Love Yourself
Welcome: Welcome! We are so happy to have you join us today as we celebrate our liturgy and our love of God, our neighbors, and ourselves.
Opening Prayer: Let us pray. Holy One, as we feel your all-encompassing love, help us to find peace in our hearts, peace in our lives, and peace in the world. AMEN.
Opening song: Here I Am Lord https://youtu.be/Xox5ZKz2haM?si=TQllvE3FMeLKk40L
LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING
A Reading from the Book of Exodus 22:20-22, 24-26
Thus says the Holy One:
“You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them, and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
“If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors
among My people,
you shall not act like an extortioner toward them
by demanding interest from them.
If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge,
you shall return it to him before sunset;
for this cloak of your neighbor's
is the only covering your neighbor has to stay warm.
What else has your neighbor to sleep in?
If your neighbor cries out to me, I will hear their voice.
For, I your God, am compassionate.”
These are the inspired words of the Elohist Writer and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
PSALM
Psalm 18:24, 47, 51 (Nan Merrill, with edits)
The psalm response is: You redeem our fears through Love.
R: You redeem our fears through Love.
We abandon ourselves to You, O Living Presence,
our strength,
our rock,
our protector,
our freedom.
R: You redeem our fears through Love.
Blessed One, Rock and Foundation of our lives;
Just One, Tower of Strength, Source of Truth and Goodness,
We call upon You, Heart of our Hearts!
We sing praises to Your Name!
Fear no longer holds us.
R: You redeem our fears through Love.
Our God lives! Blessed be our rock!
Exalted be the Heart of our hearts....
You redeem our fears by Love.
By love, You bestow the gifts
of peace, gratitude, and assurance.
May all peoples live in Your truth
in the land of peace forever.
R: You redeem our fears through Love.
SECOND READING
A Reading from Paul's Letter to the Romans 12:14-21
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with those deemed of low estate. Do not let your conceit lead you to think you are wise. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble and honest in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but allow for the judgment of God. For it is written, ‘The reckoning is mine, and I will repay, says our God.’ No. If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. For by doing this, “you will heap burning coals on their heads” as the Book of Proverbs says.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
These are the inspired words of the Apostle Paul and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
GOSPEL
A Reading from the Gospel attributed to Matthew 22:34-40
When some Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced the Sadducees in debate, they got together. One of them, an expert in the Law, tested Jesus: “Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the greatest?”
Jesus replied, “‘Love your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Everything in the Law and the Prophets hangs on these two commandments.”
These are the inspired words of the gospel writer we call Matthew, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Homily Starter Julie: In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us that the greatest commandment is to love God. And then he teaches the second great commandment, to love our neighbors as ourselves. Sometimes we Christians can get all smug as if Jesus invented that second commandment. But as we heard in our first reading today from the book of Exodus, that simply isn’t true.
The Inclusive Lectionary notes, “Christian belief that God shows a preference for the poor (‘liberation theology’) is rooted not just in the teaching of the Jewish Jesus but in the ancient teaching of Jesus’ Israelite ancestors. It is especially important to recognize these religious values in a time of anti-immigrant, anti-social welfare government which arguably supports abusive conduct toward borrowers of money through systemic corporate practices which render borrowers vulnerable and give unfair gains to corporate entities. Yet often, these contemporary practices are justified by purportedly Christian interpretations of the Bible.”
The Inclusive Lectionary then points out, “Jesus also states clearly that everything else in the law and prophets must be interpreted in light of these two laws. When another law of Torah conflicts with loving God and neighbor, then the latter, loving God and neighbor, overrules the other law and may require its rejection in Christian practice. …[C]ontemporary Jewish thought often reaches the same or similar conclusions but by a different interpretative approach.”
And finally, that same Inclusive Lectionary says this of today’s psalm, “Psalm 18 is a song of praise extoling the Holy as Source of truth, goodness, and strength. The Holy is like a rock for human support. This concept of the Holy is in direct conflict with some contemporary notions of truth, which equate truth with the words of a powerful “ruler”/leader, however distorted, misleading, or false.” To which I can only add, fake news anyone?
Listen, you all know that I’m here for the love. And sometimes we need to dig a little deeper into the context of Jesus’ teachings. Today was one of those times. Thanks for joining me for the dig!
What about you? What did you hear today? What would you like to share about today’s readings?
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
Julie: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please feel free to voice your concerns beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”
We pray for these and all the unspoken concerns held in the silence of our hearts. AMEN
Julie: We are a priestly people. We are anointed. With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
All: Source of Love and Light, we join in unity of Spirit, love and purpose with Your people everywhere, living and crossed over. With all of creation across billions of galaxies, we open our hearts and souls to become One.
In your loving embrace we are liberated from division, fear, conflict, pride and injustice. We are transformed into wholeness which we resolve to bring to all whose lives we touch. With gratitude, we meld ourselves to Your Divine Presence which knows all, shelters all and transforms all into love, abundant and eternal.
In one voice, we praise Your loving, healing ways and the glory of all You have Created:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place –by Christopher Grundy
We thank you, Holy One, for Jesus, a man of courage whose exquisite balance of human and Divine points our way and who strives with us in our time of need. We yearn with passion to live as Jesus, one with you and your Spirit, in peace and justice.
May our desire to be one with You join us to all living things. We seek to heal the differences that isolate us so that we may live in healthful unity with all people, of every ethnicity, skin color, gender orientation or class. May we have the imaginative sympathy and love of Your Spirit to move with courage beyond the confines of bias, miscommunication, ignorance and hurt and into the healing place where Divine light and love abide.
(extend hands in blessing of bread and wine)
Together, we call on Your Spirit, present in these gifts – bread that satisfies our hunger and wine that quenches our thirst – to make us more deeply One, living in the fullness of holy compassion and Sophia wisdom.
Anticipating the likelihood of betrayal, arrest and pain, Jesus wanted more than anything to be with his friends, to share a meal, exchange stories, and create fond memories. To strengthen the bonds of friendship that evening, Jesus washed the feet of his friends in an act of love and humility.
All lift the bread.
Back at the table, he took the bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying, Take and eat, and go and share my love with one another.
All lift the 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. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity. Please receive communion with the words: Our cup overflows.
Communion Song: St. Theresa's Prayer
https://youtu.be/wUbxOli4HcI?si=gW_lvHMTTVA3-kzG
Prayer after communion: Let us pray. Holy One, as we celebrate and recognize you in this bread and wine, we recognize you in each other. Sharing the bread of life and wine transforms us and opens us to your Spirit. Knowing that Jesus spent his time with the lowly and hurting, the needy and shunned, we seek to remain open to how we can bring love, healing and unity to whomever is in need. We ask for the grace to see with the eyes of Jesus, touch with the hands of Jesus and heal with the heart of Jesus. AMEN.
Let us pray together the prayer of Jesus:
All: O Holy One, who is within, around, and among us, we celebrate your many names. Your wisdom comes. 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.
The Prayer of Jesus as interpreted by Miriam Therese Winter
BLESSING
Please raise your hands as we bless each other:
All: May we feel the love of the Holy One every day. May we work for peace in our world. May we always love the Holy One, our neighbors, and ourselves. AMEN
Closing Song: We Are One Body
https://youtu.be/2gostrArMqM?si=WCxgRjOnl3LpCRU
