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phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Forgiveness and Compassion
Julie: Welcome! We are so happy to have you join us today as we celebrate our liturgy together. Today we pray the prayer of Jesus and look at compassionate forgiveness.
Opening Prayer: Let us pray. Holy One, you forgive us every day. Give us the grace to forgive each other and ourselves, each and every day. AMEN
Opening Song: Quiet Place by the Many – video by MT Streck
LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING
A Reading from the First Book Samuel 2:1-9
After Hannah, deemed barren, gave birth to Samuel, and just before she dedicated him, in his youth, to the Temple priesthood, she sang this song:
My heart rejoices in God!
In God, my strength soars. My mouth derides oppressors;
the humble have triumphed! I delight in God’s deliverance.
There is no holy one like God; there is no rock like our God.
Talk no more so boastfully,
let not arrogance issue from your mouths.
For an all-knowing God is God;
by this God actions are weighed:
The bows of the mighty are broken, while the vulnerable gird on strength.
The well-fed hire themselves out for bread, while the hungry no longer have to toil.
Those deemed useless will bear many fruits,
while those who mistake privilege for merit will languish.
Life and death are in the hands of God;
God brings down to Sheol and raises up.
Rich and poor are in God’s hands; God humbles, and also exalts.
God raises the disenfranchised from the dust, those in need from the ash heap,
to seat them in their places of honor,
and make a glorious throne their heritage. For all the Earth belongs to God.
God guards the feet of the faithful. Wickedness will perish;
for not by might does one prevail.
These are the inspired words of an Israelite Poet and Musician and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
PSALM 4
Our Psalm Response is: Transform us in prayer. R: Transform us in prayer.
Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress.
Have mercy and hear my prayer.
R: Transform us in prayer.
God answers:
“In your anger, do not sin.
Instead, at night, in the quiet of your room,
search your hearts and be silent. Know that I have heard you.”
R: Transform us in prayer.
Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say. Give us Yourself, O God,
for You fill hearts with joy,
more joy than when grain and new wine abound.
R: Transform us in prayer.
In peace, I will lie down and sleep.
In You alone, O God, am I safe.
You alone are my sanctuary.
R: Transform us in prayer.
SECOND READING
A Reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians 3:16-23
Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. The temple of God, which you are, is holy.
Let no one be deceived. If any of you consider yourself wise in this age, become a “fool” so as to become wise! The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God. As it is written:
“God catches the wise in their own ruses,”
and again,
“God knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
So then, don’t boast about human leaders! All things are yours! Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future, - all of it belongs to you! And you belong to the Christ, who belongs to God.
These are the inspired words of the Apostle Paul and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Alleluia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC4nbwmQDVw
GOSPEL
A Reading from the Gospel attributed to Matthew 6:7-15
Jesus taught the disciples, saying:
When you pray, don't babble like the sanctimonious do. They think they'll be heard because of their many words. Don't pray in that way. God, who conceived you in love, knows what you need before you ask. This is how you should pray:
Our Loving God of the cosmos, holy be Your name.
May Your kin-dom come,
the desire of Your heart for the world be done on earth and throughout the heavens.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Do not subject us to the final test,
but deliver us from the evil one.
Jesus continued: If you forgive others their transgressions, then Your God will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their transgressions, neither will God forgive you.
These are the inspired words of the gospel writer we call Matthew and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Homily Starter
Julie: As I’ve mentioned before, I love the Comprehensive Catholic Lectionary produced by the Women’s Ordination Conference. One of the things l love about it is how it provides extensive notes on the readings, which I find so helpful with the less familiar ones. I’d like to share some of those notes to give context to today’s readings.
[The] First Reading from 1 Samuel is the song of Hannah. She sings this ancient song as she gives her only son to the pre- Temple shrine to become a priest. Her son, Samuel, was the answer to her previous grief-stricken prayer asking God to end her barrenness. Hannah’s song is the basis for Mary’s song (The Magnificat) centuries later.
Psalm 4 reads as if it were Hannah’s distressed prayer before she conceived: She prayed into the context of a patriarchal society where women were only “saved” through childbearing. The psalm extols God’s own Self (and not a place) as the (true) sanctuary of the human heart.
The Comprehensive Catholic Lectionary follows the canonical Second Reading which speaks of the body, and the body of believers, as God’s Temple, the Spirit’s dwelling place.
Note that in the entire canonical SMFD Lectionary, the prayer of Jesus (often called the “Our Father” or “Lord’s Prayer”) never appears in any of the three cycles. This is remarkable and unfortunate because the prayer is central to both Christian worship and private prayer. Many Christians are unaware that the prayer appears in only two of the four gospels (“Matthew” and “Luke”) and that, despite similarities, they are different. And BOTH differ from the versions the churches have prayed through the centuries, and English-speaking churches only in recent centuries. Arguably, aspects and the form of the prayer long pre-date the prayer(s) in the two Gospels, and many renditions, including sung renditions and expanded renditions, have existed in the last two millennia. The study of the origins, history, evolution, and iterations of the prayer is rich.
But what do these readings mean to us as followers of Jesus? For me, today, they mean that Abba God loves us with a powerful, transformative love. By living in that love, we become more than ourselves, we become the body of Christ, the communion of saints. And while transformative, this love is also challenging: we are asked to forgive others as we would have the Holy One forgive us. bell hooks writes,
For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?
Can we see the possibility for transformation in those who have wronged us? Can we forgive even when we can’t see that possibility? Can we do that personally? Can we do that as a society?
What did you hear? What will you do? What, if anything, will it cost you? Please unmute and share your thoughts and insights on today’s readings.
Shared Reflections
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 of the transformative power of compassionate love. We bring to this table our prayers for the community. Please share your blessings, cares, and concerns starting with the words, “I bring to the table…”
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions held in the silence of our hearts. AMEN.
Julie: With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer in one voice:
O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us as we set our hearts on belonging to you. May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all creation.
You know our limitations and our essential goodness and you love us as we are. You beckon us to your compassionate heart and inspire us to see the good in others and forgive their limitations. Acknowledging your presence in each other and in all of creation, we sing:
Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
Guiding Spirit, when opposing forces in us tug and pull and we are caught in the tension of choices, inspire us to make wise decisions toward what is good.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus, and for all our sisters and brothers who have modeled for us a way to live and love in challenging times. Inspired by them, we choose life over death, we choose to be light in dark times.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are ever aware of your Spirit in us and among us at this Eucharistic table and we are grateful for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world.
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 the plate and pray:
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 the cup and pray:
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)
We share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity.
Please receive communion saying: I am the Body of Christ.
Communion Song:At This Table by Idina Menzel video by Denise
Prayer after Communion:
Holy One, your transforming energy is within us and we join our hearts with all who are working for a just world. We pray for wise leaders in our religious communities. We pray for courageous and compassionate leaders in our world communities.
We pray for all of us gathered here and like Jesus, we open ourselves up to your Spirit, for it is through living as he lived that we awaken to your Spirit within,
moving us to glorify you, at this time and all ways.
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
Julie: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing:
ALL: May the Fire of Love ignite our hearts and radiate through us.
May the Spirit truth and justice burn within us.
May we continue to be the face of the Holy One, and
May we be a blessing in our time.
AMEN.
Closing Song: Everything is Holy Now
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