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Season of Creation, Week 2
Welcome: Welcome! I’m so glad to be here with you this morning as we continue our celebration of the Season of Creation.
Opening Prayer Let us pray. Holy One, as we celebrate this glorious Season of Creation, we are reminded of what we have inherited here on our beautiful Mother Earth and what we will leave behind for our children and their future. May her living waters renew and sustain us as we care for all of your creations. AMEN
Opening Song: Peace Like a River, Dionne Warwick and Dolly Parton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkR1lp5uPtY&list=RDkkR1lp5uPtY&start_radio=1
Peace like a river
Bathe me in your holy stream
In your soothing, living waters
Flood my soul and wash me clean
Point me in the right direction
Use me as you think you should
And may I be a great reflection
Of the things that's right and good
Mmm (peace like a river)
Peace like a river
Oh yeah (peace like a river)
He's the answer to our questions
To our prayers, to all things
He is forgiveness to all confessions
Provider of all needs
And he is hope (Yes, he is)
In desperation (Oh, yes)
Comfort to the soul and mind
Well, he's our God and our connection
To a land that transcends time
His hand (his hand)
Is ever-reaching (ever-reaching)
And his joy, beyond compare
Oh, his prayers are ever-teaching
And his burden, a light to bear
He is there and ever-willing
To lead us through the darkest night (Through the darkest night)
And his love is ever-giving
And his son, the guiding light (peace like a river)
Oh, peace like a river
Flowin' on (peace like a river)
Sweet peace (peace like a river)
Sweet peace
Wash me down, Lord
Oh, wash me clean, Lord, wash me clean (Wash me, Lord)
Baptize me in your living water
He's the answer (He is the answer)
To our questions (To our questions)
To our prayers and to all peace
He's the healer of imperfections
The provider of all needs
And He is hope (He is hope)
In desperation (Desperation)
Comfort to the soul and mind (Soul and mind)
He is peace (He's peace)
Like a river (Like a river)
He is yours (He's yours)
And he is mine (He's mine)
He's yours
He's mine
Peace like a river
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading
A Reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Rom14:7-12)
As believers, we do not live for ourselves, and we do not die alone. While we are alive, we live for God, for Holy Love; and when we die, we die into God, into Holy Love. Living or dead, we belong to God. This is why the Christ both died and lived again, so as to serve both the dead and the living.
Why, then, do you sit in judgment over your siblings in Christ? Or why do you look down upon any other? For we will all stand before the judgment-seat of Holy Mystery. As it is written:
“Every knee shall bend before me,
And every tongue confess.”
So then, each of us will be accountable to Holy Love.
These are the inspired words of the Apostle Paul, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/4cs8NDVM3Vk?si=LjKW18DK_ms_MYHw
Gospel: A Reading from the Gospel attributed to Matthew (Mt.18:15-17, 21-35
Teaching the disciples, Jesus instructed, “If someone in your community of believers sins against you, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen, you have won them over. But if the person will not listen, take one or two others along so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If the person still refuses to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector….
Peter approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, if someone wrongs me, how often must I forgive them? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy times seven.”
“That’s why the kin-dom of heaven may be compared to a ruler who decided to settle accounts with the royal servants. When the audit began, a debtor was brought forth who owed ten thousand talents, a huge amount. As the debtor had no means of paying it back, the ruler gave orders that the servant be sold, along with the servant's family and possessions, so as to meet the debt. At this, the servant fell down on bent knee and said, ‘Please. Have patience with me, and I shall pay you in full.’ Moved with compassion, the ruler let the servant go and forgave the debt in its entirety.
“Now, that same servant went out and happened to meet a colleague who owed the forgiven servant a hundred denarii, a much smaller amount. The first servant seized and throttled this debtor by the throat saying, ‘Pay what you owe me.’ The debtor fell to the ground and pleaded, ‘Please. Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ But the servant refused the plea and had the debtor thrown into prison until the debt be paid in full.
