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Third Weekend in the Season of Creation
Welcome and Season of Creation Theme: Let Peace and Justice Flow
Opening Prayer – adapted from Laudato Si
Divine Presence, you are with and within the whole universe and in our smallest creatures, plant life and flowing streams. Pour out upon us your love that we may learn to protect the life and enhance the beauty of our world.
Bring healing to our hearts, that we may sow a glorious and thriving ecosystem, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of all who use the measure of profit rather than the Spirit and so exploit natural beauty and deny the rights of our sisters and brothers, especially those of the Global South. Fill all your people with awe and wonder to the exclusion of greed and convenience.
We are thankful for your Holy presence here with us today, helping us to divine the path of light, the trail of justice and the flow of a healthful river for all. Amen
Opening Song: Brother Sun /Giving Glory from the Porter’s Gate
https://youtu.be/vbLI_8kTyPY?si=wQ3gNb1Bitll0ope
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First reading: Reports on Climate Justice from Bread for the World and the Observer Research Foundation
Climate justice acknowledges that the world’s most vulnerable are often the countries that have contributed the least to climate change and have the fewest resources, both financial and technological, to adapt to climate shocks and to reduce carbon emissions. Industrialized nations have been at the forefront of greenhouse gas emissions ever since the industrial revolution of the 19th century. The prosperity of the Global North (USA, Japan, China and Europe) has exacerbated climate change and yet it is the Global South (nations that lie near or below the equator in Africa, Central and South America, Indonesia and parts of the Middle East)) that is often the most exposed to the climate crisis.
Rising sea levels, supercharged hurricanes, dependence on agrarian economies vulnerable to weather shocks, and lack of modern health care are repercussions from climate change that are affecting the poorest of the poor. There is a terrible irony in the observation that the lifestyle of less resourced people is close to carbon neutral while the lifestyle of industrialized, wealthy countries is decidedly not. Ten percent of the world’s wealthiest individuals are responsible for half of greenhouse emissions. China and the US alone are responsible for nearly 40% of total global emissions.
It is therefore incumbent on the Global North to decarbonize, with greater urgency and to aid the Global South with technology transfers and financial assistance. While the Paris Agreement and the international Green Climate Fund are a good start, the pace of action by the Global North has not met promised targets. Each year we fall further behind what is needed to turn around the damage.
The climate emergency is not merely an economic and political challenge, but a spiritual and moral summons to all people of faith and good will. Surely, the ministry of Jesus to “the least of these” as brothers and sisters, is the model to move with. It is our sacred obligation to empower those who suffer disproportionately and who are less likely to have a voice at the table. We are all of us suffering from climate change and the world needs our prayers.
This are the inspired words of Earth’s climate advocates following their call and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Second Reading: Psalm 148 in four voices
Reader 1: Alleluia!
Praise Yahweh from the heavens;
praise God in the heights!
Praise God all you angels;
praise God, all you hosts!
Praise God, sun and moon;
praise God all you shining stars!
Reader 2: Praise God you highest heavens;
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of Yahweh,
by whose command they were created.
God established them forever and ever
and gave a decree which won’t pass away.
Reader 3: Praise Yahweh from the earth,
you sea creatures and ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and mist,
and storm winds that fulfill God’s word,
mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle,
small animals and flying birds,
rulers of the earth, leaders of all nations,
all the judges in the world,
young men and young women,
older people and children—
Reader 4: Let them all praise the Name of Yahweh.
Whose majesty transcends heaven and earth,
And who has raised up a horn for God’s people
to the praise of the faithful,
the children of all Israel,
the people dear to God!
Alleluia!
These are inspired voices of the ancient Hebrews who forged our path of compassion for the Earth and our love of the Holy One. We affirm these words by saying, Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/4cs8NDVM3Vk?si=LjKW18DK_ms_MYHw
Gospel: Matthew: 18:21-35
Peter asked Jesus, ”When a sister or brother wrongs me, how many times must I forgive? Seven times?
“No,” Jesus replied, “not seven times; I tell you seventy times seven. And here’s why.
“The kin-dom of heaven is like the ruler who decided to settle accounts with the royal officials. When the audit was begun, one was brought in who owed tens of millions of dollars. As the debtor had no way of paying, the ruler ordered the official to be sold, along with family and property in payment of the debt.
The official bowed down in homage and said, ‘I beg you, your highness, be patient with me and I will pay you back in full!’ Moved with pity the ruler let the official go and wrote off the debt.
Then that same official went out and met a colleague who owed him twenty dollars. The official seized and throttled this debtor with the demand, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’
“The debtor dropped to the ground and began to plead, ‘Give me time and I will pay you back in full!’
“But the official would hear none of it, and had the colleague put in debtor’s prison until the money was paid. When other officials saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and went to the ruler, reporting the incident.
