Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome: Welcome as we gather as community in celebration and love. During this liturgy, and perhaps as we make our way through the adventure of the week ahead, let’s think about the choices we make, and how these choices may reflect our values.
Opening Prayer: Holy One, as we gather together as a beloved community, we recognize your presence among us. We choose to serve you as we serve one another. Amen.
Opening Song: Everyday God, Bernadette Farrell https://youtu.be/f3an4O13BzE?si=ZTXY2UCDPUFjmuUA
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: A reading from Joshua 24:1-2a, 15 (adapted)
Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,
summoning their elders, their leaders,
their judges, and their officers.
When they stood in ranks before God,
Joshua addressed all the people:
"If it does not please you to serve the Holy One,
decide today whom you will serve,
the gods your fathers served beyond the River
or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.
As for me and my household, we will serve the Holy One."
These are inspired words from the book of Joshua, and we affirm them, saying Amen.
Alleluia: Jan Phillips https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel attributed to Thomas: 42,47
Jesus said, “Be passers-by.” Do not be attached to the world. It is impossible to serve two masters. You must decide if you want to serve God or the world.”
These are inspired words attributed to the author known as Thomas, and we affirm them, saying Amen.
Shared Homily
Seldom are we confronted with a choice as stark as the one Joshua confronts the people within today’s first reading. Seldom are we gathered together, and straight-out asked to state where our allegiance lies, where our treasure lies, where our heart is. But as Jesus reminds us in the gospel, we are called to choose every day, many times in small ways, in almost invisible ways. And let’s face it. Like the people lined up in ranks before Joshua and God, and like the followers of Jesus in his day, we are people of the world. We live here. We make our living here. All the people we love are here. Notice too, that neither Joshua nor Jesus is talking about denying the world. With Joshua, the question wasn’t whether or not to live in society among the many diverse people living there, but rather, it was a choice of which God to serve while living there. Jesus too, doesn’t call us out of the world. He only advises that we allow the world to hold us lightly. That we don’t cling to it or let ourselves be mastered by it. That we don’t become attached to it. That in all things we serve God. And how to do that while living with both feet on this Earth, breathing this air, and living among the world’s people? We know from the many other teachings of Jesus that we serve God by serving one another. We are reminded of this at every liturgy when we re-hear the story of the washing of the feet, the great example of service that Jesus left as his legacy.
So what do we choose? Whom do we serve? And how do we do that? These are the questions that arise for me as I consider these ancient texts. What about you? What do you hear? What do you choose? Whom do you serve? And how? Please share.
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 voice our intentions beginning with the words, “We bring to the table…..”
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together:
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: Karen Drucker
Holy One, we see around us the work of your hands, the generosity of your wisdom and love. The unfolding story of creation speaks unceasingly to your creative power. We are witnesses to the wealth of that creation which overflows with abundance enough to sustain every one of your creatures.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
Holy One, Your Spirit dwells within the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape. They are gifts of wisdom, light and truth, and remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at the Seder 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.
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat; this is my very self.
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.
Please receive communion with the words: We serve the Holy One.
Communion Meditation: Blessings by Hollow Coves (video, DHS)
In faith and hope we are sustained; in grace and dignity reclaimed. In praise, we thank you.
In love we unite our thoughts and prayers, as we seek wisdom and courage:
- to discern more wisely your call to us in the circumstances of our daily lives;
- to act justly and courageously in confronting the pain and suffering that desecrates the Earth and its peoples;
- to take risks in being creative and proactive on behalf of the poor and marginalized;
- to love all people with generosity of heart, beyond the labels of race, creed and color.
- to invite all to the table of plenty, where there is enough food, enough drink, and enough love for everyone.
And may we ever be aware and alert to the new things Your Spirit makes possible in us, as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty, into the fullness of life to which all are called, participating in the wise and wonderful work of co-creation.
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 the prayer Jesus: (Miriam Therese Winter)
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
BLESSING
Let us pray together our blessing:
May we walk out onto the Earth and embrace it as we recognize it as a spark of the Divine. May we greet our companions on the journey with joy, as we recognize our Beloved in every face we see. And when we are faced with a choice, let us choose the Holy One. Every time. Amen.
Closing Song: My Sweet Lord sung by Billy Preston
https://youtu.be/1EORbL8N-R8?si=fyejcviw7RKzEUJK
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