Upper Room Saturday Liturgy, June 28, 2025 - Presider: Denise Hackert-Stoner

 

Welcome, everyone.  Tonight, even as so many people all over the world face incredible odds, and even as here in the U.S. we are fearful of what is happening all around us, I want to remind myself tonight that there is joy.  There is surprise.  There is hope.  And I want to remind myself of the angels all around us that in small ways usher in joy, hope, and surprise every day. 

Opening Prayer

Holy One, help us to open our eyes to the messengers you send among us. Help us to listen to their words of good news, even as bad news tries to swallow us.

 

Opening Song:  Impossible Till It’s Not, Carrie Newcomer

https://youtu.be/uAl9xT4ZRbU?si=f2NeyEWx8KZtQB_f

 

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: Genesis 18:1-15

God appeared to Abraham by the Terebinth of Mamre,

as Abraham sat in the entrance of his tent,

while the day was growing hot.

Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby.

When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them;

and bowing to the ground, he said:

"Sir, if I may ask you this favor,

please do not go on past your servant.

Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet,

and then rest yourselves under the tree.

Now that you have come this close to your servant,

let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves;

and afterward you may go on your way."

The men replied, "Very well, do as you have said."

Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah,

"Quick, three measures of fine flour!

Knead it and make rolls."

He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer,

and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.

Then Abraham got some curds and milk,

as well as the steer that had been prepared,

and set these before them;

and he waited on them under the tree while they ate.

They asked him, "Where is your wife Sarah?"

He replied, "There in the tent."

One of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year,

and Sarah will then have a son."

Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.

Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years,

and Sarah had stopped having her womanly periods.

So Sarah laughed to herself and said,

"Now that I am so withered and my husband is so old,

am I still to have sexual pleasure?"

But the Lord said to Abraham: "Why did Sarah laugh and say,

'Shall I really bear a child, old as I am?'

Is anything too marvelous for your God to do?

At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you,

and Sarah will have a son."

Because she was afraid, Sarah dissembled, saying, "I didn't laugh."

But he replied, "Yes you did."

These are the ancient words of our ancestors.  We affirm them with Amen.

Alleluia (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips

https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw

Second Reading: Acts 12:1-11(adapted)

In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them.

He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword,

and he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

–It was the feast of Unleavened Bread.–

He had Peter taken into custody and put in prison

under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each.

He intended to bring him before the people after Passover.

Peter thus was being kept in prison,

but prayer by the Church was fervently being made

to God on his behalf.

On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial,

Peter, secured by double chains,

was sleeping between two soldiers,

while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.

Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him

and a light shone in the cell.

He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying,

“Get up quickly.”

The chains fell from his wrists.

The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.”

He did so.

Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”

So he followed him out,

not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;

he thought he was seeing a vision.

They passed the first guard, then the second,

and came to the iron gate leading out to the city,

which opened for them by itself.

They emerged and made their way down an alley,

and suddenly the angel left him.

Then Peter recovered his senses and said,

            “Now I know for certain

            that God sent an angel

            and rescued me from the hand of Herod.”

We believe this story of Peter's surprising rescue comes to us from the writer we know as Luke.  We affirm these words with Amen.

 

Homily Starter

Although she tries to deny it, Sarah laughs at the idea of giving birth at her age; a hidden giggle behind the back of God and God’s angels. She is not a woman to be trifled with.  She’s a realist; a realist who has learned to live with disappointment after failing to conceive for so many years.   So, when the visitors arrive with such unlikely news, she laughs.  And we know that when, in fact she does give birth, she names her baby Isaac, Hebrew for "one who laughs." Sarah's laughter lives on in her son, and down through the generations of the nation she births.  And deeply embedded in that laughter is the knowledge that indeed, nothing is impossible for God.

Peter, always so sure of himself, suddenly finds himself in a horribly dangerous place.  When the angel wakes him, he seems to have an out of body experience, as if he were observing his own escape in a vision. But follow he does, and wakes to find himself unchained and outside prison walls.

Angels appear at the most unlikely times, and sometimes with the most unlikely messages. "You will bear a son in your old age."  "Follow me to freedom."  They seem to arrive when we need them the most and expect them the least. And they arrive in the most unlikely shapes.  A desert traveler.  A prison visitor.

I wonder about them, these strange shape-shifters.  Where are they now?  Will we bump into one at a protest rally?  Are there a couple in congress, talking sense to the senseless?  Are they on an aid truck defying the odds of a blockade?  Are they scattered among the bombed-out buildings in the many war-ravaged places giving comfort and first aid?  A born doubter, I am skeptical of angel stories. And yet I so love them, and I so hope that they are at least a little bit true. We need angels now. 

What are your thoughts about tonight's readings and about the prospect of angels?

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.

Prayers of the Community

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 prayers. 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, you enliven and inebriate all that exists. We celebrate your presence among us today as we gather around this table of friendship.

You light up our ways with wise and holy people who may be the angels among us.  Your spirit transforms and refreshes us, empowering us to bring mercy, love, and healing to those whose lives we touch.

For all you bring to our lives, 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

 

Please extend your hands in blessing.

Source of our health and wholeness, we celebrate your presence among us.  Your healing power shines in the eyes of these, our companions on the journey, and we rejoice in one another’s presence.  As we are united in love, we seek to carry that love into 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.

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 in the fullness of life. May that spirit of abundance transform the dark places in this world and heal all hearts burdened with greed.

On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like a household slave, 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: “I open my heart to the God of surprises.”

Communion Song: There are Angels Hovering Round by Phillip Bliss

Sung by Guilford Community Church Choir

https://youtu.be/EaW_9A_Kmto?si=KPTUXSlEjxSYrjrL

 

Prayer After Communion

In faith and hope we are sustained,

In grace our dignity reclaimed,

In praise we thank our God.

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 always be open to surprise, and may our eyes always be open to the angels among us.  May our lives be lived in health and wholeness, calling all to the abundance of the Kin-dom, which is available to all, all the time, and forever. Amen

Closing Song: Angels Among Us by Alabama ft. Chris Rupp

https://youtu.be/2QF0IEU8EcQ?si=5NcG1pa_3GYKO2uJ