“The other royal servants were deeply distressed when they witnessed what had happened. They went to the ruler and reported the whole affair. Then the ruler sent for the first servant who had been forgiven and said, ‘You scoundrel! I cancelled the whole of your debt when you appealed to me! Ought you not to have shown compassion to your debtor just as I showed compassion to you?’ So angry was the ruler, that the first servant was condemned to misery until the debt be paid in full.
“That is how God, the God of the Cosmos, will deal with you, unless each of you forgives others from your heart.”
These are the inspired words of the anonymous storyteller we call Matthew, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Shared Homily: Julie
There’s this line, a line in red type, in the book The Five Gospels by the Jesus Seminar, “Beware of finding a Jesus entirely congenial to you.” which is to say, beware of creating the Jesus we want, a Jesus in our own image, a Jesus who doesn’t ever make us squirm. For me, that is not the Jesus in today’s gospel. According to the Jesus Seminar, not only did Jesus not say any of the stuff I really wanted to be from his lips, like forgive seventy times seven times, as in infinitely, but he probably did tell that parable about forgiving debts. At least that last verse about God not forgiving us if we don’t forgive each other was mostly likely a Matthew add-on.
Still, that parable makes me squirm. I want the debtor whose debt was forgiven to go forth and do the same. But humans being human, that isn’t how the story goes. Instead of forgiving the small debt, he goes on to have that person thrown in prison, and in the process got himself “condemned to misery.” That’s Jesus being Jesus, driving home the point “that forgiveness cannot be compromised without undesirable consequences” as the Jesus Seminar puts it. Undesirable consequences, talk about understatement.
And, because I can’t keep from being me, I need to add one thing about forgiveness. Yes, forgiveness is important and beautiful and never ever let it be used against you. The abusers of the world, especially the ones closest to us, always beg for forgiveness. Forgive them if you can but never let them convince you that your forgiveness means that they deserve free access to you. You can forgive from a safe distance. That’s still forgiveness. And it can be much safer, much more compassionate to you.
So, my friends, what did you hear today? What will you do? What, if anything, will it cost you?
Statement of Faith:
We believe in God, who creates all things,
who embraces all things, who celebrates all things,
who is present in every part of the fabric of creation.
We believe in God as the source of all life,
who baptizes this planet with living water.
We believe in Jesus Christ, seen in the suffering one,
the poor one, the malnourished one,
the climate refugee - who loves and cares for this world
and suffers with it.
And we believe in Jesus Christ, the seed of life,
who came to reconcile and renew this world
and everything in it.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of God,
who moves with God
and who moves among and with us today.
We believe in everlasting life in God.
And we believe in the hope that one day God will put an end to
death and all destructive forces.
(Lutheran Theological College, South India, adapted)
Prayers and Intentions, Blessings and Concerns
As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are alert to the wonders and dangers within our task of stewardship of Creation. We bring our gratitude, blessings and concerns to the friendship table. Please begin your prayer with “I bring to the table. …”
We pray for these and all the unspoken concerns held in the silence of our hearts. AMEN.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Let us pray the Eucharistic Prayer of Compassion for the Earth with one voice and open hearts,
Holy One, we are amazed at the universe and this planet Earth and we respond with gratitude and compassion. We are blessed by the lights of the heavens, the sun and moon, comets and stars; we are blessed by knowing ours is but one galaxy among many.
We are blessed by the darkness which keeps us from being blinded by the light and which eases us into contemplation and rootedness; likewise, we are blessed by light which awakens our souls to the glory of creation.
We are blessed by oceans and the cliffs and shores which envelop them, by streams and rivers, by snow and sleet and rain. The mountains are our blessing of solitude and summit where we can feel the softest wind, see the furthest horizon and expand our imagination and vision.
We are blessed by the children whose easy smiles and open arms teach us enthusiasm and delight at living in the present. We are blessed by friends and strangers, by those who have gone before us and the friends we have yet to meet. These companions are the face of your love and compassion.