The ruler sent for the official and said, ‘You worthless wretch! I cancelled your entire debt when you pleaded with me. Should you not have dealt mercifully with your colleague, as I dealt with you?’ Then, in anger the ruler handed the official over to be tortured until the debt had been paid in full.
My Abba in heaven will treat you exactly the same way unless you truly forgive your sisters and brothers from your hearts.”
These are the inspired words of the gospel writer known as Matthew and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Pause for silence before Shared Homily
Shared Homily:
Rather than focus on trees one week, mountains the next and stars the next, this year’s Season of Creation theme is Let Peace and Justice Flow. Glaciers are melting and sea levels rising. Droughts and torrential rains endanger our food supply. Rising temperatures turn storms into disastrous hurricanes. Not one country is meeting the target goals of the Paris Agreement on reducing greenhouse emissions.
The theme of Let Peace and Justice Flow asks us not to look away. We must consider the social, historical and political ills that delay or deny an effective response to climate change. The time for climate justice is now so, what do the readings say to us about it?
Today’s gospel about the unforgiving servant is about powerless people bound to another by monetary debts too excessive to ever pay back. In our time, the servant might be a person living on the margin, unable to afford life-saving drugs. Or the guy living from paycheck to paycheck who needs to get his car repaired so that he can get to work but has to borrow from a storefront lender at exorbitant rates to pay the bill.
At a macro level, it might be a country like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which has more than half of the lakes and rivers on the African continent with biodiverse marine life and 17% of the world’s fresh water. They also have torrential rains, deforestation, ruined farms, widespread hunger and a brutal 30-year civil war. All this is complicated by their large reserves of precious metals and rare earth minerals mined for the world’s iPhone and electric batteries. Foreign investors are swooping into the DRC with contracts reminiscent of the colonialism and imperialism of earlier times.
Individuals and whole societies are vulnerable whenever relationships are founded on inequities and the only value or measure or worth is not human but financial. As in the gospel, debts obscure the fundamental right of people to survive, to have water and food and health care. Climate justice and peace-making require that we add consideration of equity and human rights to our decision-making in personal and international relations.
So, how does this connect to the gospel? The ruler shows compassion and forgives the debtor-servant. He literally gives new life to him instead of profiting off his misery. The ruler is as forgiving as the image of God in Psalm 145; “kind and merciful; slow to anger and rich in compassion. You lift up those who are falling and raise up all who are oppressed”.
And oh, how we wish the gospel stopped there.
But no, the forgiven servant doesn’t pay it forward. He has his debtor put into jail for owing a much smaller sum. Dawn Hutchings, the progressive Lutheran minister points out how this shows that “compassion and mercy are not the ways of the world.” The ruler punishes his servant with vengeance. The concluding threat —allegedly said by Jesus but more probably added later in time by someone else— that Abba in heaven will punish us if we do not forgive from the heart really mirrors the ways of this world and not the deep merciful grace of the Holy One.
This Season of Creation, we need more than ever to change our ways, change our hearts, and renew the face of Creation gifted to us. The US and Canada along with other rich countries are in a better position to try and become “kind and merciful; slow to anger and rich in compassion” toward smaller, more endangered nations. And maybe, just maybe, countries like the DCR can forgive us. If we can heal the environment, it will be done in good faith and with generosity of spirit rather than competition and looking out for number one. Perhaps then, we will have become less like the ways of the world and more like Our Creator; better people in our hearts and souls.
What did you take away from the readings?
What can people of faith do to demand that our nations take urgent action toward justice?
How can we be kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in compassion in our personal lives without enabling those who would abuse our trust?
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 reminds 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 with the words, You are the face of God, the steward of Creation
Communion Song: Mighty River - Song for Season of Creation 2023
https://youtu.be/hKVT_nzxqHM?si=4HMmhxnkqu4i9uXL
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 raise your hands in blessing of each other
All: Creator most generous and kind, your gift of Earth and cosmos reveals your imagination and glory.
May we go forward boldly to live in the glory.
May we feel the wind of your spirit in our lives and discern your will to take action
and allow your holy breath to move through us.
May we treat all of Creation as sacred and discern the best path to an equitable
distribution of the resources we share with our sisters and brothers across the globe.
Let us live as if the future depends on it. Amen.
Closing Song: God of Abundance
References for this Liturgy
Suri, Shoba. It’s time for climate justice—A Global South perspective on the fight against the climate crisis. Observer Research Foundation. https://www.orfonline.org/research/a-global-south-perspective-on-the-fight-against-the-climate-crisis/
A Faithful Voice on Hunger and Climate Justice. Convocation on Climate and Hunger. Bread for the World. https://www.bread.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/FINAL-Convocation-Faith-Statement.pdf
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