 |
| Trinity by Kelly Latimore; from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, Tennessee. |
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
The Holy Trinity
Welcome: Julie: Welcome as we celebrate with joy the faces of the Divine among us. We are happy you are here with us today. Our theme today is the Holy Trinity.
Opening Prayer: Julie: Let us pray. Creator God, brother Jesus, and most Holy Spirit, may we feel you within and around us today and every day. AMEN.
Opening Song: Be Not Afraid
https://youtu.be/RF0DIpFOoBg
Liturgy of the Word
FIRST READING
A Reading from the Book of Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9
Carrying two chiseled stone tablets in his hands, Moses went up Mount Sinai early in the morning as God had commanded. The Holy One came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses, speaking the divine Name: I will be Who I will be. As God passed in front of Moses, The Holy One proclaimed, “I am, I am, I am the God of compassion and grace, slow to anger, great in faithfulness and unwavering in love.”
Immediately Moses knelt and bowed down. Moses said to The Holy One, “If I have found Your favor, then come and travel with us. Although we are a stubborn people, forgive us o
ur wickedness and evil. Claim us as Your own.”
These are the inspired words of an Ancient Writer called the Yahwist and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
PSALM
Genesis 1:1-2; 26a, 27-28a
The Psalm Response is: O God, send out your Spirit; renew the face of the earth.
R: O God, send out your Spirit; renew the face of the earth.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and Earth.
Earth was windswept and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. The Spirit of God hovered, stirring the surface of the waters.
R: O God, send out your Spirit; renew the face of the earth.
God spoke:
“Let us make humankind in our image, in our likeness.”
So God created human beings in God's own image. In the image of God were they created.
Of all genders, including male and female, God created them.
R: O God, send out your Spirit; renew the face of the earth.
God blessed them, saying:
“Be fruitful, and prosper.
Replenish the earth.
You are responsible for it.”
R: O God, send out your Spirit; renew the face of the earth.
SECOND READING
A Reading from Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 13:11-13
Finally, dear ones, rejoice and be well. Strive for full restoration. Encourage one another. Be agreeable. Live in harmony, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the holy ones send their greetings.
The grace of Jesus the Christ, the love of God, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you!
These are the inspired words of the Apostle Paul and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Alleluia (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips
https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
GOSPEL
A Reading from the Gospels attributed to John and Matthew Jn 3:16-17 + Mt 27:50-56
God loved the world, the kosmos. To reveal this love, God gave us Jesus, who was of God, God's own. Whoever trusts in God's own will not die, but have life without end. For God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but through him, to heal the world, to make the kosmos whole.
…
Upon the cross, Jesus cried out a second time with a loud voice, and gave up his spirit, breathing his last. At that moment, the veil to the inner sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook. Rocks were split. Tombs opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. After Jesus’ resurrection, they came out of the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.
When the centurion, together with the others keeping watch over Jesus, felt the earthquake and saw all that was taking place, they were terrified and said, “Surely, this one was of God.”
Many women were also there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs, to deacon to him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the Zebedee brothers.
These are the inspired words of the anonymous storytellers we call John and Matthew and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Homily Starter
Julie: I don’t know about you but sometimes if I think too hard about the trinity, it makes my head hurt. God in three persons? How is that possible? Today’s readings show us how. In our first reading, Moses goes up Mount Sinai (and just as an aside, it was a big deal that Moses saw the face of God and lived; not all in the Hebrew scriptures were so lucky) with his stone tablets to hear God’s commandments. As a chaplain I work with likes to say, the Ten Commandments are like when our parents give us rules. They’re meant to keep us safe and healthy. So this is an example of our Birthing God acting as our parent.
Then in the gospel, Matthew reminds us that Jesus, our own Christ of the Cosmos, in the words of the centurion, “was of God.” There’s also the mention of the women deacons but I digress.
Then our second reading ties it all together when Paul writes, “The grace of Jesus the Christ, the love of God, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you!” Grace, love, and companionship. That is what the holy trinity offers us.
The trinity is also a way for us mere mortals to more fully experience the different faces of the Divine. The Holy One is so much more multi-dimensional than we can ever understand. Look around. Everyone here today is made in the Holy One’s image and just look at how different we all are! It’s beautiful. Multiply that by the almost eight billion people on earth and you start to get an idea of just how many different dimensions or faces the Holy One has. The trinity, by focusing on just three aspects of the Divine, makes it all a little less mind boggling.
What about you? What did you hear? What will you do? What, if anything, will it cost you?
Shared Homily
Statement of Faith
Please join in proclaiming our 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.
Julie: As we prepare for this sacred meal we remember that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, our gratitude and our cares and concerns.
We bring to the table…..
We pray for these and all unspoken prayers and blessings. Amen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Julie: Please join in praying the Eucharist prayer together:
Ever gentle God, as co-creators of our planet, we offer you the gifts of bread, wine and our lives. May we celebrate our oneness with all creatures great and small in your precious family.
As one with You, we gather as a community to celebrate your gift of life pulsating within and around us and in the glories of nature everywhere.
O Birthing God, you stirred the waters of creation; you dwell on earth, and in every living being. We lift up our hearts to you and with thanks and praise we sing:
Here in this Place – with lyrics – Christopher Grundy
Christ of the Cosmos, we thank you that there are 18 galaxies for every person, that our bodies are made of stardust. Every place we turn, you are present, loving us. You call us, “beloved” and invite us to join the dance of creation in a mystical celebration of our oneness with all living things in your divine love.
Christ of the Cosmos, we rejoice that You, who are more than we can imagine or dream of, dwell in mystery beyond all comprehension. We remember that it was you, who said: “Anything I have done in the name of the Holy One, you can do, too…and even more.”
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus, who showed us so simply, so tenderly, how the world is in our hands. He had nothing in this world but your love, companions on the journey, and his very self. Together, that was more than enough, and that remains our clarity in the midst of confusion: the miracle of healing, new hope, nurturance, nourishment, liberation and life.
All lift their bread and pray the following:
On the night before he died, while at supper with his friends, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to them saying,
Take and eat; go and share my love.
All lift their cup and pray the following:
He then raised high 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.
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.
Please receive communion with the words: I am the face of God.
Communion Meditation: Ancient Mother – by Jan Novotka
Christ of the Cosmos, we remember Mary, mother of Jesus, faithful disciple and St. Francis who sang canticles to brother sun and sister moon. We remember our sisters and brothers, the great cloud of witnesses who have cared for earth’s creatures and have blessed our world with their loving service to God’s people.
We praise you in union with them
we awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to worship you truly,
O Holy One,
At this time and all time and in all ways.
AMEN.
Let us pray the prayer of Jesus:
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)
Concluding Rite
Julie: Lover of the Universe, we are full of awe at your extravagant love flowing through all living things. We immerse ourselves in the beauty of nature that surrounds us each day. We are one with our Birthing God and our brother Jesus, in union with the Holy Spirit.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
God is with us. And loves through us. The blessing of God is upon us as we go in peace to live justice and peace! AMEN.
Closing Song: How Can I Keep from Singing by NYC Virtual Choir & Orchestra
https://youtu.be/VLPP3XmYxXg
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.