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
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome to our liturgy, where we gather in love, faith, and joy to celebrate the great gift of life bestowed on us, and together explore what it means to co-create that life for all.
Opening Prayer: Holy One, you created a world, a universe, out of Love; and you commanded us to carry that Love forward with our lives. We see all around us the result of our failure to follow that command. Help us as individuals, communities, and societies, to return to your way, and to heal broken hearts and lives as we ourselves are healed.
Opening Song: Root of the Root by Sara Thomsen, video by Denise
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: “To Michael Menson,” by Benjamin Zephaniah
“There must be some light somewhere
There must be a true other,
There must be more than despair
There must be more my brother,
There must be so much unsaid
There must be an informant,
There must be some truth ahead
There must be a judgment.
“There must be a little hope
There must be a truth culture,
There must be ways for us to cope
There must be a just future,
There must be somewhere to go
There must be some movement,
There must be much more to know
There must be a judgment.
“There must be ears for our appeal
There must be some progress,
There must be a better deal
There must be more than dis mess,
There must be ways, there must be means
There must be some acknowledgement,
There must be honest go-betweens
There must be a judgment.
“It may take God, it may take man
It may take lords of fire,
It may take burning Babylon
It may take something higher,
It may take bad rebellious youth
It may take a sane government,
It may take liars with the truth,
But there must be a judgment.”
This poem, by Benjamin Zephaniah, is written to Michael Menson, a black poet from London who was murdered in 1997, and whose family pursued justice after the police chose not to. We honor Michael’s life and Benjamin’s words, with “Amen.”
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia Misa Delgado Book1
https://youtu.be/uilfwfd-U_g
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel writer known at Luke (Lk 13:1-9
Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
He said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them—
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”
And he told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”
These words are from the Gospel writer known as Luke. We affirm them with “Amen.”
Shared Homily
Tonight’s is not an easy Gospel. It speaks of judgement, and judgement is not a comfortable subject. But together, let’s circle the subject, and try to understand its meaning in our lives.
Looking at the first reading, the poet uses the phrase “there must be a judgement” four times. Clearly, this lack of justice, or “a judgement,” is very central to the theme of the poem. And when we consider the circumstances under which it was written, that is very easy to understand. Michael Menson was set on fire and left to die. Before he did die, he informed the police that he had been attacked. The police did not take him seriously. So it was Michael’s family that pursued the case, until finally, his attackers were brought to justice. A judgement.
Moving to the Gospel, Jesus is involved in a conversation about the desecration of Galileans blood as part of a Roman sacrifice. This moves Jesus into a long discourse on judgement and justice. Of course, those poor citizens of Judah had not brought this terrible fate upon themselves by any of the sins they may have committed. Neither did the poor folks who were crushed by the falling tower at Siloam. But Jesus doesn’t end there. He goes on to say that everyone…everyone is liable to perish if they “do not repent.”
What do we do with these words? How do we reconcile them with the loving God, the Abba God, that Jesus espouses?
If we look closely at the Gospel, we notice that Jesus never says that God will make the people perish. Clearly, he has said just the opposite in describing the blood sacrifice and the falling tower. So what is he saying? If God won’t bring this judgement on the people, then who will?
I believe that the judgement Jesus was talking about is not anything delivered from any outside force, but rather, it is a direct result of the actions of the people themselves. Over and over again, in so many different ways, Jesus told his followers that Love is the path to salvation, to living in the Kin-dom of God. And I believe that he wasn’t talking about being whisked off to that Kin-dom after death. I think he meant that to make that Kin-dom flower in this life, on this earth, we need to follow the command of Love. And again and again, the people of God, from the time of Jesus up until this very day, have willfully refused that command. And the result, the judgement, is the poison we live in, the hatred, the fear, the hunger, the sad lack of justice that people like Michael Menson suffer every single day.
But we are made of Love. Love is the foundation of our being. So we always hear the call to return to it. To revel in it. To share it. To follow its command. And to make the Kin-dom grow by living it. That may be why we are always given the gift of another year, of avoiding the gardener’s saw yet again, and to be given another chance to make our judgement one of joy instead of sorrow; one of life instead of death.
Judgement is the world we live in. Judgement is the life we live. The Kin-dom demands action. It demands l Love. There is no punishment from an angry God. Only a simple outcome. Like dominoes falling after the first one is pushed. Like arriving at the destination at the end of a chosen path. Jesus offers us another path. In fact, he commands it.
Please share your thoughts on tonight’s readings.
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.
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, and for all we seek amid
pain and suffering, we acclaim your love and greatness,
and we join with all creation to sing our hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker video by Denise
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.
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 feast of gratitude.
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. This is the life you offer to all, and we seek the will and wisdom to make it manifest throughout the world.
Please raise your hands in blessing the gifts on this table and in our hearts.
We ask you to awaken anew in our hearts the empowering grace of your abundant Spirit; the Spirit that fills our beings and the gifts before us on this table with the transforming energy of life.
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like a household slave, 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.
(pause)
What we have heard with our ears we will live with our lives. As we share communion we will become communion; both love’s nourishment and love’s challenge.
Please receive communion saying: The life of the Divine is within me.
Communion Song: I Will Sing of Your Love, Love, Love by Christopher Grundy
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.
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.
May we be bringers of life and healing. May our words and actions knit together the frayed fabric of life on earth. May we remember that we are rooted in the simple command to love one another, and may our lives bring about a judgement of life in the Kin-dom, here on earth.
Closing Song: I Am Ready For Change by Carrie Newcomer
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.