grow into who we are meant to be. We are always becoming. Amen.
Opening song: Thy Word Is a Lamp Unto My Feet by Amy Grant & Michael W. Smith
LITURGY OF THE WORD
A Reading from the book of Hebrews
The word of God is living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating even between soul and spirit,
joints and marrow,
and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from him,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must render an account.
These words are attributed to Paul, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN
Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
A Reading from the Gospel of Mark
Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
These are the inspired words of the disciple known as Mark and the community affirms them by saying Amen.
Shared Homily: Scriptures are often called the Living Word, the Word of God. The first verse in Hebrew says the word of God is living and effective. How is it that these words we read week after week, or day to day are living and effective? To be living, really living, there must be change and growth. The word of God changes and grows inside of each of us. When we come together in community, we reflect and share and try to make sense of what the Word means to us today. If the word does not resonate in our lives, then these scriptures are just a nice, familiar story. Sharing our thoughts in community changes each of us, they help us grow. We hear someone else’s thoughts, and they help us look at life differently. We are each constantly changing and growing; one epiphany after another.
In the Gospel, Jesus calls Levi and he gets up and follows him. It sounds like Levi jumps up, leaves his job, and immediately becomes a disciple of Jesus. I believe that Levi must have previously heard of Jesus. He heard people talking about this man that eats with tax collectors and sinners. Levi, himself was a tax collector and tax collectors were shunned and on the margins of society. Levi needed something more in his life, his inner being was stirred up. When Jesus called, Levi was ready.
When you and I read, study, pray the scriptures, share the word, pray together we are preparing ourselves for more change and growth. We too are ready and fortunately for us Jesus is still calling each of us by name every day.
Shared reflection
Statement of Faith
All: We believe in one God, 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 God's Word,
bringer of God's healing, heart of God's compassion,
bright star in the firmament of God's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of God's love,
a source of God's wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of God's peace in the world.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The life of God that is our innermost life,
the breath of God moving in our being.
The depth of God living in each of us.
We believe that God's 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.
Eucharistic Prayer of Belonging
As we prepare for the sacred meal 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 prayers and blessings. Amen.
We are a priestly people. We are anointed. With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
All: O Nurturing, Mothering One, You are always with us. We are grateful for Your constant loving and unconditional presence. At times we forget that You are holding us, attending to us. We fall and You pick us up. You send strangers, friends and family to our aid. We are never without Your Light and Spirit.
We experience great joy and we experience great pain and suffering. You are with us in the joy and the pain and suffering. When we experience Your presence we long to sing our hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place –by Christopher Grundy
All: Creator and Lover of all beings, we cannot grow in the darkness of this world without Your Light. Our desire to be in Your light is a gift from You. Help us keep our hearts and minds open to You through our love and care for each other and all creation
Please extend your hands in blessing
All: This bread and wine is a sign of Your nourishment and a sign of Your great love. Your Spirit is upon us and we belong to You and one another.
We thank you for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, revealing you as God-With-Us, revealing us as one with you, and all creation.
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the 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 bread)
All: 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)
ALL: Then he took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink of the covenant
Made new again through my life in you.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
Bread and wine are transformed by Your Spirit and we are transformed when we open ourselves to Your Spirit. Every time we share this bread and wine we choose to be transformed. We choose to love as You love us.
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 and Love’s challenge.
Please receive the bread and cup with the words: I am called
Communion Song: The Summons by John L. Bell & Graham Maule
Communion prayer:
Loving Source of our being, you call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We live justly, we love tenderly, we walk with integrity in Your Presence Amen.
Let us pray together the prayer of Jesus:
O Holy One, who is within, around, and among us, we celebrate your many names. Your wisdom comes. 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.
The Prayer of Jesus as interpreted by Miriam Therese Winter
BLESSING
Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together
May we hear Jesus calling. May we do our part to bring justice into the world. Where there is justice there is peace. May our gathering ignite us to love more fully. And like Jesus may we be a shining light and a blessing for all.
All: Amen.
Closing Song Every Step of the Way
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