So,
for those of you know me well, I am a plan girl. Last weekend, I knew I was going to be out of
town at a conference in Orlando most of the week. So, I worked on the liturgy, and researched a
lot about the meaning of the Readings, and pretty much nailed down my Homily
Starter. Everything is in writing. I’m prepared.
Yesterday
was the last day of the conference, a Child Protection Summit, of over 3000
people in Florida devoted to the child welfare of children in the foster care
system. After the morning workshop, I
decided to leave early and skip the keynote speaker. I was tired.
I had a lot of agency work to do back home. As I was walking toward the elevator to go to
my room to get my things and check out, a strong voice came in my head that
said, “GO TO THE KEYNOTE!” Don’t you
just hate when that happens? I was
like, “Really?, really? I want to go
home!” But, I have learned to not ignore
that voice. So, I went to the
keynote. And it changed my homily
starter for today, and in some ways my life.
Who knew? Well, apparently, God
did.
The
keynote speaker was Laura Schroff, author of a book called “An invisible
Thread”. She started by telling us an
Ancient Chinese proverb: “An invisible
thread connects those who were destined to meet, regardless of time, place, and
circumstance. The thread may stretch or
tangle. But, it will never break.” Her story is nothing less than amazing. So, I want to read you the beginning of her
book.
"Excuse me, lady, do you have any spare change?" This was the first thing he said to me, on 56th Street in New York City, right around the corner from Broadway, on a sunny September day. And when I heard him, I didn't really hear him. His words were part of the clatter, like a car horn or someone yelling for a cab. They were, you could say, just noise-the kind of nuisance New Yorkers learn to tune out. So I
walked
right by him, as if he wasn't there. But then, just a few yards past him, I
stopped.
And then-and I'm still not sure why I did this-l came back. I came back and I looked at him, and I
realized he was just a boy. Earlier, out
of the corner of my eye, I had noticed he was young. But now, looking at him, I
saw that he was a child-tiny body, sticks for arms, big round eyes. He wore a
burgundy sweatshirt that was smudged and frayed and ratty burgundy sweatpants
to match. He had scuffed white sneakers with untied laces, and his fingernails were
dirty. But his eyes were bright and there was a general sweetness about him. He
was, I would soon learn, eleven years old. He stretched his palm toward me, and
he asked again, "Excuse me, lady, do you have
any spare
change? I am hungry." What I said
in response may have surprised him, but it really shocked me. "If you're
hungry," I said, "I'll take you to McDonald's and buy you lunch." "Can I have a cheeseburger?" he
asked. "Yes," I said. "How
about a Big Mac?"
"That's
okay, too." "How about a Diet Coke?" “Yes, that's
okay." "Well, how about a
thick chocolate shake and French fries?" I told him he could have anything
he
wanted. And then I asked him if I could join him for
lunch. He thought about it for a second.
"Sure,"
he finally said. We had lunch together
that day, at McDonald's.
And after
that, we got together every Monday. For the next 150 Mondays.
His name
is Maurice, and he changed my life. Why did I stop and go back to Maurice? It
is easier for me to tell you why I ignored him in the first place. I ignored
him, very simply,
because he
wasn't in my schedule.”
She had
many friends who told her she should not keep seeing him. It was dangerous. She could be killed. He was not her cross to bear. But, she replied, “He’s everyone’s cross to
bear.” She did not see him as a cross. She saw him as a gift in her life. So, what I have learned from this is, taking up
your “cross” in life and following in the footsteps of Jesus is really not a
burden. It’s a gift. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Take the first
step in faith. You don’t have to see the
whole staircase, just take the first step.” 
Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time – September
12, 2015
Co-Presiders:
Kathryn Shea and Janet Blakeley
Music Minister: Mindy Lou Simmons
Today’s theme – “take up your cross, and
follow in my footsteps”
Greeting
and Gathering Hymn: “All Are Welcome” #414, vs 1,2,3,4
Presider: Let us pray as we come together to break
bread and share in the banquet of love in the name of God, our Creator, of
Christ, our liberator, and of the Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier. ALL:
Amen.
Opening
Prayer
All: God
of life, wholeness and holiness, you who direct all creation to its complete
fulfillment in Jesus, the Christ - open our hearts to the message of the Gospel
so that your peace may rule in our hearts and your justice guide our
lives. Loving God, bless all of us
gathered here and all those of our community who are not with us today. We ask this of you, our brother Jesus, and
our Wisdom Sophia. Amen.
Penitential Rite
Presider: Creator God to whom all hearts are open, no
desires unknown, and from whom no secrets can be hidden, cleanse our hearts by
the inspiration of Holy Wisdom.
ALL: We take your Word into our minds and hearts. Open
them to new understanding.
Presider: We ask for the grace to continually
acknowledge our need to grow in goodness and caring for ourselves, for others
and for our earth.
