Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Deb: Welcome to all who enter this space with us today or later online or sharing our recording. Whenever you are able to join in, we welcome you each to silence yourself, and to come into the holy space of your soul. Quiet your mind, quiet your heart, quiet your environment and listen for the Word to refresh you.
We ask for a minute of silence as we enter here.
Opening Prayer: (Deb)
Abba, you spoke to the soul of Jesus and let him realize the face of the Holy One is intimate and loving. Be with us now as we open our minds to your Loving Presence and Gentle Heart. Give us your Courage and Strength. Keep our minds open to your Loving, Joyful, Laughing engagement with us. Move us to follow your example of Fortitude and Temperance in our actions with each other. You are our very Center. Amen.
Opening Song: God Beyond All Names
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading (Steve) A reading from Exodus (EX 19: 2-6a)
In those days, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai and pitched camp.
While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain,
Moses went up the mountain to God.
Then the LORD called to him and said,
“Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob;
tell the Israelites:
You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians
and how I bore you up on eagle wings
and brought you here to myself.
Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant,
you shall be my special possession,
dearer to me than all other people,
though all the earth is mine.
You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.”
These are the words from the Book of Exodus, and our community affirms them by saying, Amen.
Alleluia: Celtic Alleluia
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel of Matthew (9:36 to 10:8)
At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Then he summoned his twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits
to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the twelve apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
These words are from the writer and ministers of Matthew, and our community affirms them by saying, Amen.
Homily Sharing
Deb:
With just one word, Jesus changed our entire concept of our personal relationship with God.
I ask you to think of the time of Jesus and see the realities of God-like entities that abounded then. Egyptian, Greek and Roman Gods were All-knowing, Powerful, Judgmental and Jealous. Even the God of the Jews made Moses come to the mountain to talk to him, kneel on sacred ground, receive instructions, and let him know that the people were God’s “possessions.” The Israelites had to live up to a holy standard, a pedestal of priests.
War and destruction were rampant. The God(s) were beyond our reach, but always reaching us.
And then, Jesus in his teaching, said the word, “Abba”! With that one word, Jesus changed his relationship with the Divine, and changed our relationship too. We could see a loving and supportive Being, helping us with all things. And now we could see that we are all connected.
The readings today from the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, were reflective of being Chosen ones. Chosen ones implies excluding others. That is not the Divine Father that Jesus knew.
The Gospel reading is also not thought to reflect the teachings and intentions of Jesus according to the Jesus Seminar scholars. But is it important for us to see the effects of the new Christian ministers of the time, and to know that these words and directions may not be the actual vision of Jesus’s ministry.
Today, how is it that we can embrace our sisters and brothers, and realize that we are all on a continuum of learning new ways and changing? What do you know and witness to the clarity and hopefulness of Jesus’s ministry in your lives?
We invite you to share your thoughts. And Happy Father’s Day!!
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.
Intentions
Deb: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we voice our intentions beginning with the words, “We bring to the table…..”
Deb: We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Deb: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together:
All: O Holy One, you have birthed us in goodness, gifted us with life and cherished us in love. In the heart of our being, your Spirit dwells; a Spirit of courage and vision, a Spirit of wisdom and truth.
In the power of that same Spirit, we lift our hearts in prayer, invoking anew the gift of wisdom and enlightenment, that we may continue to praise and thank you, in union with all who sing the ancient hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
ALL: Holy One, we see around us the work of your hands, the fruit of your wisdom and love. The unfolding story of creation witnesses unceasingly to your creative power. We, your creatures, often deviate from that wisdom, thus hindering your creative presence in our midst.
Sending among us Jesus, our brother, you birth afresh in our world the power of Sophia-Wisdom, and in the gift of Your Spirit, your creative goodness blooms anew, amid the variety and wonder of life.
Deb: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: We invoke Your Spirit upon the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape, that they may become gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
On the night before he faced his own death and for the sake of living fully, Jesus sat at the Seder supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly within them, he bent down and washed their feet.
All lift their plate and pray the following:
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat; this is my very self.
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 will become communion
Both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
(consume bread and wine)
Communion Song: Choose to Hope by Marty Haugen
https://youtu.be/bOQJUbu9_wQ
In faith and hope we are sustained; in grace and dignity reclaimed. In praise, we thank you.
In union with all peoples living and dead, we unite our thoughts and prayers, asking wisdom and courage:
- to discern more wisely your call to us in the circumstances of our daily lives;
- to act justly and courageously in confronting the pain and suffering that desecrates the Earth and its peoples;
- to take risks in being creative and proactive on behalf of the poor and marginalized;
- and to love all people with generosity of heart, beyond the labels of race, creed and color.
And may we ever be aware and alert to the new things Your Spirit makes possible in us, as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty, into the fullness of life to which all are called, participating in the wise and wonderful work of co-creation.
Like Jesus, we will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and we will live compassionate lives, for it is through living as Jesus lived, that we awaken to your Spirit within, moving us to glorify you, O Holy One, at this time and all ways.
Amen.
Deb: 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)
BLESSING
Deb: Let us pray together our blessing:
Holy One who is Abba to us all, help us to know that we are sisters and brothers with all of creation. Help us to know that you are with us in everything we do, and that you support us in all ways. Keep reminding us of your kindness and love and help us to see you in our lives. We bless you and we bless each other with this Love. Amen.
Closing Song: Being Kind – Empty Hands Music (Nimo)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.