phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome and Theme
Welcome to the Upper Room’s liturgy for the first Sunday in Lent. As we begin the season of Lent, we are called into a deeper awareness of who we truly are before the Holy One. The Gospel today presents Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, which is not just about resisting sin but about rejecting the illusions of the false self and living in radical trust in God.
Many of us participated in a book discussion of Richard Rohr’s book Falling Upward. In this book and in his daily meditations, Rohr often speaks about the spiritual journey as a process of moving from the false self—which is rooted in ego, security, and control—toward the true self, which rests in the Holy One’s unconditional love.
Opening Prayer: Let Your God Love You (by Edwina Gateley)
Be silent.
Be still.
Alone.
Empty
Before your God.
Say nothing.
Ask nothing.
Be silent.
Be still.
Let your God look upon you.
That is all.
God knows.
God understands.
God loves you
With an enormous love,
And only wants
To look upon you
With that love.
Quiet.
Still.
Be.
Let your God—
Love you.
Opening Song: Come to the Quiet by John Michael Talbot
First Reading: A reading from Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
I am afraid that the closer you get to the Light, the more of your shadow you see. Thus, truly holy people are always humble people. Christians could have been done a great service if shadow had been distinguished from sin. Sin and shadow are not the same. We were so encouraged to avoid sin that many of us instead avoided facing our shadow, and then we ended up “sinning” even worse—while unaware besides! As Paul taught, “The angels of darkness must disguise themselves as angels of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). The persona does not choose to see evil in itself, so it always disguises it as good. The shadow self invariably presents itself as something like prudence, common sense, justice, or “I am doing this for your good,” when it is actually manifesting fear, control, manipulation, or even vengeance. Did anyone ever tell you that the name Lucifer literally means the “light bearer”? The evil one always makes darkness look like light—and makes light look like darkness.
These are the inspired words of Richard Rohr and we affirm them with, Amen.
Second Reading: “A Hunger Shared” from In the Sanctuary of Women by Nan Richardson
One of the signs that we’ve found our way to a core desire, something that God desires for us, is that in following it, we feed not only our own hunger but that of others as well. When we pursue God’s longing for our life, it never serves only ourselves.
Vocation is a word that gets at this idea. Vocation isn’t merely about what job we have, but about who God has created us to be in this world. Vocation conveys the notion that God has designs on us and has placed us within this world to work for its flourishing in concert with our own.
In writing about vocation, Frederick Buechner says, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” So what are you hungry for? What do you desire, and what desire lies beneath that desire—or within it? What does your wanting teach you about yourself; about what you love, what you fear, what is possible? How does your longing meet the world’s longing? How do you pray with your desires? Where the hunger of the world beyond you meets the hunger of the world within you: may you find yourself in this place.
Our community responds to these words with: Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Ancient Words by Michael W Smith video by Denise Hackert-Stoner
https://youtu.be/gqtEtqmjHf4?si=by94bmQGf0wlNfD_
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel of Luke
Luke (4: 1-13)
Jesus returned from the Jordan filled with the Holy Spirit and she led him into the desert for forty days, where he was tempted by the devil. Jesus ate nothing during that time, at the end of which he was famished.
The devil said to Jesus, “If you are God’s Own, command this stone to turn into bread.”
Jesus answered, “Scripture has it, we don’t live on bread alone.”
Then the devil showed Jesus all the nations of the world in a single instant. The Devil said, “I’ll give you all the power and glory of these nations; the power has been given to me and I can give it to whomever I wish. Prostrate yourself in homage before me, and it will all be yours.”
In reply, Jesus said, “Scripture has it, ‘You will worship the Most High God; God alone will you adore.’”
Then the Devil led Jesus to Jerusalem, set him up on the parapet of the Temple and said, “If you are God’s Own, throw yourself down from here, for Scripture has it, ‘God will tell the angels to take care of you; with their hands they will support you, that you may never stumble on a stone.’ “
Jesus said to the Devil in reply. “It also says, ‘Do not put God to the test.’ “
When the Devil finished all this tempting, Jesus was left alone. The Devil awaited another opportunity.