ALL: We
accept your love and understanding of the frailty of our human nature.
Presider: And we join with you, Jesus the Christ,
believing the strength and insight of the Holy Spirit will lead us to deeper
dedication to justice, equality and peace in our world. ALL:
Amen.
All: (with
an outstretched arm): God, the
Father and Mother of mercy, through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, he bonded
the world to you. He sent the Holy Spirit among us to give us the wisdom to
love you - and the strength and compassion to love one another. Loving God, teach us the virtues of pardon
and peace so that we may – in turn – learn to forgive each other for our
failures to care for one another and for our planet Earth. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our brother
and of the Holy Spirit, our healer and comforter. Amen.
Glory to God
ALL: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to
God’s people on earth. Creator God,
heart of the universe, we thank you for the breath of the Spirit at work in
everything that exists, everywhere in the cosmos. Jesus, Child of God, Healer God, Teacher God,
you free us to live in your love. You
make us strong; you show us your mercy and love. You are one with the Creator, you hear our prayer. You are the Holy One. You are united with us. You are our faithful friend. We are one with you, Jesus the Christ, with
the Holy Spirit. We are created in God’s
image giving Glory to God our Creator.
Amen.
Liturgy of The Word
First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9
Psalm: 116
- Responsorial: I will walk with our God
in the land, the land of the living. #825
(Modified)
Second Reading: James 2:14-18
Gospel Acclamation: CELTIC ALLELUIA! (sung)
Gospel
Reading: A reading from the Gospel
according to Mark 8:27-35
Shared Homily
What is
Jesus asking of us? What does it really
mean to “take up you cross and follow me?”
Profession of Faith
ALL: All: We believe in God, the Creator of the
universe whose divinity infuses all that exists, making everything, everywhere,
sacred. We believe in Jesus, the Christ, who leads us
to the fullness of humanity. Through
him, we become new people, called beyond the consequences of our brokenness. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Wisdom who
keeps the Christ-vision present to all those who are searching for meaning and
wholeness in their lives - and the Sustainer who heals and energizes us when our
spirits may grow weary in our journeys. We
say: Amen to courage, to hope, to truth.
Amen to the partnership and equality of all people of different genders,
races, and faiths. We believe in a world
of justice and peace for everyone, everywhere, with no exceptions. In all of this, we surely believe.
Prayers of the Community
Presider: We are people of faith. We believe in the power of prayer. We believe that we send blessings to those
who are struggling and who need to experience hope; to those who are grieving
and need to be comforted in their loss, to those who are facing medical
challenges that they be granted hope and healing. We bring the needs of people
throughout our world to our gracious and comforting God.
After each intercession, the response is: Compassionate
God, hear our prayer.
For
what else shall we pray?
Presider:
Healing God, you faithfully listen to our prayers. We ask you to strengthen us
in our caring for one another and in our works for justice, equality, and peace,
and in our service to those living on the margins. We
make this prayer in the name of Jesus, the Christ, Amen.
Offertory Procession and Hymn: “We Are Called” # 628, all verses
Preparation of the Gifts
Presider:
Blessed are you, gracious God of all
creation, through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has
given and human hands have made. It will
become for us the bread of life.
ALL:
Blessed be God forever.
Presider:
Blessed are you, gracious God of all creation, through your goodness we have
this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink.
ALL:
Blessed be God forever.
Presiders: Pray
my friends that as we celebrate this breaking of bread and blessing of wine we
accept more fully the mission as People of God by actively following in the
footsteps of Jesus, and living our response to God’s call.
ALL: Blessed
be God forever.
Gathering
of the Gifts: All are welcome around our
family table
ALL: Gracious
God, we are united in this sacrament by our love of Jesus Christ and we are in
communion with all who proclaim your power and mercy to those who are
marginalized and oppressed. May we love
tenderly, do justice, and walk humbly with you.
May we live as prophetic witnesses to the Gospel. We ask this through Jesus, the Christ. Amen.
Presider: God dwells in each one of us. All:
Namaste!
Presider: Let us give thanks to the Creator and
Sustainer of all that exists.
All: With hearts full of love, we give God thanks
and praise.
Presider: Sacred Spirit, we recognize your presence
among us as we gather at our family table.
All: Fill us with reverence for you, for one another, and for all your
creation.
Presider:
Let us lift up our hearts.
All: We lift them up to the Holy One, living in us
and loving through us.
Eucharistic Prayer
Voice
1: Gracious God, source and sustenance
of life, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy
Spirit who enlivens all that exists, we beseech your healing power upon us and all
for whom we pray today. We join together
with our community, with all creation everywhere, with all those who have gone
before us and live in the eternal now as we sing:
ALL: We are holy, holy, holy X3, we are whole. You are holy… I am holy…We are holy (Karen
Drucker)
Voice 2: We ask you to enliven anew in our hearts the
empowering grace of your abundant Spirit, who infuses us with these gifts of
bread and wine with the transforming energy of life, to nourish and sustain us
in all times and especially in times of need.
