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Body and Blood
Welcome: Welcome! I’m so glad you’ve joined us today as we come together to celebrate our community.
Peace Moment
Opening Song: Room at the Table by Carrie Newcomer
https://youtu.be/92OM5bdQ4N4?si=dPimwxVfnzqqJkit
Opening Prayer: Holy One, you enfold us in your love whether we notice or not. In this moment, may we be conscious of your love and rest into your embrace. May we also, in the words of our opening song, gather in together, as we begin our celebration. AMEN
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Gospel acclamation: Bernadett’s Alleluia by Joseph Moorman
https://youtu.be/TgzsYa6A2wY?si=dXdZP4SEuJxHnRo4
Gospel
A Reading from the Gospel attributed to John (John 6:48, 51)
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life…I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
These are the inspired words of the anonymous storyteller we call John, and the affirms them by saying AMEN!
Second Reading: A Reading from Richard Rohr
[T]he Body of Christ is not out there or over there; it’s in you—it’s here and now and everywhere. The goal is then to move beyond yourself and recognize that what’s true in you is true in all others too. This was supposed to spark a political and social revolution. But Christians wasted centuries arguing about whether it could even be true and how it might be true. The orthodox insistence on “Real Presence” is merely taking the Mystery of Incarnation to its natural, full, and very good conclusion. Here I am quite happy to be traditionally Catholic. “There is only Christ, he is everything, and he is in everything,” Paul shouts (see Colossians 3:11). This is not pantheism; it is the much more subtle and subversive panentheism, or God in all things. (The only trouble with our Catholic belief in “transubstantiation” is that this explanation smacked of pantheism, whereas panentheism would have been much easier to defend and understand.)
These are the inspired words of Richard Rohr, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN!
Homily Starter Julie: When I was training to become a chaplain, we had to write papers that included a theological statement. I would invariably write something along the lines of “just as individual cells make up my body, I believe that we make up the Holy One, who is so much greater than the sum of our parts.” It’s been pointed out to me that this isn’t Christianity but, gasp, panentheism. I don’t know what it says about me as a Catholic priest that this never bothered me in the least. That was even before I knew that none other than Richard Rohr was throwing around the panentheism word to explain the real mystery of the Eucharist: “[T]he Body of Christ is not out there or over there; it’s in you—it’s here and now and everywhere.”
But the line I really love in that reading is “This was supposed to spark a political and social revolution.” What a great reminder that everything about Jesus was revolutionary. Look at today’s gospel, “I am the bread of life.” In The Last Week, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan point out that the gospel meals of Jesus were real meals, not “a morsel and a sip” like our Eucharist. Real meals. When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” he is offering real sustenance and real spiritual support to anyone who hungers for it. And today, by extension, through us as the Body of Christ, Jesus is offering real food and care to those in need. That sounds pretty revolutionary to me. How do we reconnect to that radical generosity? How do we offer love and support and care to all who desire it, to all who need it? Looking around at the various ministries that the members of the Upper Room support, it becomes clear—we keep showing up in love and service. We keep showing up as the Body of Christ, as the Body of the Holy One. We keep the spark of love and revolution alive!
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:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here In This Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk
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 reminds 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 receive communion with the words: You are the body of Christ!
Communion song: At This Table by Idina Menzel video by Denise
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
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 in your presence.
BLESSING
Please extend your hands as we bless each other.
ALL: May we trust the Holy One’s love and care every moment of our lives. And may we love extravagantly, our cups overflowing. AMEN.
Closing Song: Everything is Holy Now, Peter Mayer
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