Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Welcome to our Upper Room Liturgy. It is my honor to be here with you. This evening we will hear two readings. Both are about inclusion. And both turn that idea on its head.
Opening Prayer
Holy One, we ask that our ears be open to your word, that our hearts be open to your call, and that our feet be ready to walk your way. Amen.
Opening Song: I Am the One Within You by Karen Drucker
First Reading: Our first reading is a portion of an interview with Father Greg Boyle called “The Case for Hope,” conducted by Kate Bowler on Everything Happens.
I think there’s this inclination to think if you go to the margins now, what do you do? The real question is what kind of person will you become out at the margin? So, you don’t go to the margins to make a difference, because then it’s about you. You go to the margins so that the folks at the margins make you different. And I can remember a number of years ago, a hard-core gang intervention worker, a former gang member himself in Houston, had come up to me after a talk and he was kind of pleading with me and he said, how do you reach them? You know, meaning gang members. And I found myself saying, well, for starters, you know, stop trying to reach them and you’d be reached by them. And so, it’s not about “I’m here to fix, save, rescue.” But if I can allow myself to be reached by you, then suddenly everybody is entering into this exquisite mutuality where we’re all inhabiting our own dignity and nobility in each other’s presence.
These are the words of Gregory Boyle, priest and Kin-dom builder. We affirm his words with Amen.
Alleluia: Jan Phillips
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel writer referred to as Mark (Mark 2:13-17)
Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
These words come from the Gospel writer we know as Mark. We affirm these words with Amen.
Homily Starter:
I have, as I’m sure you have, heard this Gospel story many times. Jesus invites Levi, a tax collector, to follow him. He has dinner with all manner of sinners. And when the Pharisees question him about it, Jesus simply states that his call is not to the righteous, but to sinners. The story has, for me, always been one of Jesus raising people up to himself; of his reaching down and bringing people up.
But when I think of this gospel in light of Greg Boyle’s story it changes in a way that is both subtle and profound. Greg says, “If I can allow myself to be reached by you, then suddenly everybody is entering into this exquisite mutuality where we’re all inhabiting our own dignity and nobility in each other’s presence.” Is that what Jesus is doing? When he hangs out with people on the margins is he allowing them to reach him? Is he allowing them to demonstrate the dignity and nobility hidden so well within them that no one else has ever seen it before? And is this experience changing everyone at that table? Including Jesus? And if so, what does that mean for us, and the way we reach out to marginalized people?
What do you think of these two readings? 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 the sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please feel free to voice your concerns beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”
We pray for these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
adapted from Diarmuid O’Murchu
With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together:
Gracious God, source and sustenance of life, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy Spirit, who enlivens and inebriates all that exists, we beseech your healing power upon us and all we pray for today.
Down through the ages, you rescue us from darkness.
you light up our ways with wise and holy people. You restore our spirits and you revive our dwindling hope.
May the Spirit of life and wholeness transform us that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love, and healing to those whose lives we touch.
For all you bring to our lives, and for all we seek amid pain and suffering, we acclaim your love and greatness, and we join with all creation to sing our hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Words and music by Karen Drucker https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI
Please extend your hands in blessing.
Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind, and spirit, we bring before you the darkness of our world, and the pain and suffering of your people.
We seek to be healed and made whole; we seek to be reconciled and united; we seek peace in our hearts and in our world.
We ask you to awaken anew in our hearts the empowering grace of your abundant Spirit, who infuses these gifts of bread and wine with the transforming energy of life, to nourish and sustain us in our time of need.
As we gather around this friendship table, we recall God’s blessing and love from ages past, and we celebrate anew the gift of life which we share among us at this Eucharistic feast.
The bread we break and the cup we share are symbols of our world of abundance where all are invited to partake of the fullness of life. But that life we often impede by our greed and selfishness and by our exploitation of other people.
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. Once again, he showed us how to love one another.
Back at the table, he took the Bread, spoke the grace, 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.
We share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity.
Please receive communion saying: “You are the word of God”
Communion Song: Song Like a Seed by Sara Thomsen
Prayer After Communion
In faith and hope we are sustained,
In grace our dignity reclaimed,
In praise we thank our God.
Grant that we may strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the God of life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, until the Kin-dom arrives in the fullness of time.
This prayer we make in the name of our healing and nurturing God through, with, and in whom we offer these gifts, sources of life, love, and goodness, now and forever. Amen.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
O Holy One, who is 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 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 (Miriam Therese Winter)
BLESSING
Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
May we be ready to receive the word as it is spoken each day, especially through the marginalized. May we allow ourselves to be reached, in mind and spirit, by everyone, regardless of status or stature. May we sit at the table of life in the spirit of Jesus with all of our brothers and sisters. Amen.
Closing Song: Every Step of the Way by Christopher Grundy
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