Upper Room Liturgy - October 22, 2017 - Recognizing God's Love in Us

Debra Trees and Marge Milanese led the Upper Room liturgy with the theme: Recognizing God's Love in Us as they commemorated Domestic Violence Month.  

Opening Prayer: As we live our lives in witness of the Divine Spirit within and among us, may we remember our role in bringing safety and companionship to all our sisters and brothers who live with domestic violence as part of their present existence.  May we be quiet lights of guidance of the Light of the Spirit, and witness in love. May we be mindful of the ways that we treat one another.

Homily Starter for Domestic Violence Awareness and October 22, 2017 Upper Room Liturgy shared by Marge Milanese

What did you hear with the ears of your heart???

Ah, Imagine, Our Extravagant God, the very same One who Created all that IS, setting it in motion, continuing to trust us with the Divine Dream, to be care takers and love makers in the evolutionary process of becoming.  An enormous right and responsibility!!!

The New American Bible reads how Genesis artistically crafts its “Once Upon A Time,” with “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was a formless waste land, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the Waters.  Then God said, “LET THERE BE LIGHT.”  Continuing throughout the Chapter we become aware how God brought an orderly universe out of primordial chaos…  and is so doing blessed  THE HARVEST saying,  IT IS GOOD …

In verse 26 of the 31, we emerge on the scene:  Then God said, “Let US make (man) in OUR image, after our likeness … God created (man) in (his) image. In the divine image (He) created (him), male and female (He) created them. God blessed them, saying to them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over…     And so it happened.   (31) God looked at everything (He) had made, and (He) found it very good.”

From the beginning, do we find OUR IDENTITY AND DESTINY.

As Sparks of the Divine are we not all empowered to be Love Makers and Care Takers/ Care Givers of our Planet and of each other?  If we have not taken this right and responsibility seriously after 200.000 years of emerging consciousness, could this be the systemic cause of the demise of our Planet and of our People, now before us?  Is the reason for the violent attacks buried under our selfish attempt to ignore or put band aids on incisions?

Is an annual statistic of 10 million cases of Domestic Violence, (20 per minute) a hint of what happens when we lose our way, when the compass and lifeline are tossed to the winds and we are adrift on a tumultuous sea of life?  In the utter FEAR of that storm is our inner turmoil played out in aggressiveness, physical, emotional, social and psychological harm/damage to the other…??

Can the news with all its endless repetition and glut reporting also possibly drive deep into our psyche how mindless and heartless we have become? Technology with all its ‘too much too soon’ effect, subtly and not so subtly allows the ‘entertainment’ media to run the risk… numbing our sensitivity and blinding our vision to violence, conditioning us to accept what is rather than do something about what is not but can be!!

The Prophet was one who saw the reality of the chaotic situation, and proclaimed a new paradigm of HOPE.

What say you as our self-destruct course of Domestic Violence takes over our hearts, homes and world?

What say you about our TRUE Identity and Destiny possibly having run amuck?

Is Our Domestic Home and Earth Home Victim of moral imperative Becoming more Extinct?

Is it possible that because we are all one, when any of us or when collectively we disconnect from the Center, ignore the Dream of God in bringing about the Kin-dom where everyone lives in Peace under the banner of Justice, we ignore or renew on our DNA IMAGE?

How well we have witnessed in the midst of the most devastating destruction by Nature or by Human Hand that GOODNESS does come to the fore, reminding us of who we are and what we are called to be and to do!  The GOOD NEWS of these unsung responders and preventers challenge us to MORE… to wake up to the daily opportunities of Being fully alive in the Spirit, and BEING there for all of Creation.

In the Gospel we heard Jesus face His coy threatening adversaries head on and raise the question that would curb their attack, and turn the tide:  Who’s image is on the coin?  Then, Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and Give to God the Things that are God’s…

Yes, made in God’s Image and Likeness, we are called to be Sparks of the Divine… reflections of the Compassionate Care Taker and Love Maker, Who set the world aright, and empowers us to do likewise.  Deep within, we each have heard “I have called you by name.  You are Mine. You are Precious in My sight, and I Love you.”

Whew, what more???

And what did you hear with the ears of your heart?

BLESSING

Holy one, beyond all of our understanding, and yet with us in loving companionship, be with us as we go into the world, filled with your love and understanding.  Help us to bring forth your awareness of our beauty and worth and of the immense love and light of your image and likeness in every one that we meet.  AMEN                           

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