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The Golden Pilgrimage
by Carmelle Beaugelin
Inspired by Matthew 2:1-12
Welcome and Opening Prayer: Julie: Welcome to you all as we gather to celebrate the Feast of Epiphany, a time of seeking and finding and giving gifts. Let us pray:
Calling all seekers, all dreamers, all believers…
Calling all glass-half-full optimists and lighthouse keepers…
Calling all star-chasers and bedtime prayer speakers…
Bring your questions, your hope, your faith and your fear
into this space.
God is here. AMEN.
Prayer by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed | A Sanctified Art LLC |sanctifiedart.org.
Opening Song: O Come All Ye Faithful, George Strait
https://youtu.be/6aIoa1z96Ds
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah (60:1-6, 11a)
Arise! Shine out! Your light has come!
The glory of God has risen, shining upon you!
Lies cover the earth, truth is not to be found.
People walk around unseeing, blind.
But, cradled in a holy night, out of a nourishing darkness,
the morning star is now rising on you! Over you, healing rays can be seen!
Many people will come to your rising light,
leaders to the promise of your dawn.
Lift your eyes and look around:
They all gather together, they all come to you!
Your daughters and your sons will journey from afar
with young children on the hip. Then, you will look and be radiant. Your heart will throb and swell with joy.
The treasures of the sea will be brought to you too. Abundance from the land will be laid before you, in peace. A multitude of camels will come to you:
the young camels of Midian and Ephah,
all those form Sheba will come. They will carry gold and frankincense. They will proclaim the praise of God.
Your gates will always be open to them. Day and night, they will not be closed.
These are the inspired words of a prophet returning from exile called Third Isaiah and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Alleluia: Celtic Alleluia
Gospel: A reading from the gospel of Matthew (2:1-12)
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of Herod, Magi from the East arrived in Jerusalem asking, “Where is the newborn leader of the Judeans? We observed the child’s star at its rising and have come to pay homage.” When Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him. Calling together all the head priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him,
“In Bethlehem of Judea, for this has been written by the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a leader
who is to shepherd my people, Israel.”
Herod secretly called for the Magi. He learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. He sent them along to Bethlehem, saying, “Go! Search diligently for the child! When you have found the newborn, bring me word so that I may also go and pay homage.” Upon hearing these words of Herod, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star they had seen at its rising until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary, the mother, and they knelt down and paid homage. Opening their treasure chests, they offered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Then, having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by a different way.
These are the inspired words of the anonymous storyteller we call Matthew and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
(pause)
Shared Homily: Julie
Epiphany, a time of seeking and finding and giving gifts. The Magi followed the star to find the newborn king. The stories only mention the three kings but when have kings ever traveled alone? They must have had others with them, right? I wonder who. Did women travel with them? Three queens maybe? Did they bring servants, people to pack the gifts or cook for them or take care of the animals? None of us travel through this world alone. We all need help to find our way. And we help others find their way. It’s a beautiful symmetry. And when we find what we seek, together we celebrate with joy!
In that spirit of celebration, as the Christmas season comes to a close, I offer you this gift, this poem by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed entitled A Blessing for the Seekers.
Blessed are you who turn your face up to the sky,
who open your arms to feel the wind,
who notice all the things that we should notice.
Blessed are you who are fluent in wonder
and familiar with awe.
Blessed are you who, even now, dream dreams,
who have not lost hope,
who swear the glass is still half-full.
Blessed are you who plant trees
and sing the harmony,
who tell the children how this world can be magic.
Blessed are you who
walk and seek
and turn over every stone,
pointing out all the corners and colors
that God lives in.
Blessed are you.
Amen.
What did you hear? We would love to hear your insights on the 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
Julie: 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…..”
Julie: We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace. Amen.
Julie: With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
(written by Jay Murnane)
Holy One, you are continually creating the universe, continually giving birth to all of us. We sense the need to do the same, to set ourselves free from a sense of emptiness and barren hopelessness.
We celebrate you as the Source of light and life and love, and we celebrate your presence and all-ways care. We give thanks, and joined with your vision of harmony and peace, we sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy: "Here In This Place" by Christopher Grundy https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ
Your wisdom invites us to draw on our tradition, as old as the stars, shining through Sarah and Abraham, shining through your prophets in every age and every culture. We join that enlightening, enlivening tradition with what we are as we risk fidelity to a dream.
Filled with your spirit, we, like Jesus, can give birth in our day to your living word for the sake of hope enfleshed in creativity and confrontation, healing and reconciliation, justice, universal and unconditional love.
Holy One, we dare again to dream the ancient dreams and open ourselves to marvelous visions. There are mountains of arrogance to lower, valleys of fear and separation to fill in, to create a community and communion that stretches throughout our consciousness and around our world.
In this way, working to renew the face of the earth, we are opened up to your Spirit, the Spirit of light and life and love born in Jesus.
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)
What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives. As we share communion, we become Communion, both love’s nourishment and love’s challenge.
Let us share this bread to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace with the words: You are a champion of peace.
Communion Meditation: We Three Kings, Dolly Parton
Julie: Prayer after Communion:
Holy One, we are grateful for the gift of Jesus.
From his humble beginnings to his profound message for a world of love and peace. His words of hope for the poor and forgotten and his call to serve.
We are united in your Spirit, and worship you with our lives.
All: AMEN.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Holy one who is 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
Julie: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together.
May we continue to be the face of God to each other.
May we call each other to extravagant generosity!
May we, like Jesus, be bearers of light and peace! AMEN
Closing Song: Joy to the World, Johnny Cash
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