Debra
Trees and Julie Corron led the Upper Room Community of Albany, NY, with the theme: Inclusivity
Opening
Prayer
O Holy One, we gather
as the Christmas season concludes. Guide us on our journey to include the
forgotten and marginalized, especially the forgotten and marginalized parts of
our very selves. Amen.
Using the readings from
the day, Deb led and concluded the shared homily.
Today’s readings remind
me that we did not invent inclusion. It is far more ancient than our Inclusive
Catholic Community. And yet inclusion is just as radical a concept today as it
was in the Early Church. While we in 2017 are including women in the priesthood
and diaconate, the Ephesians in their day were being reminded to include the
Gentiles in their faith community. Our culture struggles with income inequality
and today we celebrate the Magi giving gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh
to a child lying in a food trough. Jesus’ ministry was one of including the
undesirables, the women, the poor, the tax collectors.
Inclusion is not new.
It is an idea whose time has come again.
What did you hear?
What will you do?
What will it cost you?
Concluding
Thoughts.
Epiphany:
Inclusivity
All the way through the last 2000 years, and many
thousands of years before that, inclusivity has been the opposite of tribal
thought. The evolution of this dichotomy, of tribal living, is to include
others. Let’s include the Gentiles; let’s include the women; let’s include the
others. Here in this story of Jesus, we as humans make our initial “saved”
attempt at inclusivity. We see our light, through the eyes of God. We see our
inclusiveness, through the eyes of another. We embrace our responsibility to be
grateful for this gift of inclusiveness, and share our own gifts, whatever they
may be. Let us continue to share our unique gifts as we see them in our time
and place, let us lead the way, and let us be grateful for our place in this
continuum of love and light. AMEN.
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