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
Welcome: This
weekend the United States is celebrating our Declaration of Independence. This year we may not be experiencing the
unity or joy of past celebrations. Our
eyes and hearts are open to the suffering of others. Perhaps the “other” among
us rarely or never experienced unity or joy as one people.
Let us pray for justice and
peace. May we stand in solidarity with each other and all creation remembering
we are created to be One.
Opening
Song: “God Beyond all Names”
LITURGY
OF THE WORD
First Reading: A
Reading from Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
Throughout human history, three caste systems
have stood out. The tragically accelerated, chilling, and officially vanquished
caste of Nazi Germany. The lingering, millennia-long caste system of India. And
the shapeshifting, unspoken, race-based caste pyramid in the United States.
Each version relied on stigmatizing those deemed inferior to justify the
dehumanization necessary to keep the lowest-ranked people at the bottom and to
rationalize the protocols of enforcement.
A caste system endures because it is often justified as divine will,
originating from sacred text or presumed laws of nature, reinforced throughout
the culture and passed down through the generations.
We affirm these words with AMEN!
Second Reading: A reading from Rabbi Irwin Keller
TAKING SIDES
Today I am
taking sides.
I am taking
the side of Peace.
Peace,
which I will not abandon
even when its voice is drowned out
by hurt and hatred,
bitterness of loss,
cries of right and wrong.
I am taking
the side of Peace
whose name has barely been spoken
in this winnerless war.
I will call for de-escalation
even when I want nothing more
than to get even.
I will hold
Peace in my arms,
Today I am
taking sides.
We affirm
these words with Amen.
Gospel Acclamation:
Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/4cs8NDVM3Vk
Gospel: A Gospel reading from Luke (Lk.10:1-12)
At
that time Jesus appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them, "The
harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way; behold,
I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter
and they welcome you, eat
what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kin-dom of God is at hand for you.'
We affirm these words
with Amen
Shared
Homily
A few weeks
ago, in our shared homily, something surfaced for me that I had not thought
deeply about. Members were sharing their
thoughts on all the difficulties, suffering and pain in the world. It is crazy
and chaotic. And yet God is in our
chaos! I know I easily find the Holy One
in the beauty around me, or with the many blessings I receive. I often forget God is just as present in the
chaos.
Our world
is upside down. Maybe our world has always been upside down. In her book Caste, Isabel Wilkerson,
writes about three very specific castes systems. She describes the need to
stigmatize “the other” to keep them down so those in and with power can be
superior to the inferior. You and I may
not be in power but we each have power. Unfortunately, at times, we may seem or
feel superior too. I know I used to love singing all those 4th of
July patriotic songs, You’re a Grand Old Flag and God Bless America. I felt proud and a little superior. Not so much these days.
I am
guessing Jesus had conflicted feelings too. We know he was not happy with the
Roman government, nor was he pleased with the temple authorities, scribes or
pharisees. We also know Jesus took loving action.
Jesus knew
that most of us would not be strong enough to stand in solidarity with
suffering and discord by ourselves. He knew we needed at least one other person
to walk with us. We are stronger two by two or in community.
Jesus
warned that our efforts to offer peace will not necessarily be welcomed. He said,
“don’t carry anything with you, money, sack, sandals.” Perhaps he is really
saying “let go of all the things we think we must have in order to be strong
enough to bring peace.” Those things we
let go of are not just tangible things, like money or sandals, but also our negative
thinking that we are not “good enough”, or don’t have the skills, or perhaps we
are not the ones chosen to bring peace into the world.
What are we
to do? Rabbi Keller says it beautifully
in his poem. Take sides! Today we take sides on the side of peace.
I believe,
just like all of creation, we humans are very slowly evolving. We are evolving
into a new creation. I ask each of you; Do you see it? Do you feel it? Do you
believe it?
Yes, we are
living in a world of chaos. No matter
how small or seemingly unimportant we have choices and actions to take. Every
act of living is a chance to improve the world. We can let go of our fears and act, for we
know God is in the chaos just as God is in our blessings.
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 bring to the table our prayers and intentions:
We pray for
these and all unspoken prayers of our hearts. Amen.
LITURGY
OF THE EUCHARIST
With open
hands and hearts let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together:
All: O Holy One
you have sent prophets and messengers to show us the way-Abraham, Sarah and
Hagar, Moses and Jesus, Buddha and Mohammad, Hildegard and Teresa, Oscar and
Dorothy, and all of us here and now who celebrate this liturgy today.
Everything we do, we do
together with You. We cannot be without You. We cannot be without each other.
You are made visible in this world with our acts of love and kindness. With
grateful hearts we raise our voices and sing
Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ
All: Holy One, slowly this
world is moving toward oneness. Your pattern of Love is in everything and there
are messages of Love in every pattern.
Help us to stand with each other in
love and suffering. The pain of
one, is the pain of all. May we
co-create with You and restore balance and harmony in our world.
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 the body of Christ in
the world.
On the night before he died
Jesus did more than ask us to remember him.
He showed us how to live when he washed the feet of his friends.
lift the bread
All: At the table, he took the
Bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat of the Bread of
Life
given to strengthen you.
Whenever you remember me like
this
go and share your love with
one another. (pause)
lift
the cup
ALL: Jesus then raised a cup of blessing, spoke
the grace saying:
Take and drink of the covenant,
made new again through my life
in you.
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. Please receive this bread with the words: God
is in the chaos and the blessing.
Communion
Song: Until All are Fed by
Bryan McFarland
https://youtu.be/RkwSHYlf9TQ
Post Communion Prayer
ALL: Holy
One we know you as the voice of kindness within us and the constant hope that
lives in our hearts. We are grateful for the gift of your Spirit, always
drawing beauty and balance out of chaos. And like Jesus,
Standing
where he stood,
and for
what he stood,
and with
whom he stood,
we are
united in your Spirit
now and
forever. Amen.
Let us pray
together the prayer of Jesus:
Adapted
from 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 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.
All: Loving
Source of our being, we are called to live the gospel of peace and love. This
is our faith, to embrace life, to increase love, to have courage to be and walk
into the mystery of your presence.
BLESSING
Please extend your
hands and pray
our blessing together.
(adapted from Rabbi Weinberg’s prayer for
peace)
We are
one earth, one mother, one sky, one beginning, one future, one destiny, one
broken heart, one blessing, One God.
May we practice unity in the midst of
chaos and blessings. May we see the many
in the one and one in the many. May the
Holy One, Life of all the worlds, source of all amazing differences, help us to
see clearly. Guide us gently and firmly toward each other, toward peace. Amen
Closing
Song: Everything
is Holy Now, Peter Mayer
https://youtu.be/s_SgAmljIJc
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