“Just as I have done for you, you should also do for others.”
(John 13:15)
Photo by Lina Trochez, Unsplash
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome to the beginning of our triduum observance, when we call to mind the most basic lesson that Jesus had to teach us: that it is love, in the form of our very presence to one another, that is our salvation.
Opening Prayer: Holy One, as we gather around this table of friendship, open us to your presence among us. As we remember the loving presence of our brother Jesus, help us to become that presence for others.
Opening Song: At This Table by Idina Menzel video by Denise
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: Gate A-4 by Naomi Shihab Nye
Wandering around the Albuquerque Airport Terminal, after learning
my flight had been delayed four hours, I heard an announcement:
"If anyone in the vicinity of Gate A-4 understands any Arabic, please
come to the gate immediately."
Well—one pauses these days. Gate A-4 was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, just
like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing. "Help,"
said the flight agent. "Talk to her. What is her problem? We
told her the flight was going to be late and she did this."
I stooped to put my arm around the woman and spoke haltingly.
"Shu-dow-a, Shu-bid-uck Habibti? Stani schway, Min fadlick, Shu-bit-
se-wee?" The minute she heard any words she knew, however poorly
used, she stopped crying. She thought the flight had been cancelled
entirely. She needed to be in El Paso for major medical treatment the
next day. I said, "No, we're fine, you'll get there, just later, who is
picking you up? Let's call him."
We called her son, I spoke with him in English. I told him I would
stay with his mother till we got on the plane and ride next to
her. She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just
for the fun of it. Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while
in Arabic and found out of course they had ten shared friends. Then I
thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian poets I know
and let them chat with her? This all took up two hours.
She was laughing a lot by then. Telling of her life, patting my knee,
answering questions. She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool
cookies—little powdered sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and
nuts—from her bag—and was offering them to all the women at the gate.
To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a
sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the mom from California, the
lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same powdered
sugar. And smiling. There is no better cookie.
And then the airline broke out free apple juice from huge coolers and two
little girls from our flight ran around serving it and they
were covered with powdered sugar, too. And I noticed my new best friend—
by now we were holding hands—had a potted plant poking out of her bag,
some medicinal thing, with green furry leaves. Such an old country tradi-
tion. Always carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere.
And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and I thought, This
is the world I want to live in. The shared world. Not a single person in that
gate—once the crying of confusion stopped—seemed apprehensive about
any other person. They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women, too.
This can still happen anywhere. Not everything is lost.
These wise words are from the poet, Naomi Shihab Nye. We affirm them with “Amen.”
Gospel Acclamation (Dennis)
Gospel: John 13:1-15 (adapted)
As the Passover feast approached, Jesus sensed that his time on this earth was short. He had always loved his dear friends and companions, and now that love was overflowing. He longed to show his love, and he wanted to give them something to live by once he was no longer with them.
So, as they gathered for supper, Jesus got up from the table, set aside his robe, and tied a towel around his waist. After pouring water into a basin, he began to wash the feet of his friends at the table, one by one, drying them with the towel.
When Jesus came to Peter, Peter said, “What? You’re going to wash my feet?” Jesus told him that even though he may not understand now, it would come clear later. But Peter continued, “You will NEVER wash my feet!” Jesus said, “unless I wash you, you cannot be part of what I’m doing.” So Peter responded, “Then don’t only wash my feet, but wash my hands and head too!” Jesus told him, “Anyone who has bathed is already clean, and only needs to have their feet washed.”
Once Jesus had washed their feet, he put his robe back on and reclined at the table with his friends. He said to them, “Do you see what I have done for you? You call me “teacher” and “rabbi,” and I am those things. And if I, your teacher, should wash your feet, that is exactly what you should do for one another. I have given you an example tonight, so that just as I have done for you, you should also do for others.”
These words of Jesus are told to us by the gospel writer we know as John. We affirm them with “Amen.”
Homily Starter
Turning points. Crossroads. Pivotal moments. I think of these things when I consider our two readings tonight. Take the older Palestinian woman at the airport gate in the first reading. Awash in panic and entirely alone, even in the crowded airport, she was in a very real sense lost. Until the younger woman spoke to her in her own language. Until the younger woman made her phone calls. Until the younger woman triggered the turning point, from panic to calm, simply by being there. From that crucial point onward, the story is a celebration. A Eucharist. A Thanksgiving. It was the presence, the real presence, of one person, that changed the course of events at Gate A-4.
