phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome: In the first reading we hear Isaiah quote the Holy One: “my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This verse gave me comfort in the past. I understood that something greater than me was in charge. Today we are challenged by this verse. After all this time, why are our thoughts and ways not more aligned with the thoughts and ways of the Holy One?
We celebrate our Season of Creation as we sing this song with one voice.
Opening Song: God of Abundance by Kit Mills
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah (Is 55: 6-9)
Seek me, YHWH, while I may still be found, call upon me while I am near! Let the corrupt abandon their ways, the evil their thoughts. Let them return to YHWH, and I will have mercy on them; return to God, for I will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways, my ways” says YHWH. “As high as the heavens are above the earth so high are my ways above your ways.”
These are the inspired words of the Prophet Isaiah. We affirm these words by saying AMEN!
Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
Gospel: A Reading from the gospel of Matthew (MT 20:1-16)
Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.' So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock, the landowner found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.' He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."
These are the words of an author known as Matthew. The community affirms them saying: AMEN.
Shared Homily:
When we hear the gospels, it is important to figure out what Jesus is saying to his listeners. But perhaps it is even more important to figure out what Jesus is saying to us today and how this gospel will change us.
This parable is very familiar and like many parables at first glance does not make practical sense. Why should those who worked the least get paid the same as those who worked the most? It goes against all that we have been taught -study hard, get into college and get a good job-work hard, get promoted-earn more for your family.
Some interpretations say that this parable is really about the generosity of God. The landowner, aka God, can and does do whatever he wants. He goes to the marketplace repeatedly from morning till dusk-6am-6pm, even to the 11th hour looking for more laborers. The landowner going to the marketplace over and over is very unusual. He could easily send a servant to the marketplace, but he goes himself. The landowner goes even farther then hiring workers he pays everyone equally. God comes for each one of us too and loves each of us unconditionally.
Amy Jill Levine, in her book, 5 Short Stories by Jesus, looks at this parable another way. Amy puts Jesus in charge of the vineyard, or better yet she asks that you put yourself in charge. Amy starts by suggesting we change the title of this parable to The Conscientious Boss or The Parable of the Affirmative Action Employer. What if the last hired were not shiftless or lazy as the parable implies but rather just as hard working as the first hired. Maybe the last hired had already worked all morning, completed the job, and went back to the marketplace to get hired again. Maybe the last to arrive at the marketplace was delayed for other reasons, someone in the family was sick, their car had a flat tire or they did not have money for gas, maybe they didn’t have the right clothes to wear to work.
Amy continues and reminds us the Landowner is like God and God created the Vineyard. The Vineyard is a metaphor for the Kin-dom. God’s vineyard/kin-dom is where all are treated equally, all have enough.
This kin-dom is not in the past but is in the here and now. Our here and now is the kin-dom. Are all treated equally, do all have enough, does everyone belong, and know they are loved? Living in this kin-dom our concern is not to find ways work harder or earn more but rather our concern must be, do others have enough. Enough to eat, a place to sleep, a living wage, a sense of belonging. The landowner aka God, comes to us personally, reaching out to each of us again and again. God’s invitation is offered as many times as necessary to get the job done.
Statement of Faith
All: 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 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 intentions and blessings. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
We are a priestly people. We are anointed. With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
All: Holy One, we yearn to be close to you and to live in the embrace of your gentle wisdom. Your divine grace leads us away from our anxieties, fears, and distractions and toward all that is blessed and joyous so that we might live in the Spirit and serve the cause of equality and inclusion.
Each of us is divinely created in Your image. We are precious to you and to each other because of who we are. We are beloved and blessed in your unconditional love, quite apart from how we act or fail to act. We resolve to look upon all our sisters and brothers as precious and deserving so that we serve to spread the gospel of love and peace.
Thankful for Jesus, who treated all of Creation with respect and abundant love, we seek to follow his example to be a light in the darkness. We recognize Your loving Presence here with us today and always, and we sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy
All: Dearest Holy One, there are times when we feel scarcity and emptiness even though we know You love us more than our human imagination can grasp. May we have the presence of mind to live in Your love. We strive to see You reflected in every person we meet, especially those with whom we disagree and those in need of great caring. Guide us in sharing our gifts and in being open hearted so that we learn to also accept help from others.
We thank you for Jesus, because he knew what it was like to be an outsider in occupied and foreign lands. May your indwelling presence prompt us to bring gospel kindness and understanding to refugees, asylum seekers and all people who feel like ‘outsiders’. May we serve each other, walking in your love.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: 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, everyone and everywhere. We thank you for Jesus, beacon of love and wisdom, offering us a perspective of openness and service to others. We are grateful for this bread and wine which reminds us of the call to spread the good news of love in our world.
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.
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.
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 be transformed. We choose to love 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 receive the bread and wine with the words, The Kin-dom is here and now.
Communion Song: I Am the One – Janis Ian
Communion prayer:
Loving Source of our being, you call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We live justly, we love tenderly, we walk with integrity in Your Presence Amen.
Jesus Prayer for the Season of Creation
All: 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. (Created by Lynn Kinlan)
BLESSING
Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together
May we celebrate all of creation with fearless love. May we offer each other this love and know there is enough love for all. We are filled with God’s abundance. Let us bring joy and blessing into the world. Amen.
Closing Song
Dance Then Wherever You May Be, Lyrics by John Ogrodowczyk
https://youtu.be/L6R6_Qz6_dU?si=CQIDNGCQYDZ_JHuy
