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| Photo by Maan Limburg, Unsplash |
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
Welcome to our liturgy this Saturday evening. “Love your enemies.” “Pray for those who persecute you.” How often have we heard these words? Let’s think about them tonight.
Opening Prayer: Holy One, help us to hear and live the words of our brother Jesus. Even the hardest ones. Amen.
Opening Song: Extravagant Love, The Many
Liturgy of the Word
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel writer known as Matthew (Matthew 5: 43-48 adapted)
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of the Holy One,
who makes the sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as the Holy One is perfect."
These are the words of the Gospel writer we know as Matthew. We affirm these words by saying, Amen.
Spirit of the Living God by Michael Crawford sung by Dennis McDonald - 1 verse
Second Reading: From “What’s Wrong With the World” by G.K. Chesterton
The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult, and left untried.
These are the words of G. K. Chesterton. We affirm his words by saying, Amen.
Homily Starter
In these few verses, Jesus sums up his entire message. He gives us the keys to the kin-dom so to speak, the secret handshake. And it is tough. It is hard. It seems impossible most of the time. And looking at human history, it seems that Chesterton is correct, it has never been tried.
“Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you.” Forgive them, as you are hanging from a cross, barely alive, with their spit drying on your face.
How? How do we do that? The question brings to mind a scene from a different Gospel. In Luke’s beautiful portrayal of the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel presents Mary with an impossible task. She is asked, as a virgin, to become the mother of Jesus. “How?” she asks. “How can this be?” Gabriel’s answer is “nothing will be impossible for God.” And Mary accepts the task.
If we look at these seemingly unrelated stories we might begin to see that we too are asked to do the impossible. We too are asked to birth the Divine. We are called to this task by our greatest teacher. We are asked to do what he did. We are asked to follow him on a road we cannot see. We are asked to try what has been thought to be too difficult to try. Like Mary. Like Jesus. Will we take the first step?
What are your thoughts? What are your questions? Where will this road take
you?
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.
Denise: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. 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 concerns. Amen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
adapted from Diarmuid O’Murchu
Denise: With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together:
Gracious God, source and sustenance of life, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy Spirit, who enlivens and inebriates all that exists, we beseech your healing power upon us and all we pray for today.
Down through the ages, you rescue us from darkness.
you light up our ways with wise and holy people. You restore our spirits and you revive our dwindling hope.
May the Spirit of life and wholeness transform us that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love, and healing to those whose lives we touch.
For all you bring to our lives, and for all we seek amid
pain and suffering, we acclaim your love and greatness,
and we join with all creation to sing our hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Karen Drucker https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI
Denise: Please extend your hands in blessing.
Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind, and spirit, we bring before you the darkness of our world, and the pain and suffering of your people.
We seek to be healed and made whole; we seek to be reconciled and united; we seek peace in our hearts and in our world.
We ask you to awaken anew in our hearts the empowering grace of your abundant Spirit, who infuses these gifts of bread and wine with the transforming energy of life, to nourish and sustain us in our time of need.
As we gather around this friendship table, we recall God’s
blessing and love from ages past, and we celebrate anew
the gift of life which we share among us at this Eucharistic feast.
The bread we break and the cup we share are symbols of our world of abundance where all are invited to partake of the fullness of life. But that life we often impede by our greed and selfishness and by our exploitation of other people.
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for 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 plate and pray:
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 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.
Presider 1: 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: “Nothing is impossible for God.”
Communion Song: Love Your Enemies, Kyle Sigmon https://youtu.be/MnVjNaBfQL0
Denise: In faith and hope we are sustained,
In grace our dignity reclaimed,
In praise we thank our God.
Grant that we may strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the God of life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, until the Kin-dom arrives in the fullness of time.
This prayer we make in the name of our healing and nurturing God through, with, and in whom we offer these gifts, sources of life, love, and goodness, now and forever. Amen.
Denise: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
O 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 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 (Miriam Therese Winter)
Denise: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
May we recognize the angels and prophets of our day. May we hear them and listen to them, knowing that they reveal the way to the kin-dom, and even if the path seems impossible, may our faith light the way, for we know it leads to Love. Amen.
Closing Song: What Shall I Give? Sara Thomsen
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