Upper Room Liturgy Saturday, July 12, 2025 - Presider: Denise Hackert-Stoner

 

Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 

phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155

LITURGY OF THE WORD

Welcome to our Saturday evening liturgy.  Tonight, we are reminded once more that our neighbor is both next door and half a world away, and that just as we are called to love God, so are we called to love our neighbor.  

Opening Prayer

Holy One, we gather tonight in a world that has grown dark with hate.  We ask that our hearts be open to your love, that we might be the neighbors you call us to be.  Amen.

 

Opening Song:  Namaste by Mark Hayes – video by MTStreck

https://youtu.be/Hxf8QFTkYY8

 

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading:  Deuteronomy 30:10-14

Moses said to the people:
"If only you would heed the voice of your God,
and keep the commandments and statutes
that are written in this book of the law,
when you return to the LORD, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul.

"For this command that I enjoin on you today
is not too mysterious and remote for you.
It is not up in the sky, that you should say,
'Who will go up in the sky to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'
Nor is it across the sea, that you should say,
'Who will cross the sea to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'
No, it is something very near to you,
already in your mouths and in your hearts;
you have only to carry it out."

These are the ancient words of wisdom from our ancestors, and we affirm them with Amen.

Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips shortened

https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw

Gospel:  Luke 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law?
How do you read it?"
He said in reply,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself."
He replied to him, "You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live."

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
"And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied,
"A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
'Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.'
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"
He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."
Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

These are the words of the gospel writer known as Luke.  We affirm them with Amen.

Homily Starter:

Who is our neighbor?  Who is my neighbor?  Who is your neighbor? 

As he so often does, Jesus answers this question with a story.  And the story’s surprise ending has the injured man aided by a man from a despised region.  Jews avoided the region of Samaria, and the people who lived there.  Samaritans were considered non-authentic Jews.  They worshipped in a different place, they had different beliefs about scripture, and they were thought to have corrupted Judaism by intermarrying with pagans. 

If we were to tell the same story today, we might imagine the that the injured man has brown skin and speaks with a Spanish accent.  The man who rescues him might be wearing a MAGA hat. 

Why?  Why would a despised Samaritan reach out and give aid to an Israelite who under normal circumstances would avoid him like a disease?  And why would the MAGA guy come to the aid of the Hispanic man who under other circumstances he might report to ICE?

I think that it is the Divine that resides in both the injured person and the rescuer that allows them to see one another. 

So why don’t the priest and the Levite see this?  Why don’t they notice?  Why do they just walk on by, on the other side of the street?  In our re-telling of the story these characters might be a priest and a politician.  Are they bad, horrible people?  Probably not.  Probably they are just very busy people.  People with agendas.  Maybe the priest was composing a fantastic homily, or maybe they were on their way to help out at a food pantry.  Maybe the politician was hurrying to get to an important session where their vote was needed to pass much-needed legislation.  So, maybe they just didn’t notice that the injured person and they themselves shared this precious Divinity.  So, they passed by.  And missed an opportunity to repair a hole in the fabric of the world.  Missed an opportunity to collect a piece of the shattered universe and put it back into place.  Missed an opportunity to bring the Kin-dom to fruition. 

Is the MAGA guy a better person than the priest or the politician?  Maybe.  Or maybe he just happened to notice that someone who somehow, even though he looked much different, shared something with him.  Something too deep to grasp.  And so, he helped.  Maybe after helping him, he would never want to see that injured man again.  Jesus never said anything about the injured man and the Samaritan going out for a beer together. 

Loving our neighbor doesn’t mean we have warm feelings toward them.  It doesn’t mean feeling at all.  It means doing.  Love is an action word.  It’s what neighbors do for one another that matters.  It’s a command that is in our mouths and in our hearts, and we need only to carry it out.

Please share your thoughts on tonight’s readings.

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 concerns. 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, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy Spirit, who enlivens and inebriates all that exists, we beseech your healing power upon us and all we pray for today.

Down through the ages, you rescue us from darkness. You light up our ways with wise and holy people. You restore our spirits, and you revive our dwindling hope.

May the Spirit of life and wholeness transform us that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered 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, video by Denise

https://youtu.be/9XywpRw3OPw

 

Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind, and spirit, we bring before you the darkness of our world, and the pain and suffering of your people.
We seek to be healed and made whole; we seek to be reconciled and united; we seek peace in our hearts and in our world.

Please extend your hands in blessing.

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 in our time of need.

As we gather around this friendship table, 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 of the fullness of life. Help us to extend that invitation to all we meet.

On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, 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: “Let us live the command of Love.”

Communion Song: Only Love by Jordan Smith

https://youtu.be/Xrv9KmyQAPU

 

Prayer After Communion

In faith and hope we are sustained,
In grace our dignity reclaimed,
In praise we thank our God.

Grant that we may strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the God of life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, until the Kin-dom arrives in the fullness of time.

This prayer we make in the name of our healing and nurturing God through, with, and in whom we offer these gifts, sources of life, love, and goodness, now and forever.  Amen.

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.

Holy One, may we see you in the faces of all we meet.  May we respond with Love to every neighbor, far and near.  May we be a blessing in our time.  Amen.

Closing Song: By Breath by Sara Thomsen (Video by Denise) 

https://youtu.be/FIc2NBt6NI0