Please join us between 9:30 and 9:55 am via Zoom
Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Welcome: We refer to ourselves as the Upper Room Inclusive Catholic Community. We celebrate liturgy each weekend. We gather to pray, reflect and share. We come to the table for the feast. What is this feast?
Opening Prayer: Holy One, we are forever connected to You, one another and all creation. May our table always be open to all. Amen.
Opening Song: More Light by Christopher Gundy
LITURGY OF THE WORD
1st Reading: A reading from The Greatest Prayer by John Dominic Crossan
The original title “Lord’s Supper meant the Lord’s style of supper, that is a shared-meal where all alike get enough of the same food and drink. Equality for Jesus meant equality in menu. It was not of course our symbolic morsel and sip of the bread and wine, but a true meal.
When the various small communities of Corinth celebrated the Lord’s Supper at the home of a better-off member, the non-working “haves” arrived early and ate the upper-class food and drink they brought. When the “have-nots” arrived later after the day’s work, they had to make do with what was left. The Corinth communities fell into the trap or pattern of the Roman hierarchal expectations.
These are the inspired words of John Dominic Crossan and we affirm them with AMEN!
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
Gospel: The Gospel according to a disciple known as Luke (Lk 14:7- 11)
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.
He told a parable to those who had been invited,
noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.
"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,
do not recline at table in the place of honor.
A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,
and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,
'Give your place to this man,'
and then you would proceed with embarrassment
to take the lowest place.
Rather, when you are invited,
go and take the lowest place
so that when the host comes to you he may say,
'My friend, move up to a higher position.'
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
These are the words of a writer known as Luke and we affirm them with AMEN
Shared Homily
Did you ever notice how many feasts, banquets, meals, Jesus is attending or hosting? At the time of Jesus these gatherings were extremely important to the whole community. The people of the day were busy working, not just earning a wage and then going to the grocery store on Sunday or getting online to buy what they needed on Amazon. The people of Jesus’ time, especially the poor, were working to survive. They had enough bread for a day or two. They had vegetables if the crops were good. They had meat if they could afford to raise, and butcher a sheep. Gathering for a feast or celebration was a big deal. In addition to having enough food to eat, the gatherings provided an opportunity to have discussions, make decisions, have debates, and have good conversations. Social time
Notice that Jesus keeps dining with the Pharisees even though there is great tension between them. He does not cut off those with different theologies, ideas or values. He does not debate the fine points of Jewish law. Rather Jesus reminds the Pharisees and us to mindful of others. Others who are not like minded.
Learning about the culture at the time of Jesus is a very nice and often an interesting history lesson. What may be more important, however, is what does this gospel say to each of us in our current living experience?
I was recently reminded of being with others who do not think like me, when I attended a funeral mass at a catholic church. The celebrant was a young priest, whose theology was from the 1950’s. It was painful to hear the prayers. I reminded myself that there was a time in my life that I believed in that theology even when I did not understand it
Like Jesus we do not have to debate the points of theology or what our beliefs are vs. theirs. Our focus does not have to be on the rules, rites, dogma but rather, our focus is to strive to live and love like Jesus. For Jesus meals were times of celebration and inclusive fellowship that foreshadowed the inclusiveness of God’s kin-dom. Jesus ate with the disciples, pharisees, crowds, and outcasts. Perhaps it is time the roman catholic church learned new table manners.
Our understanding of Eucharist has changed over the years. No matter where we are in our understanding we celebrate as one. We must remain watchful. Is our table as open as we want it to be?
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 prayer of intentions:
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions that we hold in our hearts. Amen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer in one voice:
O Holy One, you are always with us. In the blessed abundance of creation, we gather to celebrate Your nourishing gift of life. May our hearts be open as You invite us to participate in the wise and wonderful work of co-creation. May we be ever aware of Your Spirit within and among us as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty into the fullness of life.
We are grateful for Your Spirit whose breath inspired the primal waters, calling into being the variety and abundance we see around us. Your Spirit sustains and animates our every endeavor, inviting us to act in wisdom and in truth.
In gratitude and joy we embrace our calling and we lift our voices to proclaim a song of praise:
Holy, Holy: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy
As a community, we gather in the power of your Spirit, refreshing wind, purifying fire and flowing water, for the variety and diversity of Creation. We seek to live as Jesus taught us, wise and holy as Spirit-filled people, courageous and prophetic, ever obedient to your call.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
In the power of this creative Spirit, Jesus lived life to the full.
We, too, are blessed in the power of that same Spirit, which we now invoke upon all gathered here, to celebrate the transformative energy symbolized in our gifts of bread and wine, given to nourish and sustain us into the fullness of life.
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.
(Lift Plate)
That same bread, Jesus took and broke, to restore the unity of our broken world. Jesus blessed you, then he shared the bread with those at table saying:
Take and eat the Bread of Life for all who hunger for peace and justice.
(Lift Cup)
After the meal, he then raised the cup of blessing poured in a spirit of solidarity and empowerment, spoke the grace, and offered them the wine saying:
Take and drink the Cup of Compassion for a broken world.
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.
Receive the Bread of Life and the Cup of Compassion with the words: I share this bread with everyone.
Communion song: All Belong Here - The Many - Lyric Video
We seek to act justly and courageously in confronting the suffering that desecrates the Earth and its peoples; to take risks in being proactive on behalf of the marginalized who suffer the environmental injustices of fouled air, tainted water, and a poverty of parks and public spaces that bring people together to enjoy nature. We pray for inspiration to act with the harmony and unity and synthesis that is modeled for us by the trees of the forest, and the stars of the evening.
Holy One, your transforming energy is always moving within us and working through us. 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 of Jesus
Generous Creator, the intricate and elegant biodiversity of our world is your hallowed autograph on our lives, on our souls and in our hearts.
We yearn for the wholeness of being in harmony with Your will and with all living things.
Each day we draw on your creative, life-giving energy with gratitude and awe as we find nourishment in, seed and field, river and forest.
May we be stewards and co-creators with you in caring for the gifts of Your Creation.
We acknowledge our shortcomings, especially our neglect of the environment. We seek to be reconciled with those we have hurt and we resolve to do better.
With your unfailing wisdom and the wind of Your Spirit, inspire us that we may reach out and love one another and care for the world, our home.
Strengthen us to work for local and global justice so that we may one day reap a harvest of equality and fairness as if they were wildflowers, propagating spontaneously, unerringly and in surprising abundance. Amen.
We are called to live the Gospel of Creation in harmony and gratitude with all our sisters and brothers across the Earth. We will live justly, love tenderly and walk with integrity in Your Presence.
BLESSING
Let us pray together our closing blessing:
May we treat all of Creation as sacred and discern the best path to an equitable distribution of the resources we share with our sisters and brothers across the globe. Let us live as if the future depends on it. Amen.
Closing Song: Believe Out Loud by David Lohman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15tSw_L291Y
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