Please join us between 9:30 and 9:55 am via Zoom
Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome and Theme Julie: Welcome to our inaugural Zoom vigil liturgy. We are so happy to offer this to the Upper Room community. This evening we will be celebrating the baptism of Jesus and, by extension, our own baptisms.
Opening Prayer Julie: Holy One, you delighted in your child Jesus and in all of your children. May our confidence in your love renew us daily as we find joy in you. May we be happy, may we know peace, and may we be free from suffering. AMEN.
Opening Song
Loving Kindness by Karen Drucker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLwm68BlH_4
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
FIRST READING
A Reading from the Book of Judith (8:2-5; 7-17)
Judith married Manasseh, who came from her own tribe and family. Manasseh died during the barley harvest while supervising workers who were binding sheaves in the field. Judith remained in bereavement for three years and four months. She built a small tent on the roof of her house and lived there. She wore sackcloth.
Judith was very beautiful. Manasseh, her husband, left her an estate of silver and gold, attendants, livestock, and fields. She ran the entire estate. No one ever spoke a harsh word about her because she was very devout.
Judith heard the harsh words that the people, out of their weakness for lack of water, were speaking against their leaders. And she heard all that Uzziah, one of the leaders, said to the people, how he promised them under oath to surrender their town to the Assyrians after five days if God did not save them by then. Judith sent her attendant, who managed affairs of her estate, to invite the village elders to her home. Their names were Uzziah, Chabris, and Charmis.
When they arrived, she said to them, “Listen to me. You are supposed to be the leaders of the people here in Bethulia. But what you said to the people today was wrong. You should never have sworn before God that you would surrender the village to our enemies if God did not come to our aid in five days.
“What gives you the right to put God to the test as you have done today? Who do you think you are to put yourself in God’s place in dealing with human affairs? It is the all-powerful God of the powerless that you are putting to the test! Will you never learn? No one can ever fathom the depths of the human heart or know what anyone is thinking. Yet you dare to read God’s mind and interpret divine matters?!
“No, my friends, you must not goad the anger of God. Even if we are not rescued in five days, God still has power to protect us at will, or even to destroy us in the presence of our enemies. Do not try to force God’s hand or demand guarantees in this matter! God cannot be threatened as humans are, or won over by pleading as humans can be. So, while we wait for deliverance, we must continue to call upon God to help us. May our voices be heard.”
These are the word of a Hellenistic Jewish writer and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
PSALM
Psalm 78:12-20 (Nan Merrill, with significant adaptations)
The Psalm response is: You lead us to waters. You prepare for us a table.
R: You lead us to waters. You prepare for us a table.
God performed miracles for their Hebrew ancestors
when they were held captive, under the yoke of slavery.
Remember how the sea was parted
so the people passed through,
how the water stood up like a corridor.
Remember how in daytime, they were led with a cloud, and through the night with a fiery light.
R: You lead us to waters. You prepare for us a table.
Recall how the rocks in the desert cracked open, that the people might drink their fill
from waters as abundant as the seas, as unfathomable as the deep.
God brought streams out of a rocky crag, and made water flow down like rivers.
R: You lead us to waters. You prepare for us a table.
And yet the people continued to close their hearts, rebelling, in the desert, against God.
Over and over, they put God to the test, demanding the food they craved.
They spoke against God:
“Can God really spread a table before us in the desert?”
R: You lead us to waters. You prepare for us a table.
“True, God struck the rock, and water gushed out.
True, streams overflowed.
But can God also give us bread?
Can meat be provided for us?”
R: You lead us to waters. You prepare for us a table.
SECOND READING
A Reading from the Book of Acts 2:14a, 17a, 27a, 28, 41
On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up to speak to all who had gathered in Jerusalem. He repeated the words of the prophet Joel:
“In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh...”
Peter spoke of Jesus’ many wonders and signs performed during his life, and of his unjust death. Of Jesus’ resurrection, Peter quoted the Psalms:
“You, O God, do not abandon my soul to the netherworld. You have made known to me the paths of life;
You fill me with joy in Your presence.”
Upon hearing this word, many believed Jesus was the Anointed of God, the Christ, the Messiah, and they were baptized. About three thousand persons were added to their number that day.
These are the words of the anonymous storyteller we call Luke and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
ALLELUIA (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips shortened
GOSPEL
A Reading from the gospel attributed to Luke (Luke 3:15-23 with abbreviated mention of Lukan genealogy)
All the people were filled with expectation. All were wondering in their hearts if John might be the Messiah. John answered them, “I baptize you with water. One who is more powerful than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. That one will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire, with winnowing-fork in hand. The threshing floor will be cleared. The wheat will be gathered into the barn; but the chaff will be burned in an unquenchable fire.” John proclaimed the good news to the people with other exhortations too.
