phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome: Welcome to you all! I’m so happy to be here with you all today as we consider wisdom, bread, and the word of God.
Opening Prayer: Let us pray. Holy One, you feed our bodies and our souls with bread, both the bread on our plates and the Bread of Life. May our gratitude be overflowing. AMEN.
Opening Song: God of Abundance
https://youtu.be/SAqqVXxvuGI
LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING
A Reading from the Wisdom of Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom has built Her house.
She has hewn Her seven pillars.
She has dressed Her meat and mixed Her wine.
Yes, She has spread her table.
She has sent out the women who serve Her to invite all in.
Woman Wisdom herself cries out
from the heights above the town:
“You who need direction, turn in here.”
To those who lack understanding,
She calls:
“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Lay aside ignorance, and live;
follow the way of insight.”
These are the inspired words of a Judean Wisdom writer and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
PSALM
Psalm 34:9; 10-11; 12-13
The Psalm Response is: Taste and see that God is good.
R: Taste and see that God is good.
Taste and see that God is good!
Blessed are those who take shelter in God’s house,
who receive hospitality from the Holy One.
R: Taste and see that God is good.
Show your humility, holy ones of God,
for those who honor God want for nothing.
Even the rich will grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek God lack no good thing.
R: Taste and see that God is good.
Come, children, and listen to me.
I will teach you the love of God.
Do you love life?
Come, Beloved!
Relish the chance to delight in your days!
R: Taste and see that God is good.
SECOND READING
A Reading from the Book of Revelation 10:5-11
I, John of Patmos, saw an angel standing on the sea and on the land, who – with hand raised to heaven – swore by the One Who lives forever and ever, the One Who created heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them. The angel said, “There shall be no more delay! When you hear the seventh angel blow the trumpet, the mysterious plan of God shall be fulfilled, as announced to God’s servants, the prophets.”
Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go. Take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So, I went up to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” The angel said to me, “Take and swallow it. In your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey, but it will turn your stomach sour.”
I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was as sweet as honey; but, when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
Then someone said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
These are the inspired words of a First Century Visionary and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Alleluia: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/4cs8NDVM3Vk
GOSPEL
A Reading from the Gospel attributed to John 6:51-58
Jesus continued, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Many who were gathered around continued to argue and debate amongst themselves, “How can this one give his own flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “In truth, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Human One, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have life everlasting, and I will raise them up on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my body and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living God sent me and I live because of God, so whoever eats of me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.
These are the inspired words of the Gospel writer known as John and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Homily Starter—Julie: Our readings today offer a three-course meal as we are given wisdom, Jesus as the Bread of Life, and even the word of God to eat.
In our first reading, Woman Wisdom prepares meat and wine and sets out a feast for any who lack understanding. Jesus offers a similar meal in the gospel, offering his body as the bread of life and his blood as “true drink.” It’s that very meal that we commemorate each time we come together to share communion. But it can be awfully hard to wrap our heads around this imagery.
One thing to remember is that ‘flesh and blood’ means the whole person. Jesus is offering us his entire self. He holds nothing back from us. What generosity! And this is also when it can be helpful to look at how we got here in scripture. As one commentary points out, “One can see the theological evolution from ‘Mark’ to ‘John.’ In ‘Mark,’ the bread is Jesus’ teaching, God’s word articulated through Jesus. In ‘John’s’ gospel, written some 30 years later, the bread is Jesus.” That’s a big leap in 30 years.
And about that reading from Revelation. Revelation is typically a book that chaplains like me mutter about and avoid because so many patients ignore the visionary aspect and approach it as a prediction more reliable than the weather forecast. In a safe space like this, I’d like to take a moment to share some of what the Comprehensive Catholic Lectionary says about it. Today’s reading was “[w]ritten during a time of crisis and persecution in the late 1st century, John (of Patmos) shares visions (grounded in those of late Biblical prophets) to urge faithfulness in the face of suffering.” Gee, that sounds pretty contemporary. The CCL continues, “[t]he writer prophesies the ultimate triumph of the Christ. In this vision, John receives a scroll, which he eats. He consumes God’s word in order to prophesy. God’s message is both sweet and bitter, sweet because of the ultimate consummation of all things which it prophesies and sour because of the suffering that must precede God’s ultimate triumph over evil.”
We’ve had a feast of rich offerings set before us today. What will you sample? Which is to say, what did you hear in today’s readings? What will you do? What will it cost you?
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
Julie: As we prepare for the sacred meal, 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 the unspoken concerns held in the silence of our hearts. AMEN
O Holy One, you have birthed us in goodness, gifted us with life and cherished us in love. In the heart of our being, your Spirit dwells; a Spirit of courage and vision, a Spirit of wisdom and truth.
In the power of that same Spirit, we lift our hearts in prayer, invoking anew the gift of wisdom and enlightenment, that we may continue to praise and thank you, in union with all who sing the ancient hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here In This Place by Christopher Grundy
Holy One, we see around us the work of your hands, the fruit of your wisdom and love. The unfolding story of creation witnesses unceasingly to your creative power. We, your creatures, often deviate from that wisdom, thus hindering your creative presence in our midst.
Sending among us Jesus, our brother, you birth afresh in our world the power of Sophia-Wisdom, and in the gift of Your Spirit, your creative goodness blooms anew, amid the variety and wonder of life.
(Extend hands in blessing.)
We invoke Your Spirit upon the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape, that they may become gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
On the night before he faced his own death and for the sake of living fully, Jesus sat at supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly within them, he bent down and washed their feet.
(Lift the bread)
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. Go and love one another.
(Lift the cup)
He then raised high 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.
In faith and hope we are sustained; in grace and dignity reclaimed. In praise, we thank you.
Please receive communion with the words: I am Wisdom.
Communion Meditation: At This Table by Idina Menzel video by Denise
https://youtu.be/n9Xf4cHOcwQ
Prayer after communion: Let us pray. Like Jesus, we will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and we will live compassionate lives, for it is through living as Jesus lived, that we awaken to your Spirit within, moving us to glorify you, O Holy One, 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 raise your hands as we bless each other:
May we feast on wisdom and grow in understanding. May we love and care for each always. May our name be a blessing in our time. AMEN.
Closing Song: Shine by Collective Soul video by Denise
https://youtu.be/-bnIEs1n0vs
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