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phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Welcome to our Saturday evening liturgy as we celebrate the Good Shepherd. The one who knows and loves every member of the flock, no matter where each one is, what each one believes, or what situations each one gets into. Make no mistake, the flock is everyone. And everything.
Opening Prayer
Holy One, we come with open hearts this evening, seeking to know you. Help us to recognize your Spirit as What Is. Help us to love your Spirit by loving your dwelling place, which is all of Creation. Amen.
Opening Song: May the Christ Light Shine in You by Kathy Sherman
First Reading:
The Ettrick Shepherd, by James Hogg
In Scotland there once lived a poor shepherd whose name was James Hogg. His father and grandfather and great-grandfather had all been shepherds.
It was his business to take care of the sheep which belonged to a rich landholder by the Ettrick Water. Sometimes he had several hundreds of lambs to look after. He drove these to the pastures on the hills and watched them day after day while they fed on the short green grass.
He had a dog which he called Sirrah. This dog helped him watch the sheep. He would drive them from place to place as his master wished. Sometimes he would take care of the whole flock while the shepherd was resting or eating his dinner.
One dark night James Hogg was on the hilltop with a flock of seven hundred lambs. Sirrah was with him. Suddenly a storm came up. There was thunder and lightning; the wind blew hard; the rain poured.
The poor lambs were frightened. The shepherd and his dog could not keep them together. Some of them ran towards the east, some towards the west, and some towards the south.
The shepherd soon lost sight of them in the darkness. With his lighted lantern in his hand, he went up and down the rough hills calling for his lambs.
Two or three other shepherds joined him in the search. All night long they sought for the lambs.
Morning came and still they sought. They looked, as they thought, in every place where the lambs might have taken shelter.
At last James Hogg said, "It's of no use; all we can do is to go home and tell the master that we have lost his whole flock."
They had walked a mile or two towards home, when they came to the edge of a narrow and deep ravine. They looked down, and at the bottom they saw some lambs huddled together among the rocks. And there was Sirrah standing guard over them and looking all around for help "These must be the lambs that rushed off towards the south," said James Hogg.
The men hurried down and soon saw that the flock was a large one.
"I really believe they are all here," said one.
They counted them and were surprised to find that not one lamb of the great flock of seven hundred was missing.
How had Sirrah managed to get the three scattered divisions together? How had he managed to drive all the frightened little animals into this place of safety?
Nobody could answer these questions. But there was no shepherd in
Scotland that could have done better than Sirrah did that night.
Long afterward James Hogg said, "I never felt so grateful to any creature below the sun as I did to Sirrah that morning."
This story, told by the shepherd himself, inspires us. We respond with Amen.
Alleluia (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips
Gospel: John 10: 11-16
Jesus said:
"I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
These are the words of the gospel writer known as John. We affirm them with Amen.
Homily Starter:
“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
We are a peripatetic species. We have wander-lust. We are driven to explore, both places and ideas. It is this drive to move into uncharted territory that defines us as co-creators. Our very presence alters the status quo. We leave no stone un-turned in our search for truth, for understanding, for meaning, for home. And we don’t all travel in the same direction. I imagine that to a distant observer, our wanderings may appear random, capricious, like pinballs spinning in all different directions. And maybe that’s true. Maybe we are chaos-agents. Or maybe we respond, like the Ettrick shepherd’s lambs, to the chaos around us. In any case, we end up in many different places, with many differing ideas, with many opposing beliefs. How can we even hope to be reconciled? How can we imagine that we might be brought together under one umbrella of love? Where is Sirrah the sheep dog when we need him?
“I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me.”
The author of these words wrote almost 100 years after the death of Jesus, and almost 30 years after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans. The Jesus movement was still new, and was undergoing its long and painful separation from Judaism. It was being influenced by thinkers from Asia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, to name a few. Divergent thought prevailed during this period.
And yet the author holds up for us a Jesus who knows all of them. Recognizes all of them. And admits the possibility that all of them, in all the shards of truth they hold, recognize him, too. He knows them. They know him.
As we consider this gospel today, in our fast-paced race to alienation from one another, let us consider this. The Christ that resides in Jesus resides in us as well. Each one of us. We are kin because we share a Divinity that unites us at some deep level. Can we know that in one another? Can we live in a way that is open to others knowing that in us? Can we be the Christ for one another? Can we shepherd one another to that umbrella of love? 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.
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/9XywpRw3OPw?si=kwkFrFcmkvmai55rPlease 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.
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.
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: “Your Spirit is my life.”
Communion Song: The Deer’s Cry, Lisa Kelly
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 continue to shepherd one another. May our companionship make us new each day. May our name be a blessing in our time. Amen.
Closing Song: Closing Song: By Breath song by Sara Thomsen
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