phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Second Sunday of Advent
Welcome and Theme
Deb: Advent is our time to bring forth and lift our spirits as we physically descend into the longer nights of the seasons. Depending on where we are in the world, we experience this season differently in a physical sense, but our heritage and practice is to be in darkness and wait. May we all come into the knowledge of our spiritual being, our light within, and wait in hope for Jesus, The Christ to illuminate his Way to Love. Through Mary, and to Jesus. Amen.
Opening Prayer / Peace Prayer / Lighting of Advent Candles
Advent Candle Lighting Blessing Prayer
Deb: Like our ancestors, we honor the cycles and the seasons that remind us of the ever-changing flow of life. Ritual acts give life meaning—they honor and acknowledge the unseen web of Life that connects us all.
Week 1 – Margaret lights the candle. ALL:
We light this first candle and remember the Holy One who created light and life out of darkness by loving. The dark shadow of space leans over us and we are mindful that the darkness of greed, exploitation, and hatred also lengthens its shadow over our small planet Earth.
And so we respond: Let us kindle the light of hope!
Week 2 – Margaret lights the candle. All:
We light this second candle and remember our ancestors who feared death, evil and the darkness of winter. We, too, in our day fear the darkness of war, discrimination, xenophobia and selfishness that threaten to isolate us and consign our planet to an eternal winter.
And so we respond: Let us kindle the light of peace!
Deb: Indeed, let us welcome the light within each other!
Opening Song: MY Soul in Stillness Waits (long version) Marty Haugen
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: A reading from Clare Julian Carbone, Jung and the Mystery of Mary.
How are we to understand Mary, the mother of Jesus? What does her presence mean for us and how does it serve us?
Scripture tells us little of Mary, and some of what it does reveal seems to defy our human reasoning. Perhaps like her, we too are meant “to ponder in our heart” our questions and allow a vast opening for Spirit to inform us inwardly. Her icons and her many titles give us much to contemplate. When I've reflected on the icon of the Madonna for instance, the meaning that arose for me was that of the Divine Mother forming the young male child away from the ways of patriarchal domination, and towards the life enhancing qualities of the sacred feminine: the qualities of merciful forgiveness, empathic presence, intuitive knowing and welcoming compassion. We witnessed these values as prominent in Jesus’s earthly ministry and Gospel message. Were they formed and nurtured within his human consciousness by way of Mary's maternal care?
Second Reading: Taking Sides By Rabbi Irwin Keller
Margaret:
Today I am taking sides.
I am taking the side of Peace.
Peace, which I will not abandon
even when its voice is drowned out
by hurt and hatred,
bitterness of loss,
cries of right and wrong.
Deb:
I am taking the side of Peace
whose name has barely been spoken
in this winnerless war.
I will hold Peace in my arms,
and share my body’s breath,
lest Peace be added
to the body count.
Margaret:
I will call for de-escalation
even when I want nothing more
than to get even.
I will do it
in the service of Peace.
Deb:
I will make a clearing
in the overgrown
thicket of cause and effect
so Peace can breathe
for a minute
and reach for the sky.
Margaret:
I will do what I must
to save the life of Peace.
I will breathe through tears.
I will swallow pride.
I will bite my tongue.
I will offer love
without testing for deservingness.
Deb:
So don’t ask me to wave a flag today
unless it is the flag of Peace.
Don’t ask me to sing an anthem
unless it is a song of Peace.
Don’t ask me to take sides
unless it is the side of Peace.
Irwin Keller, Oct. 17, 2023
Alleluia. Sung by Presider
Gospel Reading:
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
John was clothed in camel’s hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Homily Starter: Deb Trees
Waiting is not always easy. It takes patience and presence and persistence. It means that we do not always know the outcome. It is a practice in hope and faith.
During Advent, we are asked, and expected no less, to wait. Wait in Holy Silence. Wait in Joyful Expectation. Advent is the very essence of Waiting Patiently. Mary is waiting for the birth of her son, Jesus. We can, at the very least, wait in Quiet Listening Attitude with her.
In Abiding Word for Year B, Barbara E Reid notes that this Second Sunday of Advent is surrounded by two important feast days that celebrate Mary’s gift of grace from God. On December 8th, Mary is declared as the Immaculate Conception. And on December 12, she is the Patroness of the Americas as Our Lady of Guadalupe. During most of the Advent season, the readings concentrate on the waiting for the Messiah as Savior of Israel, and the coming birth of Jesus. During this Sunday, we are also aware of the person who did the humanly real waiting; the mother waiting for the birth of her son.
During this week we also note the Gospel reading of John baptizing those who are asking for forgiveness, and the expectation of the One who is to come. This beginning chapter of the Gospel of Mark opens up the possibilities of something new in forgiveness of our sins, and the coming of the work of the Holy Spirit. The reading opens opportunity for everyone to follow God in the straight and smooth way that is made for all. Jesus will show us how to make that connection.
Today, in our tumultuous world, we can be caught in the day. Our vision can sometimes be overwhelmed by the problems we experience and the news we read, hear and discuss.
What if we were able to see, beyond the oppression of the day to Peace?
What if we were able to see what Mary may have seen: the Holy Spirit of the One, working in our Lives?
We would love to hear what you heard in these readings, and in your daily Advent practices.
How does this time, these readings, and your experience impact you, what will it mean for your daily life, and what will it cost you?
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
Margaret: As we prepare for this sacred meal we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. As bearers of LIGHT and HOPE, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please feel free to voice your intentions beginning with the words, “I bring to the table…..”
Margaret: We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Deb: With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
(written by Jay Murnane)
All: Source of All That Is, we seek you in this season, when the earth is resting and preparing for new life. Like the earth, we long for new life and hopeful beginnings. This is the time of the pregnant woman, filled with life and hope powerful enough to topple structures of oppression. This is the time of her song of fidelity and celebration.
During this gentle season of Advent, we recognize that you have made us capable of bringing forth justice, like a rising sun. One with all who have gone before us, we sing a song of praise:
Here in this Place – Holy Holy Holy – with lyrics
We thank you for those in times past who believed the good news, and lived what they believed.
Blessed is Isaiah and every visionary who insisted on a better future that would break through the deception, disaster and broken promises of the age in which they lived.
Blessed is John, in the stark desert of careful focus, inviting the people to be born again in your love.
Blessed is Miriam, who believed the words of Isaiah and opened herself up to the unbelievable.
And blessed is her child Jesus, who felt the sorrows of humankind in his soul, and responded with deep and tender compassion.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: 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.
All.: On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at supper with his companions and 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.
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.
(pause)
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.
(pause)
Deb: Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace.
Please share the bread with the words: You are a Light to all you meet.
Communion Meditation: Song of God Among Us
Prayer after communion:
Margaret: Holy One, we are grateful for the gift of Your Spirit, always drawing beauty and balance out of chaos. And like Jesus…
Standing where he stood,
and for what he stood,
and with whom he stood,
we are united in your Spirit,
and worship you with our lives,
All: Amen.
Deb: 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
Margaret: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together.
May we continue to be the face of God to each other. May we call each other to extravagant generosity! May our light shine for all to see, and may we be a blessing in our time!
All: AMEN
Closing Song
Your Peace Will Make Us One by Audrey Assad
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.