phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome: Welcome to everyone listening to this liturgy whether you are here in this room, on zoom, online another time, or reading it later on. Welcome to the Upper Room and to the liturgy of the Presentation of Jesus. We celebrate his life as an example to us. We celebrate our ability to follow him. We're grateful for all of us together in community as we grow in our own spirituality and our communal love. We ask for guidance in all of these things in the name of our Holy One, who is with us at all times. Amen.
Opening Prayer: Keep us attuned to our own needs and desires so that we can channel the blessings of God through our very lives. Help us to remain excellent stewards of your gifts. Keep our heads above the fray so that we always have hope in abundance and can share it with others. We ask all of these things in your name, Amen.
Opening Song: Circle Chant by Linda Hirschhorn
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: from Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Chapter 12
Advice on Daily Life
I entreat you, then, friends, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, for this is your rational worship.
Do not conform to the fashion of this world; but be transformed by the complete change that has come over your minds, so that you may discern what God’s will is—all that is good, acceptable, and perfect.
In fulfillment of the charge with which I have been entrusted, I tell every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think until you learn to think soberly—in accordance with the measure of faith that God has allotted to each.
For, just as in the human body there is a union of many parts, and each part has its own function, so we, by our union in Christ, many though we are, form but one body, and individually we are related one to another as its parts.
Since our gifts differ in accordance with the particular charge entrusted to us, if our gift is to preach, let our preaching correspond to our faith; if it is to minister to others, let us devote ourselves to our ministry; the teacher to her teaching, the counselor to her counsel. Let the person who gives in charity do so with a generous heart; let the person who is in authority exercise due diligence; let the person who shows kindness do so in a cheerful spirit.
These are words attributed to Paul, and we affirm them by saying Amen.
Alleluia: More Light by Christopher Gundy
Gospel: a gospel reading from the book of Luke.
When the period of purification of mother and child, required by the Law of Moses, came to an end, his parents took the child up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, in compliance with the Law of the Lord that “every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord,” and also to offer the sacrifice required by the Law of the Lord — “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
There was at that time in Jerusalem a man named Simeon, a good and devout man, who lived in constant expectation of the consolation of Israel, and a holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, Simeon came into the Temple, and, when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the Law, Simeon himself took the child in his arms, and blessed God, and said: “Now, Master, release your slave, according to your word, in peace, for my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all nations— a light of revelation to the gentiles, and to be the glory of your people Israel.”
While the child’s father and mother were wondering at what was said about him, Simeon gave them his blessing, and said to Mary, the child’s mother: “This child is appointed to be the cause of the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign much spoken against — yes, the sword will pierce your own heart — and so the thoughts in many minds will be disclosed.”
There was also a prophetess named Hannah, a daughter of Phanuel and of the tribe of Asher. She was far advanced in years, having lived with her husband for seven years after marriage, and then a widow, until she had reached the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple Courts, but, fasting and praying, worshiped God night and day. At that moment she came up, and began publicly to thank God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When the child’s parents had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong and wise, and the grace of God was on him.
These words are from Luke, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Shared Homily: Deb Trees, ARCWP. Presentation of Jesus.
In the resources, notes and the written support for understanding each weekly set of readings during the liturgical year, I found it very interesting and maybe insightful that this week, the Presentation of Jesus, was left out. I’m not sure why that would be, but it created in me a need to do a little more digging into other resources.
From my limited reading, presenting in the temple seems to have a lot of rules tied with it. The main idea is to present the first fruits of your family to God. It’s a beautiful honoring of the Spirit Divine in one’s life; Always centering God in everything that we do.
But around the presentation of a firstborn child, the rules, our human rules, seem limiting to me. It is only a first-born male, not a female. If a female is first born, and the subsequent child is a male, he was not presented. If a woman has a still birth or abortion or a child in adultery or incest, the first born was not presented. If a child was born out of wedlock, that could be acceptable. Interesting.
We as human beings put such tiny limiting ideas on what are considered acceptable fruits of our lives.
Jesus’s Presentation in the temple was therefore a big deal. Whether it is a story that was enhanced in order to support the early Christians, or happened in reality, the idea that it is a created story honored in the gospels is important. In the Catholic Church this weekend, the presider has an option to leave out the second person who exclaimed amazement at this child, namely, a woman. That is not happening here with us in the Upper Room. Both voices, all sentiments, we want to hear.