These are the inspired words of the gospel writer known as Luke and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Homily prepared by Donna
On this first Sunday in Lent, in the current political climate, I find myself wanting to bring my highest self into being as fast as possible. I hear today’s gospel story as an image of what we could be if we truly embrace the truth that we are the beloved of God. Just as Jesus was led by the Spirit in this story to the desert, I believe we are invited by Spirit to do some internal work so that we can bring healing to ourselves and a hurting world. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to do what Jesus did in today’s reading? He went into the desert and faced the devil with a flawless ability to hold his ground and not be tricked into believing the lies that the devil was telling him. The evil one was unable to diminish Jesus’s light. Jesus isn’t swayed to grasp power that destroys life. Jesus knew that humility and love were the strongest powers he could embrace. I believe we have the same capacity that Jesus had to become our highest self. I would like to explore one possible way of becoming more like the Jesus pictured in the gospel story.
As we begin our forty days of Lent, we can take a metaphorical journey into the wilderness of our hearts to find some things that are still in the shadows. These are the things that were placed in the shadows of our beings as we were being taught how to be acceptable members of our family, church and society. The things in the shadows are things in us that we find hard to admit being part of us. Shadow work, that Rohr talks about in his book Falling Upward is defined as: actively exploring and acknowledging the repressed and hidden parts of your personality. Rohr affirms that the things that we put in the shadows are not sins. They go into our shadows sometimes because we are trying too hard to avoid sin, or what others are telling us is sin. The emphasis needs to be less on avoiding sin and more on embracing all that we are. When I was growing up it was unacceptable to express anger. I was told to go to my room until I was done being angry. So, anger went into my shadow because I learned it was unacceptable. I also learned that the acceptable way of being meant to exclude many other feelings. So, I was an adult before I started learning to even notice my feelings, especially anger. When we put things in our shadow and do not give them the attention they need, they come out in unskilled ways because repressing anything has an effect that can be damaging to our relationship with ourselves and others.
Our second reading talks about finding our true vocation by recognizing our deepest desires. We can also put into our shadows our desires that the culture, our family or our church tells us we should turn away from. Once again, repressing core desires damages us and others. But as the reading says expressing ourselves in a way that honors who we really have been designed to be is a win, win for us and others. Living as our true selves is how we accept the great gift of being the Beloved of God. We free ourselves to live fully the whole life we were created to live, not the life of contorting ourselves into false selves for the sake of status or blending in to avoid being different from the status quo. Some of you know my personal story around this. I have personal experience of trying to live as others said I should live. I denied parts of me so that I would be more acceptable to my culture, family and church. This way of living caught up with me and I experienced a mid-life crisis. I moved across the country and lived in the desert of Albuquerque New Mexico for a couple of years. I found great healing during my desert experience and learned to accept myself for who I am. This healing work is something I continue to this day to participate in, because it is unfortunately not a one and done. Rohr truthfully states in his book that it takes great courage to do the healing work needed to live more consistently as our highest selves. It continues to be necessary throughout our whole lives. This kind of work is not for the faint of heart but the rewards of showing up authentically and healed is what I believe is our biggest task of living, maturing and becoming enlightened.
We are traditionally invited to fast, pray and give alms during Lent. A few ideas for this year include the following: Fast from ignoring feelings and pushing them in the shadows. Instead notice your feelings, give them compassion and have a metaphorical cup of tea with them to see what they are here to teach you. Pray by spending time in silence and contemplation, listening to God’s voice within. During this contemplation bring attention to the things in the shadows that need to be nurtured, healed and integrated into your whole self. Give of your time and talent to something or someone you deeply desire helping.
In conclusion, Jesus’ time in the desert was not about proving his worth but about affirming his identity as God’s Beloved. How aware are you of being the Beloved of God? Are you willing to continue working for the flourishing of the world in concert with your own?
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
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
Presider: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we share our blessings, cares and concerns beginning with the words, “I bring to the table…”
Pause
Presider: We bring to the table the unspoken intentions in our hearts and with one voice we say, Amen.
Presider: 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: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
Presider: 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 like Jesus to 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,
All lift the plate and pray:
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)
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: I see the Holy One in You (me).
Communion Song: The Change in Me by Casting Crowns
https://youtu.be/p8TCZiy5A2A?si=qxvcXb4bMt8ptD5u
Prayer after Communion:
Presider: 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 and compassionate leaders in our world communities. May the values of peace and mercy be elevated above the temptation for power and control.
Presider: 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
Presider: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing:
May the Holy One, who created us from words and dust
and called us good,
inhabit our every hunger,
dwell in each desire
and encompass us in all the choosing that lies ahead.
May our longings lead us far and farther still
toward the place where what we desire
can be met only by the Holy One within us.
On this day of all days, may we go in the company
of the One who calls us to love everyone with an open heart. Amen.
Closing Song: I Heard an Owl by Carrie Newcomer
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