Please join us between 9:30 and 9:55 am via Zoomphone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
“A Journey into Peace and Mercy”
Lynn: Welcome and Theme: Welcome to everyone who is joining us on zoom and in person for this First Sunday of Lent. Our theme is “A Journey into Peace and Mercy” in part because of the gospel story about Jesus retreating to the desert alone to fast and pray. We also want to accompany the people of Ukraine in prayer for peace and mercy in their resistance to overpowering military might and violence.
Bernie: Opening Prayer: Open our hearts Holy One, to the stillness and peace that refreshes; to the Spirit of peace that reassures and the mercy that restores. We join together today to begin our Lenten journey, aware of the healing Presence of silence that is the resting place of true serenity. We pray for peace in Ukraine, for the welfare of innocents and rest for the weary. We lift up a special prayer for Russian citizens who dare to protest their government’s actions and we join them to pray for peace. Amen.
Opening Song: Come to the Quiet by John Michael Talbot
First Reading: “Prayer for World Peace” by Joan Chittister
Great God, save us from our desire to hurt as we have been hurt,
to punish as we have been punished,
to terrorize as we have been terrorized.
Give us the strength it takes
to listen rather than to judge,
to trust rather than to fear,
to try again and again
to make peace even when peace eludes us.
We ask, O God, for the grace
to be our best selves.
We seek the vision
to be builders of the human community
rather than its destroyers.
We ask for the humility as a people
to understand the fears and hopes of other people.
We ask for the love it takes
to bequeath to the children of the world to
more than the failures of our own making.
We ask for the heart it takes
to care for the people
of Afghanistan and Iraq, of Ukraine and Russia
as well as for ourselves.
Give us the depth of soul, O God,
to constrain our might,
to resist the temptations of power,
to refuse to attack the attackable,
to understand
that vengeance begets violence,
and to bring peace — not war —wherever we go.
For you, O God, have been merciful to us.
For you, O God, have been patient with us.
For you. O God, have been gracious to us.
And so, may we be merciful
and patient
and gracious
and trusting
with these others whom you also love. Amen.
These are the inspired words of Joan Chittister and we affirm them by
saying, Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Spirit of the Living God
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me
Melt me, mold me
Fill me, use me
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me
Gospel: Luke (4: 1-13)
Jesus returned from the Jordan filled with the Holy Spirit and she led him into the desert for forty days, where he was tempted by the devil. Jesus ate nothing during that time, at the end of which he was famished.
The devil said to Jesus, “If you are God’s Own, command this stone to turn into bread.”
Jesus answered, “Scripture has it, we don’t live on bread alone.”
Then the devil showed Jesus all the nations of the world in a single instant. The Devil said, “I’ll give you all the power and glory of these nations; the power has been given to me and I can give it to whomever I wish. Prostrate yourself in homage before me, and it will all be yours.”
In reply, Jesus said, “Scripture has it, ‘You will worship the Most High God; God alone will you adore.’”
Then the Devil led Jesus to Jerusalem, set him up on the parapet of the Temple and said, “If you are God’s Own, throw yourself down from here, for Scripture has it, ‘God will tell the angels to take care of you; with their hands they will support you, that you may never stumble on a stone.’ “
Jesus said to the Devil in reply. “It also says, ‘Do not put God to the test.’ “
When the Devil finished all this tempting, Jesus was left alone. The Devil awaited another opportunity.
These are the inspired words of the gospel writer known as Luke and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Homily Starter and Shared Reflections – Lynn
Today’s gospel is a myth which none of us can verify (how does Luke know about the private conversation between devil and Jesus) and yet none of us can say is frivolous or irrelevant to our lives.
Jesus is led by the Spirit into the barren desert to discover who he is and how to live out the call of the Holy One. Though hungry, he remembers the lesson of his baptism, that he is beloved of God who will nourish him.
Though he is a uniquely gifted man who will be called to a public ministry of healing peace and mercy, he realizes that fame and power of this world will not make him happy.
The desert may be the moment when Jesus understands the choice of being vulnerable over being safe. Does he see, (or will it yet come to him later) that he will ultimately choose death at the hands of the State rather than safety or rescue?