For this weekend, this Special Occasion, I am asking that each of us in our community make a presentation of our gifts, our most precious endeavors, our first born from our very selves to the Divine. Whether we are in this room or on zoom or reading or watching at any other time, I am encouraging us to contemplate our most prized “possessions”, (including any gifts of organization, support, prayer, work, finance, caretaking etc,), and to present them with Jesus on this day and through this time.
After this gospel, Jesus was not known as a child growing until he emerged as an adult and was baptized. There may be a period of seeming dormancy as we continue to grow and learn, and then emerge with Jesus in following The Way. Let us be amazed and exult in the gifts that we have been given, dedicate them to God, and know that we will emerge and continue to give with possible high regard and possible high cost. With Mary, through Jesus, we can do it.
What did you hear my Friends? What will you do about it? 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
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
Presider: As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Intentions shared
We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace.
Presider: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together:
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together:
(Eucharistic prayer taken from the work of Diarmuid O’Murchu and Jay Murnane)
O Holy One, you have been called by many names by many people in the centuries of our planet’s life. Yet, no name truly defines you or describes you. We celebrate you as the marvelous, loving energy of life who caused us and our world to be. We celebrate you as the Source of light and life and love, and we celebrate your presence and all-ways care.
O Holy One, we stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history – a time when humanity must choose its future.
As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future holds both peril and great promise.
May we recognize that, in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms, we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny.
United with our vast universe, with our Mother-Planet and her people everywhere, with one another and You, Holy One, our spirits dance and sing this song of praise:
Holy Holy Holy: Here in this Place
We give grateful thanks for those who came before us, for all those who gave from their hearts, who gave from their lives, that there might be a better world, a safer world, a kinder world, we pray for peace in their name.
And for the children, that they may live, that they may have children of their own and that it will go on - this great blossoming that is meant to go on and on – we pray for peace, in their name.
And for all peoples of this earth who have no voice in this,
For the animals that have no voice in this,
For the plants, the trees, the flowers that have no voice in this,
For all who share this earth with us, we pray for peace in their name.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus. He showed us so simply, so tenderly, how the world is in our hands. He had nothing in this world but your love, companions on the journey, and his very self. Together, that was more than enough, and that remains our clarity in the midst of confusion: the miracle of healing, new hope, nurturance, nourishment, liberation and life.
Presider 2: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: Your Spirit is here in us and in the gifts of this Eucharistic table. May we become gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
Presiders stand at table, Presider 1 lifts bread.
On the night before he faced his own death and for the sake of living fully, Jesus sat at the Seder supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly within them, he bent down and washed their feet.
All lift their plate and pray the following:
Presider: When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat; this is my very self.
All lift their cup and pray the following:
He then raised high 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.
What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives,
As we share communion, we will become communion
Both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
Please consume the bread and drink the cup with the words: God lives in you and through you.
Communion Song: True Colors by Cyndi Lauper Stoner
https://youtu.be/pgdSyQ6SzrQ?si=NP5mNNn2eSJ46WZb
Post-Communion Prayer:
Loving Source of All, we have looked for others to save us and to save our world. Yet, we are called, and consecrated and sent into the world to establish justice and show the blessed fulfillment that comes with simplicity and the giving of ourselves in love. We will make new our commitment to the harmony of the original vision of creation.
We will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and our small circles. Like Jesus, in all openness, we will be filled with your own Spirit and renew the face of the earth.
For it is through learning to live as he lived,
And why he lived,
And for whom he lived,
That we awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to worship you truly,
O Holy One,
At this time and all time and in all ways.
And we say yes to You!
Presider 1: 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 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
Presider 1: Let us pray together our blessing:
May wonder and thanksgiving fill us, may compassion penetrate us, that we may penetrate the numbness that continues our society’s injustices. May we know that we are loved.
May we continue to be the face of the Holy One to each other and may we be a blessing in our time! Amen.
Presider 2: Please join in singing our Closing Song
Closing Song: This Little Light of Mine by Bruce Springsteen