Looking at the Gospel, we see Jesus and his friends sharing an ordinary meal, when suddenly Jesus turns the tide of the evening by washing their feet. Did they understand how profoundly the ground beneath their now clean feet had shifted? Did Peter, ever the slow learner, get it? Did any of them understand the power that the real presence of one person made that evening? Jesus was completely present to them in that simple act. Would they follow the example he gave? Would they find their moments to be present? What about us? We also have the power to turn tides with our presence. Do we?
Shared Reflections: How has the presence of a person or a group of people acted as a turning point in your life? Have you experienced being present to another in this way?
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.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
As we prepare for the sacred meal, we share our intentions.
Intentions – Holy Thursday (Dennis McDonald)
Holy One, Out of love, you swept over the waters and hovered over the face of the deep. Your love created all that was, all that is, and all that will be.
All: Open our hearts to your love.
Out of love, you brought your people out of oppression. Your love gave them a law and a land.
All: Open our hearts to your love.
When their love for you failed, your love remained steadfast.
All: Open our hearts to your love.
Because of love, you gave us prophets to challenge and guide: Visionaries, dancers, dreamers, and scoundrels.
All: Fill our hearts with your love.
Because of love, you sent Jesus, the full expression of your love. He healed the sick; he ate with sinners; he loved with abandon.
All: Fill our hearts with your love.
Because of love, Jesus called together his disciples so that we might walk in the way that leads to love.
All: Fill our hearts with your love.
Teach us, as Jesus did, to love our neighbors, our unhoused neighbors, our immigrant neighbors.
All: Set our hearts on fire with your love.
Teach us, as Jesus did, to love our neighbors of different faiths or who have no faith at all.
All: Set our hearts on fire with your love.
Teach us, as Jesus did, to love our LGBTQ neighbors, and all those who are perceived as ‘other’.
All: Set our hearts on fire with your love.
Teach us, as Jesus did, to love and empower others, O Source of all creation, and to love our neighbors as you have loved us.
All: Set our hearts on fire with your love. Amen.
With open hearts and raised hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer in one voice:
O Compassionate One, we treasure how you accompany us in times of loneliness and danger as well as in moments of sweet gratitude and joy. Your love and light are a beacon, helping us to see the way. You guide us with the example of Jesus and the saints to strive to love without exceptions, to respect every living being without boundaries and to make our world more glorious with each passing day.
Sometimes, the striving to love is a challenge too great and we falter; but we are drawn back again and again to your tender care, your constancy and the tender giftedness of belonging to You. We acknowledge Your gift of our companions on this earthly journey. Their divine sparks sustain us, inspire us and dare us to become who we have been created to be. May all that we do flow from our deep connection to You and to all of creation. Knowing You as the fountain of all love, we sing:
Holy, Holy: Karen Drucker
Holy One, our hearts are filled with gratitude for our brother Jesus, whom You sent to show us the way. On this Holy Thursday, we imagine the bittersweet mix of love and uncertainty that may have filled his heart during the Last Supper in Jerusalem. During an era of Roman military might, Jesus bravely spoke to crowds of thousands and was paraded in public with Hosannas. In a time of entrenched religious traditions, he radically proclaimed a new vision of Sophia wisdom and love for the dispossessed during that Passover holiday week.
Thank you for sending among us such a model of humble generosity and extravagant love as Jesus. We pray for the courage and strength of character to live as he lived and love as he loved.
Please extend your hands in blessing as we pray together:
Just as Jesus sat with seder companions, we come together, aware of your Spirit in us and among us. We are grateful for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be his body in our world.
Anticipating the likelihood of betrayal, arrest and death, Jesus wanted more than anything to be with the group of women, men and children who had supported him over his years of public ministry. He wanted to share a meal, exchange stories and create fond memories.
To show the depth of his tender love and imprint indelibly the kind of service they were all called to, Jesus washed and dried their dusty feet. Then he instructed them that what he had done for them, they should do for others.
When he returned to his place at the table, Jesus 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 will become communion, both love’s nourishment and love’s challenge.
Please receive communion saying: “As he did, so will we.”
Communion Song: Until All are Fed by Bryan McFarland
https://youtu.be/RkwSHYlf9TQ
Prayer after Communion:
As we participate in memory of Jesus in this eucharist, may we become ever more ourselves and recognize the call to be of service to those in need. May we live each day awakening to Your Spirit and living with gratitude and harmony so as to give glory to our Beloved.
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
Let us bless one another in the washing of the hands. No words are necessary. Our presence to one another is enough.
Please come forward two by two to wash one another’s hands in blessing. Those on Zoom, please bless and wash your hands.
Music for the washing of the hands:
https://youtu.be/EhO_MrRfftU?si=WcrOB2i1AwuyQeHL
Closing Song: Superhero, Empty Hands Music
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