phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Fourth Weekend in the Season of Creation
Go work in my vineyard.
Welcome: Welcome! I’m so glad to be here with you today as we think about what it means for the first to be last and the last to be first and what is fair.
Opening Prayer Let us pray. Holy One, help us know you and in knowing you, help us be at peace with all that is unknowable in this world. AMEN
We celebrate our Season of Creation as we sing this song with one voice:
Opening Song: All You Works of God
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCTyaOcB4xk
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First reading:
A Reading from the Book of Job (38:1-9, 12-14, 16-18)
From the heart of the tempest, God addressed Job:
“Who is this, obscuring my intentions with ignorant words? Brace yourself for debate! I am going to ask the questions, and you tell me the answers.
Where were you when I spun the cosmos into being? Tell me, if you know. Who decided Earth's dimensions, measuring its belly with a cord? Who planted it with seeds of life?
Who paved space with the elements while morning stars burst out in song, and all the angels shouted for joy! A cosmic throng in cosmic chorus!
Who filled the earth with its seas as waters burst forth from the womb? Where were you when I wrapped the ocean in clouds and swaddled the sea in thick darkness?
Have you ever called forth morning, or guided dawn to its place to hold the corners of the sky and shake off the last few stars? All things touched with color, and all we see is changed?
Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea, or walked the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you unlocked the doors of the deepest darkness of space? Have you comprehended the vast expanse of the cosmos, seeing beyond its boundaries? Tell me, if you know all this!”
These are the inspired words of a Wisdom Writer and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/4cs8NDVM3Vk?si=LjKW18DK_ms_MYHw
Gospel:
A Reading from the Gospel attributed to Matthew (20:1-16)
The kin-dom of heaven is like an owner of a vineyard who went out early in the morning to hire workers. After agreeing with the workers for the usual daily wage, one denarius, the workers went into the vineyard. When the owner went out about nine o’clock and found others standing idle in the marketplace, the wine grower said to them, “You also go to my vineyard, and I will pay you what is just.” So, they went. Then the owner went out again about noon, and then also at about three o’clock, and did the same. And about five o’clock, still others were standing around. So, the owner said, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They replied, “Because no one has hired us.” The wine grower said, “You also go into my vineyard.”
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to the manager, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first.” Those who were hired at the end of the day came forward and received the usual daily wage, one denarius. Then, when the first workers came forward, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each, a usual day’s wage.
They took it, but grumbled at the wine grower saying, “The workers who came last have put in only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, even though we have done a heavy day’s labor in the heat.” The landowner answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you. Did we not agree on one denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to pay the latecomer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own affairs? Why should you be envious because I am generous?”
It is in this way that the last will be first, and the first, last.
These are the inspired words of the gospel writer known as Mathew and we affirm them by saying AMEN.
Shared Homily:
Julie: I saw a meme online recently that said, “Two thousand years from now people won’t know the difference between a butt dial and a booty call and that’s why the Bible is hard to understand.” I chuckled even as I saw the truth in it. And even though I don’t think there are any vineyard workers here today, I think we can all get the gist of the gospel. The owner shocked everyone by paying all the workers the same, the agreed upon silver coin for both those hired at the beginning of the day and those who only worked the last hour or two of the day. Even though they got the wages they were expecting, the workers who toiled all day thought it unfair because the latecomers got just as much. Was this unfair? Or was this a case of economic justice? The story doesn’t tell us why there were still workers hanging around late in the day, unemployed. Was it because the strongest workers were hired first, leaving the older, slower, weaker workers to wait and worry? I say worry because there was no guarantee that anyone would hire those waiting all day and yet they still had families to feed.
Or was this maybe a case of charity, of the generosity of the vineyard owner. Maybe he preferred “overpaying” workers to waiting and being confronted by beggars who once could have worked for him, before they lost everything and turned to panhandling in their desperation.
Or is this a story about the quirks of human nature? I think at some point we’ve all felt like the first workers, the ones who happily worked all day for an agreed upon price only to see someone else get just as much, someone who we think didn’t “deserve it.” Suddenly our satisfaction sours and what was previously a great deal is now a total rip off.
The question for me is this: if I worked all day and got my full pay, why does it matter if someone else worked fewer hours for the same amount of money? If I can take care of myself and my family, why should I begrudge someone else, maybe someone without my strengths and talents, the opportunity to take care of themselves and their families? PS This dilemma still happens today. Look at the issue of student loan forgiveness. If I had the financial means to pay off my loans, why should I begrudge someone else the opportunity to get out from under their loans?
