Please join us between 9:30 and 9:55 am via Zoom
Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Salt and Light: The Path of Jesus
Welcome and Theme:
Good morning and welcome or welcome back to the Upper Room Community. Today we explore the theme of Salt and Light: The Path of Jesus. Salt preserves and flavors. Light illuminates. To be followers of brother Jesus, we are called to decide what is important to preserve so that we can make a positive change in the world. We are also called to be Light, to transform our hearts and minds so that the radiance of our faith and love is ever more brilliant to those we encounter.
Opening Prayer:
Jean: God-with you there is no darkness. In our broken world we see so much darkness. Bring your light to the dark places in our lives. Bring your love and compassion to those in pain. Fill us with your light, love and joy. Invite us to walk in your light and become light to the world.
Opening Song: May the Christ Light Shine in You by Kathy Sherman, CSJ
https://youtu.be/tY0Rj9Yd2lk
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading (Steve): Isaiah 58:7-10
A reading from the prophet know as Isaiah.
Thus says the LORD:
Share your
bread with the hungry,
shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them,
and do not turn your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
If you remove from your midst
oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;
if you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday.
The community affirms these truths by saying: Amen
Second Reading (Judy): Excerpt from The Seed of the New Year by Joyce Rupp
Seed of Insight, expand my ideas and thoughts so the lessons of your love keep influencing the way I think and act. Visit me with unexpected turns of understanding and perception. Urge me to be transformed into an ever more gracious and caring person.
Seed of Equanimity, disperse anxious remnants of fear and concern. Strengthen me to free them from my tight grasp. Like a seed planted in the soil, encourage my surrender into your abiding presence. When I wait with uncertainty, draw your enduring tranquility into my heart.
Seed of Happiness, enter the gray spaces in which I lose sight of joy. Awaken enthusiasm. Loosen whatever restrains my spirit from life-giving energy. Release gloom when it wraps around me. Let it slide off like the shell of a seed giving way to a greening shoot.
Seed of Unity, touch my heart to the suffering of others through each kind thought and caring deed. Let compassion spread like droplets of rain seeping into the soil of humanity.
Thank you for your life resonating in the heartbeat of our co-existence on planet Earth. May there be peace.
The community affirms these truths by saying: Amen
Alleluia: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/1Hha8exsMkI
Gospel (Jean): Matthew 5:13-16
A reading from the gospel writer known as Matthew.
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father."
The community affirms these truths by saying: Amen
Homily Starter (Kim)
As part of preparation for this liturgy, I watched the Misquoting Jesus podcast that we sent with the readings. Professor Bart Ehrman provides a rich, scholarly analysis of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew is the gospel written about 55 or so years after Jesus; death. Judaism is the first monotheistic religion in antiquity. Matthew was written by an anonymous writer who really wanted readers to understand that Jesus is a Jewish messiah sent by the one God that Jews worship , and that he was sent to the Jewish people......and yet the Jews for the most part, didn’t understand and rejected him. Still, he wants to make the point that Jesus came to validate Jewish Law and to take it a step further. He stands firm in Judaism and yet rejects the hypocritical legalism of the Jewish leadership. Much the way we may reject the hypocritical legalism of the Catholic leadership but love and desire to preserve the Spirit of authentic Christian belief.
In our Isaiah reading we hear the prophet promising , in a very traditional Jewish theme, that if one follows the dictates of the law in their actions, that one’s Light would break forth like the dawn, Additionally , God’s light would shine on those who followed the Law . To this day, some Jewish scholars emphasize that it is fidelity to the law and not personal belief that characterizes Judaism.
Joyce Rupp’s prayer reflects the idea that it is important to evolve personally. She uses terms like ideas, thoughts, perceptions, being touched and expanding. She is praying for inner , conversion and illumination. I would suggest that she sees this as a way to be better prepared for the work of doing good for justice and peace. She isn’t negating action but she is challenging us to see that intentional internal conversion is not optional in the Christian path.
In our gospel, Jesus asks how can salt itself be seasoned if it loses its own flavor . Wait what? Can salt lose it’s flavor? The answer in the first century Palestine is basically no. Salt was used in it’s pure form for flavor but was primarily for preservation. Salt prevents microbes, fungus and bacteria from spoiling food. Pure salt never deteriorates. However, salt can be contaminated and diluted, thereby spoiling its effectiveness. If salt became moist or if something was mixed in with it that itself deteriorates, the salt can’t do its’ job. A modern example is the addition of iodine to salt. Iodine does deteriorate with time and ruins the impact and value of the salt . I believe that Jesus saw legalism as a contaminate in our attempts to live the spirit of the law which is always Love.
Lighting a lamp creates a certain light. How much the lamp illumines depends on what you do with it. Do you block it with a bushel basket or do you clear away whatever is blocking it’s rays. Remember that in Jesus’ time, dark was really dark. There was no ambient light from cities or buildings. The moon and the lamps people lit were the only things that made it possible to see past ones own nose. So being a good Light meant a lot to these original listeners. I believe Jesus’ comments on being salt and light refer to the same directive. Essentially, Jesus’ is teaching us to do good things, take action for justice AND be a better person.
Like salt can be ruined by dilution or contamination, our personal Christian walk may be negatively impacted if we don’t stay focused. While remaining firmly fixed on the gospel,, we study, pray, meditate and transform ourselves and as salt, we preserve the truth of Jesus’ teaching. We must humbly identify in ourselves those factors that could contaminate our walk in Jesus’ path. As Christians we seek to shine the Christ Light. Isaiah reminds us that our good works should point others toward God. So, our Christian call is to preserve our saltiness so as to preserve the gospel message, and let go of internal blocks to shining Christ’s light ever brighter in a sometimes very dark world. In that way, we are light and salt inviting others to their own experience of God’s Light in themselves.
What did you hear in our readings today?
Shared Reflections on Readings
Statement of Faith (Mary Lynch)
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
Presider 1: As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Intentions read
We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace.
Presider 2: 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
https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ
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 / We are the Face of the Holy One.
Communion Song: Introduction to Mr. Tyre Nichols (Kim)
Change Our Heart – Video by Donna & Kim Panaro
https://youtu.be/vkM6-o0lBHs
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.
Joan: 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
Presider 1: 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: Go Light the World (Community lights candles)
https://youtu.be/wN5SILxm55Q
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