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We welcome you, on this feast of the Ascension, as we celebrate God’s Kin-dom, here and now.
Opening Prayer: Beloved, we gather today in thanks and jubilation for the riches of creation you have bestowed upon us. Open our eyes, because it is your glory that we see in the beauty all around us. Amen.
Opening Song: Be Still and Know, Shaina Knoll
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: The Acts of the Apostles, 1:6-11 (Adapted)
When they had gathered together they asked him, “Jesus, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Holy One has established. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
These are inspired words from the Acts of the Apostles and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Alleluia: Alleluia by Christopher Walker
Gospel: Thomas 113:1-4 (Adapted)
The disciples said to Jesus, “When will the Holy One’s Kin-dom come?”
He answered, “It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Rather, the Kin-dom is spread out upon the earth, and people don’t see it.”
These are inspired words from the Gospel of Thomas and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Homily Starter
About 15 years ago now, a good friend of mine died. Her name was Shirleen. She was funny and smart, and compassionate in a no-nonsense kind of way. A few weeks after her death she was on my mind, and I instinctively looked up into the sky as I thought about her. It was then that I heard her distinctive voice saying in that straightforward way she had, “don’t look up.” That’s all. Just “don’t look up.” I never heard from her again, but I have no doubt that it was her, and she taught me something important that day. I’m not going to find my beloveds who have gone before me “up there,” at least not any more so than I might find them “down here.” The lesson I learned from my friend that day is that she, along with a growing number of friends and relatives, have transitioned to a realm that to my mind can best be described as “everywhere.”
Likewise, as the disciples stood gawking upward when they could no longer see Jesus, an angel asked the pointed question, “why are you standing there looking at the sky?” Why indeed? It’s interesting that we don’t hear their reply. “Because that’s the way he went?” “Because we’re waiting for the cloud to fade so we can see him again?” “Because we still have so many questions to ask him?” Alas, we can only imagine what they might have said. I know that when I heard similar words from my friend I stopped looking up. I wonder if they did. I wonder if, rather than looking in the direction they saw him go, they began to think about the words he said. Did they wonder about this Holy Spirit he spoke of? Did they imagine themselves traveling to the ends of the earth as witnesses to the Gospel?
Did they begin to realize that this Kin-dom they kept asking Jesus about, this restored, God-centered Kin-dom, was neither “here,” nor “there,” but spread out all around them, and that they might finally be the people with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it, and hands to make it happen?
These are my thoughts on today’s readings. Please share yours.
Shared Reflections
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
Presider: As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Intentions read
Presider: We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer in one voice:
O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us as we set our hearts on belonging to you. May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all creation.
You know our limitations and our essential goodness and you love us as we are. You beckon us to your compassionate heart and inspire us to see the good in others and forgive their limitations. Acknowledging your presence in each other and in all of creation, we sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk
Guiding Spirit, when opposing forces in us tug and pull and we are caught in the tension of choices, inspire us to make wise decisions toward what is good.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus, and for all our sisters and brothers who have modeled for us a way to live and love in challenging times. Inspired by them, we choose life over death, we choose to be light in dark times.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are ever aware of your Spirit in us and among us at this Eucharistic table and we are grateful for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world.
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.
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)
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: The Kin-dom is within you.
Communion Song: Come be in our hearts, Sara Thomsen
Prayer after Communion:
Holy One, your transforming energy is within us and we join our hearts with all who are working for a just world. We pray for wise leaders in our religious communities. We pray for courageous and compassionate leaders in our world communities.
We pray for all of us gathered here and like Jesus, we open ourselves up to your Spirit, for it is through living as he lived that we awaken to your Spirit within,
moving us to glorify you, at this time and all ways.
Amen.
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
Please extend your hands and pray our blessing:
May we open our eyes to the Kin-dom all around us. May we be witnesses to this Kin-dom and celebrate it with our lives.
AMEN.
Closing Song: Celebration, Playing For Change | Song Around The World
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