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: Our world is upside down. Fear and anxiety are high. We constantly question our ability to do something,
anything, to make changes. Where do we find the strength, solace and courage to
keep on keeping on?
Opening
Prayer: Scripture and hymns tell us you will never leave us comfortless.
Please help to recognize you in all creation.
We need and long to experience your loving comfort.
Opening
Song: More
Light by Christopher Gundy video by MTStreck
https://youtu.be/a8XaUlqb8t0
LITURGY OF
THE WORD
First Reading:
According to an ancient Sufi story, there lived
a king in some Middle Eastern land who was continuously torn between happiness
and despondency. The slightest thing would cause great upset or provoke an intense reaction,
and his happiness would quickly turn into disappointment and despair. So the
king sent for a wise man in his kingdom who was reputed to be enlightened. The king said can you give me something that
will bring balance, serenity, and wisdom into my life? The wise man said he would help him and he
left saying he would be back shortly. A
few weeks later, he returned and handed the king an ornate box carved in
jade. The king opened the box and found
a simple gold ring inside. Some letters
were inscribed on the ring. The
inscription read: This, too shall pass.
“What is the meaning of this?” asked the king. The wise man said, “Wear this ring always.
Whatever happens before you call it good or bad, touch this ring and read the
inscription. That way, you will always be at peace.”
These are the inspired
words of the Sufi tradition. We affirm them with AMEN
Second Reading: A reading from an
article in America Magazine by Gregory Hillis.
Throughout the book Revelations of Divine Love,
Julian expounds on the experiences she had of God’s tender and all-encompassing
love for us. God’s love for us is so “high, surpassing, [and] immeasurable”
that we cannot comprehend it. And yet this love for us is so intimate that
Julian equates it with the love of a mother for her child, and famously calls
God “our Mother in nature, our Mother in grace.”
But this experience of the profundity of God’s
love led Julian to ask God the question that has plagued humanity for
centuries: If God is love and loves us so deeply, then why do evil and
suffering exist?
Julian received two responses to her question,
the first being that God will perform a deed on the last day of the world by
which God “will make all things well.” At another point, Jesus tells her, “All
shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”
Precisely what this means is much debated, but Julian appears to understand by
this phrase that God will ultimately overcome all evil, all sin and all
suffering in such a way that humanity can and will experience the profound love
of God.
These are the words of Gregory Hillis and
Julian of Norwich. We affirm them with AMEN!
Gospel
Acclamation: Celtic
Alleluia by Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU
Gospel: A reading from the
Gospel of Luke (18 24-27)
Jesus said, “How hard is it for the those who
are wealthy to enter the kin-dom of God. It’s easier for a camel to crawl
through the Needle’s Eye gate than for the wealthy to enter the kin-dom.” Then those who heard this said, “Who then can
be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is
impossible for humans is possible with God!”
These are the words of the scribe known as
Luke. Our community affirms them with Amen.
Shared
Homily
What does it mean when Jesus says it is hard
for the wealthy to enter the kin-dom. When we read this gospel, we must be
careful not to read it literally. Some
scholars say there was an actual place called the “Needle Pass” that was very
narrow. Camels had a near impossible chance to get through. Maybe so, but how does that apply to you and
me today. If we leave out the debate of
the camel and the pass, it is the wealthy who have trouble getting into
heaven. Aren’t we all wealthy
comparatively speaking. Am I too wealthy to enter the kin-dom? What kind of wealth do we each have? But Jesus comforts us with don’t worry- “all
things are possible with God.”
A few weeks back two of our community members
shared their thoughts on Julian of Norwich’s famous prayer: “All shall be well,
and all manner of things shall be well.”
One member took great comfort in the prayer, the other member could not
find comfort in the prayer because of the way our world is right now.
The Sufi wise man used a similar meaning phrase
“This too shall pass”. This phrase can offer comfort for some but may
unintentionally minimize or dismiss someone’s strong feelings of sadness, or
anger, or hurt.
Do you see a connection between these three
readings?
Perhaps it is as simple as the gospel phrase
“all things are possible with God.” Some
translations read “all things are possible for God.” Many will tell us that of course all things
are possible for God - he is omnipotent! He can do all things! Although God could zap the world into a world
of peace and love, God does not act in that manner.
Instead, Jesus reminds us that “all things are
possible with God. The preposition
“with” makes all the difference. God is
with us in the joy and suffering. God is with us in our most difficult,
upsetting, even terrifying moments. Our
comfort is knowing God is with us. That
knowing enables us to pray: “all things shall be well, and this too shall
pass.”
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,
Holy: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ
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: The Holy One is with me always.
Communion song: Love is Greater than
Fear - The Many - lyric video
https://youtu.be/l23Dkmyy1Cw
Post
Communion Prayer: 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. Lynn Kinlan
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: Dance Then Wherever You May Be by John Ogrodowczyk
https://youtu.be/L6R6_Qz6_dU
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