Upper Room Christmas Liturgy 2017
Opening Prayer
O Holy One, you bless us
always and invite us to awaken to your life within us. May we like Jesus,
continue your incarnation as we look beyond our comfortable lives and find you
among the lost, lonely, ill and neglected. This season reminds us again and
again, that the story begun over 13 billion years ago continues through the
ages in each of us as we open our hearts to you and your light shine through
us. Amen.
Opening Song: Little Town by Over the Rhine
LITURGY OF THE WORD
A reading by Jane Deener-Quiat and Rex Hunt
Adapted from A Service of Holy Communion at
Christmas
Today celebrate God-with-us beyond our words, beyond our
images, for we know God is beyond those things. But today we find joy in the
image of God coming to us in the form of a child. We sense God’s presence in
creation and in the immensity of our universe, in the incredible display of
life on this planet, and in our consciousness
of something far greater than ourselves.
of something far greater than ourselves.
As Christians, we rejoice in the birth of Jesus. In him we see
the fullness of possibility to make God visible in our lives. Like all of us he
grew in wisdom as he aged. He questioned. He searched for meaning. He shaped
his convictions. He experienced love and came to know love’s connectedness with
God.
He stood firmly in his own religious tradition and preached
good news to all people dreaming of a better humanity. We rejoice that he
taught us not to imagine a manipulative, intervening God, but one who is as
close as breath and as soft as a whisper, yet as powerful in the focus of our
lives, as were the mighty prophets in the Hebrew Testament drawing us toward the good.
We rejoice that Jesus led people to discover the sacred in
the ordinary, in the lowly, in everyday life, in human yearnings to be better
people, and in being neighbor to one another.
Bread and wine, the fruit of vine and earth. He gave us
these to keep us connected to the story. May these ordinary things be blessed. For
they represent both the ordinary and the extraordinary as Jesus calls us to
follow him. May we share generously of this wonderful gift we have received.
These are the inspired
words of Jane Deener-Quiat and Rex Hunt and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Alleluia
Gospel (Lk. 2 1-14)
This is the story told by the disciple Luke to celebrate the
birth of our brother, Jesus:
Just before Jesus was born, Caesar Augustus published a
decree ordering a census of the whole Roman world. All the people were
instructed to go back to the towns of their birth to register. And so Joseph
went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to “the city of David” - Bethlehem,
in Judea, because Joseph was of the house and lineage of David. He went to
register with Mary, his espoused wife, who was pregnant.
While they were there, the time came for her delivery. She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She put him in a simple cloth wrapped like a receiving blanket, and laid him in a feeding trough for cattle, because there was no room for them at the inn.
There were shepherds in the area living in the fields and keeping night watch over their flock. The angel of God appeared to them, and the glory of God shown around them. They were very much afraid.
The angel said to them, “You have nothing to fear! I come to proclaim good news to you – news of great joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in David’s city, a savior – the Messiah - has been born unto you. Let this be a sign to you: You will find an infant wrapped in a simple cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven! And peace to God’s people on Earth.”
While they were there, the time came for her delivery. She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She put him in a simple cloth wrapped like a receiving blanket, and laid him in a feeding trough for cattle, because there was no room for them at the inn.
There were shepherds in the area living in the fields and keeping night watch over their flock. The angel of God appeared to them, and the glory of God shown around them. They were very much afraid.
The angel said to them, “You have nothing to fear! I come to proclaim good news to you – news of great joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in David’s city, a savior – the Messiah - has been born unto you. Let this be a sign to you: You will find an infant wrapped in a simple cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven! And peace to God’s people on Earth.”
These are the inspired words of Luke and we affirm these words by saying, Amen.
Kim Panaro's HOMILY STARTER CHRISTMAS EVE MORNING 12/24/2017
Have you ever had the experience of listening to a friend or relative telling a story about an event at which you were present and thinking “I do not remember any of it the way they’re telling it”. They exaggerate minor details, emphasize their own or others’ role in the events and sometimes add things that simply did not happen. You may wonder if they are just making things up to sound more interesting, to make a point they want to make or they just have a bad memory. More often than not, I believe, people recount stories in a way that simply conveys the meaning the event had for them. In other words, the truth of the story lies not in the historic validity of the details but the deeper truth or meaning that the event has had for them. The event, if it was meaningful in their lives, has become part of their own sacred story.
So, it is with our reading from Luke today. It is a beautiful tale of singing angels, shepherds, a journey for soon to be parents and the birth of a child from the house of David who would show the world the glory of God. A beautiful myth but one that for some, loses creditability in the utter impossibility of historic accuracy. As adult believers, we understand that this story, like all sacred stories is written to express eternal truth, holy truth. We understand that the wonder and splendor of Jesus is found in the hopes and dreams of the people who came to believe in him. People who lived lives of poverty, oppression, violence and injustice. They saw in the life and ministry of Jesus, the hope that an ordinary person could live a life so united with his God that he could transform the world. The writer of Luke honors this by weaving a birth story that is worthy of the one who would embody the hopes of a nation and ultimately the hopes of people for 2000 years.