And you thought all the tough questions were in the first reading!
What did you hear today? What will you do? What, if anything, will it cost you?
Statement of Faith:
All: 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 and Intentions, Blessings and Concerns
As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are alert to the wonders and dangers within our task of stewardship of Creation. We bring our gratitude, blessings and concerns to the friendship table. Please begin your prayer with “I bring to the table…”
We pray for these and all the unspoken concerns in our hearts. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Let us pray the Eucharistic Prayer of Compassion for the Earth with one voice and open hearts,
All: Holy One, we are amazed at the universe and this planet Earth and we respond with gratitude and compassion. We are blessed by the lights of the heavens, the sun and moon, comets and stars; we are blessed by knowing ours is but one galaxy among many.
We are blessed by the darkness which keeps us from being blinded by the light and which eases us into contemplation and rootedness; likewise, we are blessed by light which awakens our souls to the glory of creation.
We are blessed by oceans and the cliffs and shores which envelop them, by streams and rivers, by snow and sleet and rain. The mountains are our blessing of solitude and summit where we can feel the softest wind, see the furthest horizon and expand our imagination and vision.
We are blessed by the children whose easy smiles and open arms teach us enthusiasm and delight at living in the present. We are blessed by friends and strangers, by those who have gone before us and the friends we have yet to meet. These companions are the face of your love and compassion.
Plant and vegetation, whether beauties of the land or harvest for our survival are also our companions, sharing in the sun and wind and rain. The biodiverse wealth of animal and marine life are our blessed companions, deserving also of our protection and care.
In celebration of Creation and all our blessings, we sing with joy…
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy
All: In times when the pain in our hearts breaks and the world’s pain seems unreconciled, our appreciation and awareness of Creation can dwindle or lapse. The urgency of addressing climate change is not always recognized; valuing creation and sustaining its life-giving properties is sometimes an afterthought.
May our recognition of Earth as our Eden fill us with gratitude. May the saving grace of the Spirit and of Jesus enhance the dialogue and sacrifice necessary to save ourselves and our world.
We celebrate the truth-tellers and the lovers of the environment, living and dead; Ansel Adams, the landscape photographer, John Audubon, the naturalist, Jane Goodall, the anthropologist, Greta Thunberg, and Erin Brockovich, climate activists and authors Henry David Thoreau and Rachel Carson. Like our brother Jesus, these visionaries were pioneers and prophets who sought to live fully and fearlessly the truth of their calling.
Presider: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: We are grateful for the bread and wine that remind us that we are called to renew and to be renewed with the love of the Spirit of God who is in everything, every plant, animal and human everywhere. We thank you for Jesus, beacon of love and mercy, forgiveness and healing.
We are grateful for this bread and wine which remind us that we join Jesus in standing with the broken and wounded of the world who are most directly affected by climate change.
On the night before he faced betrayal and death, Jesus shared supper with his 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.
lift the bread
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, go and share my love with one another.
lift the cup
Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life in you. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you.
Bread and wine are transformed by your Spirit and we are transformed when we open ourselves to Your Spirit. Each time we share this bread with one another we choose to love others as you love us.
What we have heard with our ears, we will live in our lives; as we share communion, we will become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
Through Jesus we have learned how to live. Through Jesus, we have learned how to love. Through Jesus we have learned how to serve. AMEN
Please receive the bread and wine with the words, I am the face of the Divine.
Communion Song: Come to the Water
Jesus Prayer for the Season of Creation
All: Generous Creator, the intricate and elegant biodiversity of our world is your hallowed autograph on our lives, our souls and our hearts.
We yearn for the wholeness of being in harmony with Your will and with all living things. Each day we draw on your creative, life-giving energy with awe as we find nourishment in, seed and field, river and forest.
We acknowledge our shortcomings, especially our feelings of being powerless in the face of climate change and injustice. We seek to be reconciled with those we have hurt and we resolve to do better.
With your unfailing wisdom and the wind of Your Spirit, inspire us that we may reach out and love one another and care for the world, our home. Strengthen us to work for local and global justice. May we one day reap a harvest of equality and fairness as if they were wildflowers, propagating spontaneously, unerringly and in surprising abundance. AMEN.
Blessing
Please extend your hands as we bless each other
All: May we treat all of Creation as sacred. May we our lives show our respect for the earth we share with our sisters and brothers, with all creatures, around the globe. May we live as if the future depends on it. AMEN.
Closing Song: Canticle of the Sun
https://youtu.be/CfJ6WJPUff8
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