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| Photo by Annie Spratt, 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 our liturgy for this Saturday evening. I am so glad you are here. Tonight, we will think and pray about mission and the fear it can bring.
Opening Prayer: Holy One, even our brother Jesus was fearful when the road ahead was marked with danger. Help us to lean on you to calm the fears that rise up as we face the dangers on our own roads. Amen.
Opening Song: I Will Fear No More, The Afters https://youtu.be/wMmmbJlWhtk?si=4GAoMKyiBQGl9T94
First Reading: From Psalm 7, adapted by Nan Merrill
O my Beloved, to You I draw close;
when all my inner fears well up,
enfold me in your strong arms;
otherwise like a fiery dragon,
my fears will consume me and
I shall live in darkness.
This is a reading from the Book of Psalms and we affirm it by saying, Amen.
Spirit of the Living God by Michael Crawford-video by MTStreck
Gospel: John 7:1-16, 32, 37-52 (adapted)
Jesus was spending his time in Galilee. He did not want to go into Judea because the religious leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
Therefore, Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.
However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. Now at the festival the leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”
Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.
Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The people there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”
Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.
The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus, the people were divided because of Jesus. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
Finally, the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
“No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.
“You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
This is a reading from the Gospel attributed to Mark, and we affirm it by saying, Amen.
Shared Homily
I don’t know about you, but I felt a great sense of comfort and “rightness” when I read about Jesus being afraid about where this road he has chosen may be leading. I imagine him telling his brothers “No way am I going anywhere near Jerusalem. Not only are the Romans going to be on the lookout for rabble-rousers like me, but our own leaders have been sounding pretty unhappy about some of the things I’ve been saying and doing, like healing on the Sabbath. I’m staying right here in Galilee, thank you very much.” Then I imagine that he must have prayed. Maybe Psalm 7, asking to be “enfolded” in the “strong arms” of the Holy One. Or maybe he just had a conversation with the Holy One. In any case, he came to know what he needed to do. And so, in the dark of night, after all of his brothers had left, I imagine him sneaking out, and trekking to Jerusalem in secret. And as he walked, I imagine him overcoming any fear he still had, and becoming firmer in his belief in what he was about to do. And so he goes, and as he speaks in the Temple court, he speaks with the authority that he has become known for.
As always, I am very interested in your thoughts. What do you think about Jesus being afraid? What do you think about the message he proclaimed in the Temple? What about the reaction of the people gathered there that day? What about the reaction of the religious leaders? And one more question: Does anything in the reaction and response of the Temple guards remind you of any other scene in the Gospels?
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: Karen Drucker
https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI?si=V8RgE_zkMSYVakIo
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.
Please extend your hands in blessing:
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.
All lift the plate and pray:
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.
All lift the cup and pray:
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)
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 made new in God.”
Communion Song: Sanctuary, Carrie Newcomer
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.
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 continue to be the face of the God to each other. May our companionship make us new each day. May our name be a blessing in our time. Amen.
Closing Song: Lean On Me, Playing for Change https://youtu.be/LiouJsnYytI?si=QQfxQZg-j7vrxWnU
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