phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome and Theme:
Welcome to this gathering of dear friends, the Upper Room Community. Today we consider the relationship between power and truth.
Opening Prayer:
Beloved, you created our infinite universe on pillars of truth. Help us to seek that truth always, and give us the courage to speak it. Amen.
Opening Song: For Her Speak by MaMuse
https://youtu.be/Ms2Ar-yrMjA
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading: From “Long Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela
I had no epiphany, no singular revelation, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand indignities and a thousand unremembered moments produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people. There was no particular day on which I said, “Henceforth I will devote myself to the liberation of my people”; instead, I simply found myself doing so, and could not do otherwise.
These are the words of Nelson Mandela, prophet, activist, and world leader. We affirm his words by saying, Amen.
Alleluia: Jan Phillips https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
Gospel: Matthew 14:1-12
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet. On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
These is the Gospel from the writer we know as Matthew. We affirm his words with "Amen."
Homily Starter:
A powerful man is confronted about his unlawful behavior by a truthful one. The truthful man is jailed, his life saved only by the fear of the powerful one. Feeling freed from the nasty sting of truth spoken aloud, the powerful man makes an outlandish promise. And quite unexpectedly, this promise forces the powerful man to have the truth-teller (the enormously popular and beloved truth-teller) murdered.
Imagine his surprise when the powerful man hears reports that there is another man going around truth-telling, and healing people, and drawing huge crowds. I imagine that his surprise is mixed with a large dose of fear, because nothing is more chilling to the powerful than a crowd of common people who have heard the truth.
This is the story of the murder of John the Baptist for speaking truth to power. It is also the story of Nelson Mandela, imprisoned for 27 years for telling the truth before a powerful system. It is also the story of Susan B Anthony: arrested, indicted, tried and convicted of voting in the United States of America. This is the story of countless truth-tellers throughout history and the consequences they paid for standing up to the powerful.
It is a story without ending. It continues today and will continue, as long as we have the fearful powerful and the brave truth-tellers speaking up to them.
I hope that you will share your thoughts about today’s readings.
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.
Prayers of the Community
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 prayers for the community.
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
(Written by Jay Murnane)
Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together.
Blessed are you, Holy One, source of all creation. Through your goodness you made this world and called us to be Your co-creators. We give thanks for the diversity and beauty of life around us and within us.
We open our awareness to the goodness of all of creation and we remember our responsibility to serve. You invite us to build the earth into a community of love rooted in justice. You placed confidence in us, for you made us and you know that we are good.
In joy and in thanksgiving we join with all the faithful servants who have gone before us and we sing:
Holy Holy Holy, Karen Drucker https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI
We thank you for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, revealing you as God-With-Us, and revealing us as one with you and all of creation.
He lived among us to show us who we are and challenged us to know you. He taught us the strength of compassionate love.
Please extend your hands in blessing:
We are grateful for your Spirit at our Eucharistic Table and 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 died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet, so that they would re-member him.
(All lift their plates and pray the following)
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.
(All lift their cups and pray the following)
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.
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.
You are called, consecrated and chosen to serve.
Please receive Communion with the words, “I am a speaker of truth.”
Communion Meditation/Song
“How Can I Keep From Singing” by Pete Seeger
Prayer after communion:
Holy One, we are willing to do everything Jesus did, to re-create the living presence of a love that does justice, of a compassion that heals and liberates, of a joy that generates hope, of a light that illumines people and confronts the darkness of every injustice and inequity.
We trust you to continue to share with us your own spirit, the spirit that animated Jesus, for it is through his life and teaching, all honor and glory is yours, O Holy One, forever and ever. 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: Please raise your hands in blessing:
May we open ourselves to truth when we see it. May we open our mouths to speak truth when we know it. May we speak. May we speak.
Closing Song: Speechless Rise Up Children's Choir
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