Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome and Theme:
Welcome, friends, to the second weekend of the season of Advent. Tonight, we are reminded that we are not alone in the world, and that we have a role in bringing about the Kin-dom. Let’s pray.
Opening Prayer:
Beloved, you remind us again and again that you are with us. Tonight, we gratefully rest in your presence and in your love. We are ready to gladly take up our labors in the vineyard that is your Kin-dom as we do our part to nurture it and bring it to fulness. Amen.
Opening Song: Anthem by Tom Conry
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading: Isaiah 30:19-21 (Adapted)
Thus says the Holy One of Israel:
O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem,
no more will you weep;
I will be gracious to you when you cry out,
as soon as I hear you I will answer you.
I will give you the bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.
No longer will your Teacher be hidden,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
And when you would turn to the right or to the left,
a voice from behind shall sound in your ears:
"This is the way; walk in it,"
This a reading from the book of Isaiah and we affirm it by saying, Amen.
Alleluia: Jan Phillips https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
Gospel: Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kin-dom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his 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 the 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.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
"Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kin-dom 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."
This is the Gospel from the writer we know as Matthew. We affirm his words with "Amen."
Homily Starter:
Today’s readings remind us of two things: One, we are not alone in the world. There are teachers among us every day; voices in our ears, reminding us of how to navigate the world in love. If I had to pick my favorite phrase from the Hebrew Scriptures, I think it would be the simple sentence we heard tonight from Isaiah: “This is the way; walk in it.” Isn’t that all we ever have to know? Second, Jesus reminds us that not only do we have teachers, but that we ARE teachers. If we are the disciples of today then it is up to us to proclaim the Kin-dom, the Holy One’s vineyard, and to remind the troubled and abandoned among us that it is indeed at hand. It is here. In this world. If only enough laborers would show up to tend it, and bring it to full flower and fruit. For me at least, it can be hard to see that greater reality in all the sadness, division, and warfare I see in the world. But I am one laborer. Each of you is a laborer. And my faith is that with every day’s labor comes richer soil, healthier vines, and maybe even a hint of budding fruit.
So, on this second weekend of Advent, let us give thanks for the teachers among us; the prophets who whisper in our ears reminding us of which path to take. And let us pray for the wisdom and courage to be the teachers, the prophets, who labor in the vineyard, patiently and persistently bringing the Holy One’s Kin-dom to the fullness of its being.
What did you hear in tonight’s readings? Who are the teachers and prophets in your life? Please share your thoughts.
Shared Homily
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
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.
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.
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: Every Step of the Way by Christopher Grundy
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.
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 hear the voice of the teacher directing our feet to the right path. May our hands and hearts cultivate the vines of love, yielding the fruit of the Kin-dom. May peace prevail. Amen.
Closing Song: Canticle of the Turning by Rory Cooney
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