Plant and vegetation, whether beauties of the land or harvest for our survival are also our companions, sharing in the sun and wind and rain. The biodiverse wealth of animal and marine life are our blessed companions, deserving also of our protection and care.
In celebration of Creation and all our blessings, we sing with joy:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here In This Place – Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk
In times when the pain in our hearts breaks and the world’s pain seems unreconciled, our appreciation and awareness of Creation can dwindle or lapse. The urgency of addressing climate change is not always recognized; valuing creation and sustaining its life-giving properties is sometimes an afterthought.
May our recognition of Earth as our Eden fill us with gratitude. May the saving grace of the Spirit and of Jesus enhance the dialogue and sacrifice necessary to save ourselves and our world.
We celebrate the truth-tellers and the lovers of the environment, living and dead; Ansel Adams, the landscape photographer, John Audubon, the naturalist, Jane Goodall, the anthropologist, Greta Thunberg, and Erin Brockovich, climate activists and authors Henry David Thoreau and Rachel Carson. Like our brother Jesus, these visionaries were pioneers and prophets who sought to live fully and fearlessly the truth of their calling.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are grateful for the bread and wine that remind us that we are called to renew and to be renewed with the love of the Spirit of God who is in everything, every plant, animal and human everywhere. We thank you for Jesus, beacon of love and mercy, forgiveness and healing.
We are grateful for this bread and wine which remind us that we join Jesus in standing with the broken and wounded of the world who are most directly affected by climate change.
On the night before he faced betrayal and death, Jesus shared supper with his 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 the bread
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 and share my love with one another.
lift the cup
Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life in you. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you.
Bread and wine are transformed by your Spirit and we are transformed when we open ourselves to Your Spirit. Each time we share this bread with one another we choose to love others as you love us.
What we have heard with our ears, we will live in our lives; as we share communion, we will become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
Through Jesus we have learned how to live. Through Jesus, we have learned how to love. Through Jesus we have learned how to serve. AMEN
Please share the bread and wine with the words, Love Changes Everything.
Communion Song: Extravagant Love--The Many
https://youtu.be/C931lJxY_-g?si=X3KI3telVGy8Y2-c
Prayer After Communion
We seek to act justly and courageously in confronting the suffering that desecrates the Earth and its peoples; to take risks in being proactive on behalf of the marginalized who suffer the environmental injustices of fouled air, tainted water, and a poverty of parks and public spaces that bring people together to enjoy nature. We pray for inspiration to act with the harmony and unity and synthesis that is modeled for us by the trees of the forest, and the stars of the evening.
Holy One, your transforming energy is always moving within us and working through us. 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.
Jesus Prayer for the Season of Creation
Let us pray, as Jesus taught us.
Generous Creator, the intricate and elegant biodiversity of our world is your hallowed autograph on our lives, our souls and our hearts.
We yearn for the wholeness of being in harmony with Your will and with all living things. Each day we draw on your creative, life-giving energy with awe as we find nourishment in, seed and field, river and forest.
We acknowledge our shortcomings, especially our feelings of being powerless in the face of climate change and injustice. We seek to be reconciled with those we have hurt and we resolve to do better.
With your unfailing wisdom and the wind of Your Spirit, inspire us that we may reach out and love one another and care for the world, our home.
Strengthen us to work for local and global justice. May we one day reap a harvest of equality and fairness as if they were wildflowers, propagating spontaneously, unerringly and in surprising abundance. AMEN. Lynn Kinlan
BLESSING
Please extend your hands as we bless each other:
May we treat all of Creation as sacred. May our lives show our respect for our Mother Earth and her living waters. May we live as if the future depends on it. AMEN.
Closing Song: Love Song to the Earth by Toby Gad, Natasha Bedingfield, John Shanks, and Sean Paul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSnOXbaXzfM&list=RDZSnOXbaXzfM&start_radio=1
