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Welcome to The Upper Room Liturgy, as we gather in community and love. Tonight, we consider light in the darkness.
Opening Prayer: Holy One, open our minds and our hearts as we gather to listen to your Word. Amen.
Opening Song: Holy, Holy, Holy by Peter Mayer https://youtu.be/4VvfhwhIEz4?si=KNgZVrfTaGySMdpH
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: A reading from the prophet Isaiah (Is. 9:1-3) (Adapted by Denise)
There will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest.
These are the words of the prophet Isaiah. We affirm them with Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips
Gospel: A reading from the writer known as Matthew (Mt. 4:12-17)
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kin-dom of heaven is at hand.”
These are the words of the writer we know as Matthew. We affirm them with Amen.
Homily Starter:
As I began to think about this week’s readings I wondered about that metaphor about a light in the darkness. Isaiah refers to it, and his words are repeated in Matthew’s gospel.
In my wonderings, I asked myself, what is light? How do we perceive it? What does it do for us? Obviously, every child knows that turning on the light in a dark room chases the monsters away. And every parent of young children knows that turning on a light in a dark room shows all the sharp little Legos that might embed themselves in bare feet.
So, based on evidence from children and parents, I conclude that light has two main purposes: It makes life less scary and sad, and it shows us where the dangerous stuff is hidden.
It seems that Isaiah agrees with my conclusion. His people have been in distress. They’ve been living in darkness. But he sees a time that they will be in the light, their sadness having departed. They will be rejoicing, as they do at harvest time.
The people were indeed living in darkness during the time of Isaiah. They had been defeated by the Assyrians, who destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel. For Isaiah, bad events always indicated unfaithfulness to the covenant. He believed that the covenant worked both ways. God kept God’s promises, but the people had to keep theirs just as faithfully. But the way that the people had been conducting their lives had little to do with the covenant. The great law that told them to Love God and neighbor was forgotten. The rich were getting richer, the poor abandoned. Hunger and homelessness were rampant. It was a dark time. The people were living in darkness, and the darkness was full of monsters and sharp objects.
And Isaiah longed for them to be lifted from that darkness. He himself tried to shine the clarifying light of prophesy on their actions. That’s what prophets do. But when his words seemed to fail, he longed that another might come; another voice that would speak louder, whose light would shine brighter, and show the people where the dangerous trip hazards were; who would make the monsters disappear.
Matthew, well-acquainted with Isaiah’s prophesy, suggests that Jesus is that person; is that light. Because Jesus can see the Kin-dom. He sees that it is at hand, ready to enter. He carries a light within him that reveals it. And like Isaiah, Jesus sees the Legos on the floor that others might miss. And he knows that if we keep walking around in the dark, we will never see the Kin-dom. We’ll only hurt our feet. So, like Isaiah, he calls for repentance, asks us to turn around, change our lives, remember who we are, and the promises we made. Like the great prophets before him he shines his light on what is and what can be. And asks us to follow the light to what can be.
What did you hear in tonight’s readings? Please share your thoughts.
Shared Homily
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 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 prayers 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 (Words and music by Karen Drucker)
Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind, and spirit, we come before you as we are. We thank you for these bodies, in all their strengths and frailties. We thank you for our minds, ever enquiring, ever expanding in your knowledge. We thank you for our hearts, strengthened in your love, yet ever breakable. We know you love us as we are, even as you call us to become even more.
Please raise your hands in blessing:
We ask you to awaken anew in our hearts the empowering grace of your abundant Spirit, who infuses these gifts of bread and wine, and all here present, with the transforming energy of life.
As we gather around this friendship table, 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 Eucharistic feast.
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.
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, 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.
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.
Please receive communion saying: “A light shines in the darkness.”
Communion Song: Behold Now the Kingdom – John Michael Talbot https://youtu.be/TWd0OE5jaoA
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, bringing your Kin-dom into being.
This prayer we make in the name of our healing and nurturing God through, with, and in whom we offer these gifts, sources of life, love, and goodness, now and forever. Amen.
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, like children, trust in the light. May we follow it to the Kin-dom. Amen.
Closing Song: Be A Light by Thomas Rhett
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