So, what about you and me? Most of us would probably humbly describe ourselves as ordinary. When we were born, chances are, someone looked at us in a crib or held us in their arms wondering “I wonder who this child will become. What mark will this little one, so full of potential, will make of the life God has given them?”. Stories are holy stories when they recount the action of the Holy one in the lives of people. When people tell the story of your life’s events will they be able to see the Holy One acting in and through your sacred story? Will the deeper truth of your life resemble the story of Jesus? Jesus shows us that the Holy One can be trusted to walk with us in every moment of life, transforming and molding us into people of justice, compassion, mercy, faith, trust and hope. Every minute of every day, every breath we take is full of this holy potential. How is my story reflecting this truth? Can you see in the remembrance tale of birth of Jesus the rebirth of your own sacred potential, your own unfolding and precious sacred story?
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
Presider 1: As we prepare for the
sacred meal, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please feel free to voice your concerns
beginning with the words “I bring to the table….” (pause) And we pray for these and all
unspoken cares and concerns. Amen.
Presider 2: Please join in praying our
Eucharistic Prayer: (written by Jay Murnane)
All: O Holy One, you are continually
creating the universe, continually giving birth to all of us. We sense the need
to do the same, to set ourselves free from a sense of emptiness and barren
hopelessness.
We celebrate you as the Source of
light and life and love, and we celebrate your presence and all-ways care. We
give thanks, and joined with your vision of harmony and peace, we sing:
Alleluia Sing! by David Haas
Blessed be our God!
Blessed be our God!
Joy of our hearts, source of all life
and love!
God of Heaven and Earth!
God of Heaven and Earth!
Dwelling within, calling us all by
name!
Alleluia, sing!
Alleluia, sing!
Gift of love and peace!
Gift of love and peace!
Jesus Christ, Jesus our hope and
light!
A flame of faith in our hearts!
A flame of faith in our hearts!
Proclaiming the day, shining
throughout the night!
Alleluia, sing!
Alleluia, sing!
(Alleluia Sing by David
Haas)
All: Your wisdom invites us to draw on our
tradition, as old as the stars, shining through Sarah and Abraham, shining
through your prophets in every age and every culture. We join that
enlightening, enlivening tradition with what we are as we risk fidelity to a
dream.
Filled with your spirit, we, like
Jesus, can give birth in our day to your living word for the sake of hope
enfleshed in creativity and confrontation, healing and reconciliation, justice,
universal and unconditional love.
On the night before he faced his own
death, 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 with them, he bent down and washed their feet.
When he returned to his place, he took
bread, gave thanks and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat of the Bread of Life
Given to strengthen you
Whenever you remember me like this
I am among you. (pause)
Jesus then raised a cup of blessing,
spoke the grace saying:
Take and drink of the covenant
Made new again through my life in you.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you. (pause)
Let us share this bread and cup
To proclaim and live the gospel of
justice and peace
O Holy One, we dare again to dream the
ancient dreams and open ourselves to marvelous visions. There are mountains of
arrogance to lower, valleys of fear and separation to fill in, to create a
community and communion that stretches throughout our consciousness and around
our world.
In this way, working to renew the face
of the earth, we are opened up to your Spirit, the Spirit of light and life and
love born in Jesus.
For it is through his life and
teaching, all honor and glory is yours, O Holy One, forever and ever.
All: Amen.
Presider: Let us pray as Jesus
taught us:
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 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.
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
Presider 1: Please join in our prayer
for the breaking of the bread:
(presiders break bread during this
prayer)
All:
O Holy One, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We will live justly.
You call us to be Your presence in the
world. We will love tenderly.
You call us to speak truth to
power. We will walk with integrity in
your presence.
Presider 2: "This is the bread of
life. Through it we are nourished and we nourish each other.
All:
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.
Presider 1: Our Eucharistic
celebration is all-inclusive. You are a spark of the Divine and nothing can
separate you from God’s love. All are welcome to receive at this table.
Please pass the bread and the cup with
the words: “You are an incarnation of the Divine!”
Presider 2: Our communion meditation is: Silent Night - Each Holy Child by Shaina Noll
CLOSING PRAYER: written by Bernie Kinlan
Dearest Holy One,
We have listened to the inspiring words of our readings and the reflections of the community of the Upper Room. Let us remember that YOU are as close as a breath and soft as a whisper. We can be as frightened as the shepherds in the field. Yet, we see in each other your presence; we leave in confidence knowing that we are never alone. Let us share the gifts that we have with all we meet on the Journey.
BLESSING:
May we continue to be the face of God to each other. May we call each other to extravagant generosity! May we, like Jesus, be a shining light and a blessing in our time!
All: AMEN
CLOSING SONG: O Come , All Ye Faithful by Pentatonix
Dearest Holy One,
We have listened to the inspiring words of our readings and the reflections of the community of the Upper Room. Let us remember that YOU are as close as a breath and soft as a whisper. We can be as frightened as the shepherds in the field. Yet, we see in each other your presence; we leave in confidence knowing that we are never alone. Let us share the gifts that we have with all we meet on the Journey.
BLESSING:
May we continue to be the face of God to each other. May we call each other to extravagant generosity! May we, like Jesus, be a shining light and a blessing in our time!
All: AMEN
CLOSING SONG: O Come , All Ye Faithful by Pentatonix
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ALL OF US AT THE UPPER ROOM, ALBANY, NY
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