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phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Christ the Servant
Welcome: Welcome! I’m so happy to be with you today as we celebrate Christ the Servant.
Opening Prayer: Let us pray. Holy One, you sent Jesus to show us how to love and care for and, yes, serve each other. May we light up the world with our love and care for each other, the people we meet each day, and even the people we don’t much like. Let us feel your love and strength carrying us each day. AMEN.
Opening song: Quiet Place by the Many
LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING
A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 34:11- 12, 15-17
Thus says God: “I myself will search for my sheep and tend them. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among the scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when the clouds were low and the darkness thick. I myself will shepherd my sheep and pasture them. I myself will give them rest,” says God.
“The lost, I will seek. The stray, I will bring back. The injured, I will bind up. The weak, I will strengthen. But the shepherds who have fattened and fed themselves while depriving my sheep, I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.”
“As for you, my sheep,” says God, “I will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.”
These are the inspired words of an Exilic prophet and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
GOSPEL
A Reading from the Gospel attributed to Matthew 25:31-46
When the Chosen One comes in honor, with all the angels alongside, and takes up the seat of judgment, all nations and peoples will gather around. Then, the Chosen One will sit as judge and separate people, one from another, as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. The sheep will be placed to the right, the goats to the left.
Then the Chosen One will say to those on the right, “Come, you whom my loving God has blessed, inherit the kin-dom prepared for you since the beginning of creation. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you made me welcome; I was naked and you clothed me; I was ill and you came to my assistance; I was in prison, and you visited me.”
Then those on the right will ask, “But Your Honor, when did we see you hungry and give you food, or see you thirsty and give you drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger, or see you naked and give you clothing? When was it that you were sick and we helped you? When did we visit you in prison?” And the Chosen One will reply to them, “In truth, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these kin of mine, you did for me.”
Then the Chosen One will say to those on the left, “Depart from me, with your own curse upon you, into the eternal fire prepared for evil and those who wreak evil. For I was hungry, but you did not feed me. I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. I was a stranger and you never made me welcome. I was naked and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and you refused to help me. I was in prison and you never visited me.”
Then those on the left will ask, “But Your Honor, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not come to your help?” Then the Chosen One will reply to them, “In truth I tell you, what you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” And these will go away suffering eternal consequences. But the righteous will enter into eternal life.
These are the inspired words of the gospel writer we call Matthew, and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Homily Starter Julie: Matthew sure does love a good dichotomy. This week it’s sheep and goats, the good and the bad. Note that I said Matthew and not Jesus. That’s because it’s highly unlikely that Jesus told this story of the final judgement. But according to the folks at the Jesus seminar, Matthew’s theology was very popular with the early Christians. And as much this us versus them thinking offends my modern, progressive sensibilities, I actually get it.
Imagine for a minute what it was like for those folks, those early followers of Jesus. Unlike us, they were the minority. And, like today, the majority didn’t do much to make them feel welcome. Sometimes, followers of Jesus were martyred, although I doubt that using a fancy word like martyred comforted their loved ones much as they mourned their murders.
So yes, in a world where it feels like us versus them, us against the world, every single day, a vision like this of the final judgement would be very appealing. Those of us who believe, those of us who care for each other, the needy, the sick, the imprisoned, we’re going to be rewarded. Our good works will be seen and will get us right into heaven. And our enemies, those who persecute us, who only take care of themselves, well, they’ll get theirs.
But that’s not our world. We’re not the minority and we strive to create an inclusive community. With that in mind, what is there for us to learn from this story? We don’t need to live in an us and them world to see the need to serve each other; that need is ever present. Jesus modeled service for us. He healed the sick, taught all who would listen, he even washed their feet. So today, as we celebrate not Christ the King but Christ the Servant, let’s remember that the hungry still need to be fed, the unhoused still need a place to sleep, the sick still need visitors, and prisoners still need our compassion. Everyone needs our compassion. Forget the sheep and goats. How can we best love and serve each other?
Now, what about you? What did you hear? 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.
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: Love changes everything.
Communion Song: Lamb of God - The Many
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 continue to be the face of God to each other. May we call each other to extravagant generosity! May our light shine for all to see, and may we be a blessing in our time! AMEN
Closing Song: Extravagant Love –The Many
https://youtu.be/C931lJxY_-g?si=TL4XnA8VV8cxaeIs