The devil is clueless about the infinite love of the Holy One for us. Our covenant God will provide for us, and the attractions of this world are fleeting. At our roots, we are vulnerable and humble and not in control — we are human in a broken and hurting world. And the Holy One loves us as we are.
The first reading by Joan Chittister recognizes that we need “God’s grace to be our best selves”, to let go of judgements and resentments, one upmanship and worry over what others think of us.
Debie Thomas, an Episcopal minister at a California church asks us to remember that “Lent is not a time to do penance for being human. It’s a time to embrace all that it means to be human. Human and hungry. Human and vulnerable. Human and beloved.”
As our hearts and minds drift to the conflict in Ukraine, we see ordinary people following Jesus into a desert of a kind. They are grappling first hand with the face of evil and greed. We are with them in the pain and loss along with the Holy One who accompanies us all in all the rude awakenings of life and death.
We see different kinds of being in this world — One type, Putin and his cronies, grasps for magical power, fleeting material objects, safety and all the glorious temptations of this world. Another is at peace with the eternal, the mystical and invisible and the risky will of the Holy, Sacred One.
What did you hear in the readings by Joan Chittister and Luke? How will listening them affect your journey to peace and mercy during Lent?
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
Lynn: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we share our blessings, cares and concerns beginning with the words, “I bring to the table…”
Bernie: We bring to the table the unspoken intentions in our hearts and with one voice we say, Amen.
Lynn: With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer in one voice:
O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us as we set our hearts on belonging to you. May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all creation.
You know our limitations and our essential goodness and you love us as we are. You beckon us to your compassionate heart and inspire us to see the good in others and forgive their limitations. Acknowledging your presence in each other and in all of creation, we sing:
Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
Bernie: Guiding Spirit, when opposing forces in us tug and pull and we are caught in the tension of choices, inspire us to make wise decisions toward what is good.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus, and for all our sisters and brothers who have modeled for us a way to live and love in challenging times. Inspired by them, we choose life over death, we choose to be light in dark times.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are ever aware of your Spirit in us and among us at this Eucharistic table and we are grateful for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be servants like Jesus to the world.
On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at supper with his companions and 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,
All lift the plate and pray:
he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat, this is my very self.
(pause)
All lift the cup and pray:
Lynn: 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)
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: I am the face of God
Communion Song: Peace be Still by Hope Darst
Prayer after Communion:
Lynn: Holy One, your transforming energy is within us and we join our hearts with all who are working for a just world. We pray with gratitude for the people of Ukraine fighting on behalf of freedom and all people who stand with them against violent oppression. We pray for wise and compassionate leaders in our world communities. May the values of peace and mercy be elevated above the temptation for power and control.
Bernie: We pray for all of us gathered here and like Jesus, we open ourselves up to your Spirit, for it is through living as he lived that we awaken to your Spirit within, moving us to glorify you, at this time and all ways. Amen.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Holy One, you are 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 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.
Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter
BLESSING
Bernie: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing
You who are around us,
You who are one of us,
You who are also within us,
May all see you-in-us,
May we prepare the way for you.
May we thank you for all
that shall fall to our lot,
May we also not forget the needs of others.
Give us pure hearts, that we may see You,
humble hearts, that we may hear You,
hearts of love, that we may serve You,
hearts of faith, that we may abide in You. Amen
(-Dag Hammarskjold, former Secretary General of the U.N.)
Closing Song: МОЛИТВА ЗА УКРАЇНУ, or God the Great One,
a hymn that has become the national spiritual anthem of Ukraine
God, the Great and Almighty
Protect our beloved Ukraine
Bless her with freedom and light
Of Your holy rays.
With learning and knowledge enlighten
Us, your children small,
In love pure and everlasting
Let us, Oh God, grow.
We pray, oh God
Protect our beloved Ukraine,
Grant our people and country
All your kindness and grace.
Bless us with freedom, bless us with wisdom
Guide us in a kind world,
Bless us, oh God with good fortune
For ever and evermore.
