Welcome as
we gather to remember the women who followed and supported Jesus in his
ministry.
Opening
Prayer:
Holy One, we gather today to remember Mary Magdalene and the sisterhood
of women who followed and supported Jesus.
May
their faithful and courageous witness to his life, death, and resurrection
inspire us to act with courage and to remain faithful to his teachings.
Opening Song: Standing Stone by Melanie DeMore video by MTStreck
https://youtu.be/Rq8umgc8MT4
LITURGY
OF THE WORD
First
Reading: A
reading from The Gospel of Mary 4:33-39, 5:1-4 (modified by Denise for
inclusive language)
When
the Blessed One had said this, He greeted them all, saying, Peace be with you.
Receive my peace unto yourselves.
Beware
that no one lead you astray saying Lo here or lo there! For the Holy One is
within you.
Follow!
Those
who seek will find the Holy One.
Go
then and preach the gospel of the Kin-dom.
Do not
lay down any rules beyond what I appointed you, and do not give a law like the
lawgiver lest you be constrained by it.
When
He said this, He departed.
But
they were grieved. They wept greatly, saying, how shall we go to the Gentiles
and preach the gospel of the Kin-dom of the Holy One? If they did not spare
Jesus, how will they spare us?
Then
Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brothers and sisters, do not
weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for Grace will be entirely with you
and will protect you.
But
rather, let us praise the greatness of our teacher, for he has prepared us and
made us into brave men and women.
When
Mary said this, she turned their hearts to the Good, and they began to discuss
the words of Jesus.
These
are the words of a faithful ancestor. We
affirm these words with Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia by Jan Phillips
https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
Gospel: A
reading from the Gospel writer known as Luke (Lk 8:1-3)
Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming
the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and
also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called
Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza,
the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women
were helping to support them out of their own means.
These
are the words of a writer we know as Luke.
We affirm them with Amen.
Homily
Starter:
Welcome to the feast of Mary Magdalene. From a gospel point of view, Mary is an enigma. She is mentioned by name 13 times in the canonical gospels, more than any other woman except Mary the mother of Jesus. But not much detail is given about her. Current research suggests that she might be the sister of Lazarus. Some people suggest she might have been the woman with the alabaster jar who anointed the feet of Jesus. For centuries she was falsely labeled as a contrite harlot. Writers of fiction have suggested a romantic relationship between her and Jesus. But, for today I’d like to begin with what we know of her from the gospels.
Our gospel reading today describes Mary as part of a group of women of means who supported Jesus’s ministry, both financially and as traveling companions.
We learn in all of the gospels that this group of women remained faithful to Jesus right through to his crucifixion. And it was these women who were first among the disciples to witness the resurrected Christ. (Matthew, Mark and Luke all recount at least one other woman with Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb. Luke describes a group of an unspecified number of women, but more than 3)
In our first reading, from the gospel that is named for her, Mary is painted as a strong woman of authority among the disciples, able to bolster their courage and fan the fading embers of their faith during their darkest hours after the death of Jesus.
So,
that’s what we know. But from that slim
foundation, what can we imagine?
I imagine a group of first-century women. Women who had their own money. Some may have been widows, who would have had access to their marriage dowry after the death of their husbands. Perhaps they had some other type of inheritance, as some women did, even when males were more favored in this regard. They may have earned money by running small businesses where they would sell home-made goods. I imagine them to be single women because they seem free to follow Jesus in his traveling ministry. In my mind they are a friend group with the common goal of wanting to support this traveling preacher whose message they clearly love. Mary is one of them. Some of the others are Joanna (wife of Herod's steward), Susanna, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and Salome. They were probably among many more, un-named women who were actively involved in the ministry of Jesus.
We don’t know about the specific roles these women played in the ministry, but they did support it financially, and traveled with it as well, so they were clearly important members and faithful disciples.
By far, the most striking thing about these women is their courage. They invested so much more than money in this ministry. Their support was personal. Along with the male disciples, these women were there through all the traveling; they marveled at the teachings of Jesus, his healings, his story-telling, his vision of the Kin-dom. And unlike the men, when things went south, and their dear teacher was arrested, they did not abandon him. They stayed. Through his trial, through his torture, and up to his death, they stayed as witnesses. And even after his death, they were there to tend to the body they never found. And when their brother disciples shook with fear for what might be coming for them, Mary herself spoke her truth and reminded them that their beloved teacher had given them all the gift of courage.
I
think that these women show us what faith is.
If we believe in a cause, a way of life, a ministry, we invest in
it. We give from our means, and we give
of our time. we don’t run away when others turn against it. From them, these
women from so long ago, we learn how to be brave.
So, we
turn to Mary Magdalene and her sister followers today, with admiration and
gratitude, for staying, for witnessing, and for reporting what they witnessed
to others. It is because of them that we
are heirs to their faith in the teacher from Galilee.
What
did you hear in today’s readings? Please
share your wisdom.
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.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Prayers of the Community
As
we prepare for the sacred meal, we voice our intentions beginning with the
words, “We bring to the table…..”
We pray for these and all unspoken
intentions. Amen.
Eucharistic
Prayer
Please join
in praying the Eucharistic prayer together:
O Holy One,
you have birthed us in goodness, gifted us with life and cherished us in love.
In the heart of our being, your Spirit dwells; a Spirit of courage and vision,
a Spirit of wisdom and truth.
Throughout
the ages you have placed guides before us, guides who with their very lives
showed us the way to your Kin-dom. We
give thanks today for the women who followed our brother Jesus, who aided him
in his ministry, who witnessed his suffering and death, and who were the first
witnesses to his continued presence among them.
With these
women of faith and courage, and all who have come before, we lift our hearts in
prayer. We invoke the gift of wisdom and
enlightenment, that we may continue to praise and thank you, in union
with all who sing the ancient hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy Holy: Karen Drucker video by Denise
https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI
Holy One,
we see around us the work of your hands, the generosity of your wisdom and
love. The unfolding story of creation speaks unceasingly to your creative
power. We are witnesses to the wealth of that creation which overflows
with abundance enough to sustain every one of your creatures.
Please
extend your hands in blessing.
Holy
One, Your Spirit dwells within the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of
the grain and wine of the grape. They
are gifts of wisdom, light and truth, and remind us of our call to be the
body of Christ to the world.
On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at the Seder supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly within them, he bent down and washed their feet.
When he returned to his place
at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread
and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat; this is my very self.
He then raised high 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.
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 with
the words: We will remain in courage and
faith.
Communion Meditation: Be Still, John McCutcheon
https://youtu.be/ic3LlVs0bjY?si=ySZv_ch8SaQYNM8-
Post-Communion
Prayer
In faith
and hope we are sustained; in grace and dignity reclaimed. In praise,
we thank you.
May we
ever be aware and alert to the new things Your Spirit makes possible in
us, as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty, into the fullness of life to
which all are called, participating in the wise and wonderful work of
co-creation.
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 Jesus: (Miriam Therese Winter)
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
BLESSING
Let us pray together our
blessing:
May we walk the way of Jesus
in the company of courageous women. May
the sisterhood of Mary Magdalene, Susanna, Joanna, and their companions inspire
us to take courage and remain faithful.
May we be a blessing in our time.
Amen.
Closing Song: Brave, Sara Bareilles
https://youtu.be/QUQsqBqxoR4?si=Hi-bDYNKNvNbkz5B
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