Voice 3: Christ of the Cosmos,
we rejoice that You, who
are More than we can imagine or dream
of, dwell in Mystery beyond all
comprehension. We remember that it
was you, who said: “Anything I have done in the name of the Creator, you can do, too…and even more.”
All: O God, let your Spirit of life, healing and
wholeness come upon these simple gifts that we have brought from the fields and
laid on our table -- this wheat, gathered and grown and this wine, fruit of the
land. May she make them holy, so that
they may become for us the Body and Blood of Jesus, our brother.
(Please all extend hands as we recite the
consecration together.)
All: We remember the gift that Jesus gave us on
the night before he died. He gathered
with his friends to share a final Passover meal. And it was at that supper that he took bread,
said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to them saying: take this, all
of you, and eat it. This bread is you;
this bread is me. We are one body, the
presence of God in the world. Do this in
memory of me and all I have taught you. [Pause]
In the
same way, he took a cup of wine, again said the blessing, and gave it to his
friends saying: take this, all of you, and drink it. This wine is you; this wine is me. We are one blood, the presence of God in the
world. Do this in memory of me and all I
have taught you.
Presider: Jesus, who was with God “in the beginning of
the creation of the heavens and the earth,” is with us now in this bread. The Spirit, of whom the prophets spoke in
history, is with us now in this cup. Let
us proclaim this mystery of faith.
All: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ lives in us and through us in the
world today.
(Please place your hand on the shoulder of the
person to your right)
Voice
4: In memory of Jesus’ life, death and
resurrection, we offer you, God, this life-giving bread, this saving cup. We thank you that we are in your presence
and serve you. May all who share this
sacred meal be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit. And may that Spirit, that Wisdom, move freely
in our lives as well as she did in the life of Jesus.
Voice 5: God,
remember your church throughout the world, help us grow in love, together with
Francis, our Pope, Bridget Mary, our Bishop, and all your family everywhere -
especially those who live on the margins of church and society. Remember also
all those, living and dead, who touched our lives and left their footprints on
our hearts. We remember especially….(mention names, if you like).
ALL: Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is Yours, gracious God,
forever and ever. Amen (sung).
The Prayer of Jesus
Presider: Let us join hands and raise our voices as we
say the Prayer Jesus taught us:
ALL: (sung) Our Father and Mother…….
The Sign of Peace
Presider:
Jesus, you said to your disciples, “My peace I leave you; my peace I give
you.” Look on the faith of those
gathered here today and ….
All: Grant
us your peace. By the example of Jesus
and with the strength of your Spirit, help us to spread that peace throughout
the world, to everyone, everywhere, no exceptions. Amen.
Presider:
May the peace of God be always with us, and let us extend that peace to one
another by holding hands and singing “Peace Is Flowing like a River.”
Litany For The Breaking Of Bread
Presider:
Loving God,
ALL: You call us to live the Gospel of peace and
justice. We will live justly.
Presider:
Loving God,
ALL: You call us to be your presence in the world.
We will love tenderly.
Presider: Loving God,
ALL: You call us to speak truth to power. We will
walk with integrity in your presence.
Presiders: This
is Jesus, who liberates, heals and transforms our world. All are invited to partake of this sacred
banquet of love. ALL: We are the Body of Christ.
During-Communion
Hymn: “One Bread, One Body” #348, all verses, using God for Lord
Meditation Hymn after Communion: “Be Not
Afraid” #430
Prayer of Thanksgiving after Communion
Presider: May wonder and thanksgiving fill us, may
compassion fully fill our beings, that you may heal the numbness that continues
because of our society’s injustices. May you know that you are loved and may we
continue to be the face of God to one another.
Amen.
Community Prayers of Gratitude
Announcements
Closing Prayer
All:
May our hearts be glad on our journey as we dream new dreams and see new
visions.
May we
all live and work for peace, justice, and non-violence in our hearts for
ourselves and our brothers and sisters -
whoever they are and wherever they are.
May we
learn to bless and honor and hold in reverence the Earth and one other. Amen.
Closing Community Blessing
(Everyone
please extend your hands in mutual blessing.)
ALL: May our gracious God, bless us all gathered here,
in the name of God our Creator, in the name of Jesus our Liberator, in the name
of the Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier as we care and minister to one another, and
all those we meet, in love. Be with us as
we continue on our path and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, for we are the face
of God to the world. Amen.
Closing Hymn and Commissioning: “Go Make a
Difference” # 504 verses 1,2,3
Presiders:
As we leave here in the peace of Christ, let our service continue in all that
we do.
All:
Thanks be to God. Let it be so!
