Opening Prayer: Holy One, we place ourselves, as part of your ever-evolving creation, in your vast embrace.Hold us as we unfold, as we become, as we fully inhabit our true selves.Help us to be who we are meant to be, preparing to leave traces of good behind when our time comes to enter eternity.
Reading: From “Written in the Stars,” by Adrienne Blatchford
I learned from a very young age that it is important to work hard to be a good Ancestor, even while I am here.Bless and be blessed. Honor your elders. Teach the young. Do it all with love and compassion. Respect the animals, for they give themselves to you. If you make a mistake, whether it be in sewing or in life, make it right. What you put into the universe will be returned to you. Be a steward of the land and water and what they provide.
Intentions:What We Hope to Leave Behind
We turn to the Holy One and ask for the courage to stand in the face of injustice and practice your justice, so that we leave behind a world of peace.
Response:We pray for courage.
We turn to the Holy One and ask for the perseverance to continue to reach out to the poor and marginalized so that when we leave this world behind it will be a world where everyone has enough.
Response:We pray for perseverance.
We turn to the Holy One and ask for the wisdom to discern well the path of life, the path that Jesus pointed out to us, so that when we leave this earth behind we leave that path well-trodden so that others can find their way.
Response:We pray for wisdom.
Holy One, we ask above all for love.Love of this earth and all its people and creatures, everything that has sprung from the infinite source of love that is you, so that when it comes time for us to leave this beautiful creation behind it will be more splendid than when we first beheld it.
Response:We pray for love.
Closing Prayer: From “Time Capsule,” by Manon Voice
In a hundred years forward of timelessness we will tell them
That our village became every visitor we would ever cross.
That we set ourselves free.
We brought our girls home from the prowl of predators.
We taught our boys it was ok to cry.
We proclaimed, “yes, love wins!”
And let those who wish to be called “they” be them.
This body, the campus of organs, is sacred geometry,
And we are the dance of the physical and the spiritual,
The poetry, the physics,
The music and the math;
The universe a reflection of the interior we already have.
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Justice
Welcome: Welcome! I’m so glad you joined us today as we come together this morning to celebrate liturgy together.
Opening Prayer: Let us pray. Holy One, help us to remember and live the radical love that is at the heart of Jesus, love that we translate into justice. Loving source of our being, you call us to live the gospel of peace and justice. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity today and every day. AMEN
A Reading from the Gospel attributed to Luke (18:1-8)
Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not lose heart.
He said: “In a certain city, there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to the judge with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
“For some time, she was refused by the judge. But, finally, the judge thought, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect people, because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
Jesus said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not, then, God bring about justice for God’s chosen ones, who cry out in prayer day and night? Will God keep putting them off? I tell you, they will get justice, and quickly. However, when the Chosen One comes, will anyone with faith be found on Earth?”
These are the inspired words of the gospel writer we call Luke, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN!
Homily Starter—Julie Today’s psalm speaks to the kind of intimacy that we all yearn for in our relationships. We all yearn for that special someone who knows everything about us, all of our going outs and coming ins, and who will look out for us. The psalm speaks of the Holy One providing all of this but I’m also partial to other humans doing it for us while we do it for them. There’s a sweetness in that, the kind of connection that leaves a light on for the last one home.
There’s little sweetness in today’s gospel. For years I couldn’t get past the implication that we need to nag God in our prayers, as if the Holy One is an uncooperative customer service agent who won’t upgrade our service without repeated calls. Then I saw a commentary that shifted the focus to the widow in the story. Widows are generally presented as vulnerable, people who need support to survive. But the widow in this story had the independence and the wherewithal to repeatedly step away from her daily responsibilities to plead her case with the judge. And while the word “plea” is used, the judge doesn’t see her as helpless. He eventually finds in her favor just so that she won’t attack him. That widow woman was no shrinking violet!
We can follow her example. Now, I’m not suggesting that we start threatening unjust judges, even though there are plenty of them in the news these days. That would be illegal. And wrong. What I am suggesting is that we step into our own power and state our case to the powers that be. Maybe for you that involves making signs and going to protests. Maybe for you that involves writing letters to the editors. Maybe for you that involves speaking up even when it’s uncomfortable. We all have different talents and different paths. The important thing is that we take that step.
My friends, what did you hear today? What will you do? What, if anything, will it cost you?
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, starting with the words I bring to the table.
We pray for these and all the unspoken intentions held in the silence of our hearts. AMEN.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer in one voice.
O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us as we set our hearts on belonging to you. May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all creation.
You know our limitations and our essential goodness, and you love us as we are. You beckon us to your compassionate heart and inspire us to see the good in others and forgive their limitations. Acknowledging your presence in each other and in all of creation, we sing:
Guiding Spirit, when opposing forces in us tug and pull and we are caught in the tension of choices, inspire us to make wise decisions toward what is good.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus, and for all our sisters and brothers who have modeled for us a way to live and love in challenging times. Inspired by them, we choose life over death, we choose to be light in dark times.
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 remind us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world.
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)
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread, and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat, go, share my love with one another.
(Lift cup)
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. Please pass the bread with the words: God keeps you.
Holy One, your transforming energy is within us, and we join our hearts with all who are working for a just world.We pray for wise leaders in our religious communities. We pray for courageous and compassionate leaders in our world communities.
We pray for all of us gathered here and like Jesus, we open ourselves up to your Spirit, for it is through living as he lived that we awaken to your Spirit within,
moving us to glorify you, at this time and all ways. AMEN.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Holy One, you are 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.
Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter
BLESSING
Please extend your hands as we bless each other.
ALL: May we remember our power and use it to lift each other up. May we love extravagantly. And may we be a blessing in our time, AMEN.