John rebuked Herod, the ruler. John had spoken out against Herod because of his marriage to his brother's wife, Herodias. John also called out other evil things Herod had done. Herod added a further crime to them all: he threw John in prison.
Before all this, when all the people were being baptized by John, Jesus was baptized too. As Jesus was praying, the skies opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. A voice came from the heavens, "You are Mine, whom I love. In you I delight."
When Jesus began his work, he was about thirty years old. He was the child, as was thought, of Joseph. Joseph was of the lineage of David and Bathsheba, of Ruth and Boaz, of Seth, and of Adam and Eve.
These are the words of the anonymous storyteller we call Luke and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
Shared Homily
Julie: Today’s readings are from the Women’s Ordination Conference’s new inclusive lectionary, the Comprehensive Catholic Lectionary. I’ve long dreamed of an inclusive lectionary, mostly when retyping readings from the traditional one, but never had time to pursue the idea. And even if I had undertaken such a big project myself, I would have only updated the language and not thought to include the stories of the badass women of the Bible like Judith, who took the men to task for testing God. I wouldn’t have included footnotes on the evolution of our beliefs and experience of God. My dream was too small.
Smallness is a very human problem as shown in both the first reading and the psalm, where God is seen as a sort of divine Uber Eats from whom some demanded food delivery. I get it, when you’re hungry, you look for food. But God is so much more than this as shown in the next two readings. God is our creator who loves us, who delights in us, who fills us with joy. God delights in us. When was the last time someone delighted in you? I was commenting on this recently at the hospital, that even when someone is happy for a visit from a chaplain like me, it never reaches the delight with which therapy dogs are welcomed. Is it no wonder that the crowd with Peter on Pentecost or the one with John the Baptizer, that these crowds wanted to be baptized, to be made new in the water of life, to be filled with joy as the object of God’s delight?
What did you hear? What will you do? What 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.
Julie: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. 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 unspoken concerns. Amen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
adapted from Diarmuid O’Murchu
Julie: With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together:
Gracious God, source and sustenance of life, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy Spirit, who enlivens and inebriates all that exists, we beseech your healing power upon us and all we pray for today.
Down through the ages, you rescue us from darkness.
you light up our ways with wise and holy people. You restore our spirits and you revive our dwindling hope.
May the Spirit of life and wholeness transform us that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love, and healing to those whose lives we touch.
For all you bring to our lives, and for all we seek amid
pain and suffering, we acclaim your love and greatness,
and we join with all creation to sing our hymn of praise:
Here in this Place – Holy Holy Holy by Christopher Grundy
Julie: Please extend your hands in blessing.
Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind, and spirit, we bring before you the darkness of our world, and the pain and suffering of your people.
We seek to be healed and made whole; we seek to be reconciled and united; we seek peace in our hearts and in our world.
We ask you to awaken anew in our hearts the empowering grace of your abundant Spirit, who infuses these gifts of bread and wine with the transforming energy of life, to nourish and sustain us in our time of need.
As we gather around this friendship table, we recall God’s
blessing and love from ages past, and we celebrate anew
the gift of life which we share among us at this Eucharistic feast.
The bread we break and the cup we share are symbols of our world of abundance where all are invited to partake of the fullness of life. But that life we often impede by our greed and selfishness and by our exploitation of other people.
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet. Once again, he showed us how to love one another.
All lift the plate and pray:
Back at the table, he took the Bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying, Take and eat, this is my very self.
All lift the cup and pray:
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.
(pause)
Julie: 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 saying: “You are made new in God.”
Communion Song:
Wade in the Water by Sweet Honey in the Rock
https://youtu.be/RRpzEnq14Hs
Prayer After Communion
Julie: In faith and hope we are sustained,
In grace our dignity reclaimed,
In praise we thank our God.
Grant that we may strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the God of life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, until the Kin-dom arrives in the fullness of time.
This prayer we make in the name of our healing and nurturing God through, with, and in whom we offer these gifts, sources of life, love, and goodness, now and forever. Amen.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
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 (Miriam Therese Winter)
Blessing
Julie: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
May we continue to be the face of the God to each other. May our companionship make us new each day. May our name be a blessing in our time. Amen.
Closing Song:
Water Song by the Akwesasne Women Singers
https://youtu.be/9MvNaFWcQf4
