Margaret Dilgen and Mary Theresa Streck, ARCWP, led the Upper Room Liturgy with the theme: Jesus: "Who Do You Say I am?"
Welcome (Margaret): Welcome to
all of you. My vision of Jesus the carpenter is more like the picture we have
here. He was a man from the middle east, not blue eyed and blond. Please
take a good look at it, this is probably what Jesus really looked like. Jesus
is also known as a prophet, storyteller, rabbi, healer, teacher. Today we will
share our thoughts of "Who Do You Say I am"?
Ed Dilgen placed stoles on Margaret
and Mary Theresa and blessed them as they led the community’s liturgy.
Opening
Prayer: (Mary Theresa) In this season of the Jewish High
Holy days, we focus our attention on Jesus, our Jewish brother, who lived so fully into his humanity that
the divine was seen in, with, through and beyond him. And we acknowledge the divine
presence in each of us as we send peace and blessings to all in this circle and
to the wider circle of creation. Please join in praying our peace meditation.
Peace Mediation: Namaste by Mark Hayes
The divine in me blesses and
honors
the divine
in you.
The beauty of God stands before me,
The beauty of God stands before me,
expressing
uniquely as you.
The spirit
of goodness within you shines forth
in all that
you do.
Namaste,
Namaste, Namaste.
The divine in me blesses and honors
The divine in me blesses and honors
the divine
in you.
First Reading: The Good Shepherd by
Rev. Dawn Hutchings
The good news that Jesus of Nazareth lived so
fully into his humanity that the divine was seen in, with, through and beyond
him, is once again calling us into a new way of being in the world. That Jesus
of Nazareth lived so fully, loved with such abandon that his contemporaries
were able to see the divine in him represents a giant leap forward in our human
development. Where humanity was obsessed with its own survival and individual
human beings could not see beyond their own needs, Jesus steps into the human
consciousness and embodies a new way of being in the world, a way of loving that
enables Jesus to see beyond his own survival to risk loving so deeply that
injustice perpetrated on the least of humanity, cannot be ignored but must be
resisted, a way of loving that enables Jesus to have the courage to resist
injustice not with violence but with love, even if the very act of love might
get him killed. A way of loving that inspired in Jesus such tenderness for
those he loved that he was willing to give his life, his whole being to that
love. A way of loving that enabled Jesus not to flee from the wolves that
threatened those he loved but to resist the temptation to seek only his own
survival, to step in and stand up to the forces of evil and injustice. A way of
being human that understood the consequences of loving fully and deeply and trusted
that the love itself could not die. A way of being human that lives on in the
love we continue to share with one another.
These are the inspired words of Pastor Dawn
Hutchings and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
A reading from the Gospel of Mark:
MK
8:27-30
Jesus and his disciples
set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples this question,
"Who do people say that I am?"
They replied, “Some say
John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets."
And he asked them,
"But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Anointed One."
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples this question,
"Who do people say that I am?"
They replied, “Some say
John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets."
And he asked them,
"But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Anointed One."
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
These are inspired words from the
Gospel of Mark and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Mary
Theresa’s Homily Starter:
So here we
are, 2000 years later, pondering the words of Jesus as recorded in Mark’s Gospel:
“Who do you say that I am?” Mark is setting the scene for the disciple’s
statement of faith, their understanding of Jesus’ words and actions. And the
disciples’ response is a model for us, as we ponder the stories told by and
about Jesus.
In the
first reading, we hear a strong statement of faith by Pastor Dawn responding to
the perennial question, “Who do you say that I am?” To paraphrase her words,
Jesus was the Face of the Holy One. He lived fully, loved with abandon, and
that loved moved him to resist injustice for the sake of the powerless.
Margaret
and I posted a short YouTube video with the readings this week by scripture
scholar, Amy Jill Levine. If you have not had a chance to listen to her lecture
on Jesus, I highly recommend it to you. The title of the lecture is: Who did they say he was? Jesus in Text and
Context? It is a delightful and insightful lecture by a Jewish woman about
the Jewish Jesus.
If Jesus
were to ask me today, “Mary, who do you say that I am?, I would use my historical imagination and some
paraphrasing of Pastor Dawn and Amy Jill Levine to answer in this way:
“Jesus, You
are a healer – bodies are important to you. You remind me to pay attention to
other peoples’ bodies to make sure they have enough food, shelter, clothing and
health care.
You are a
teacher – You tell me to engage with the biblical texts of my tradition, take
them seriously and take them beyond blind adherence to written laws to a higher
law of the heart based on love and justice and mercy and compassion.
You are a
storyteller – Your parables perform heart surgery on me when I probe their
deeper meaning. You remind me to pay attention to who is left out or ignored.
You are one
with the Heart of All Hearts, and as a son of the Holy One, you remind me that
I too, am a child of the Holy One, called to be fully human and to love with
abandon.”
So that is
how I would answer Jesus. How would you answer him?
Thank you for sharing all your thoughts today. You have given us much to think about in regards to Jesus and what he is to us. Let us continue to remember Him in our words and caring for others.
Communion Meditation: Until All Are Fed by Brian Field McFarland and Jacob's Join
https://youtu.be/zkxLcekmF8c
How long will we
sing?
How long will we
pray?
How long will we
write and send?
How long will we
bring?
How long will we
stay?
How long will be
make amends?
Refrain:
Until all are fed
we cry out!
Until all on earth
have bread.
Like the One who
loves us
Each and every one
We serve until all
are fed.
How long will be
talk?
How long will be
prod?
How long must we
fret and hoard?
How long will be walk
To tear down this
façade?
How long, how long
O God?
Refrain
How long can we
stand by
And fail to be
aghast?
How long til we do
what’s right?
How could we stand
by
And choose a lesser
fast?
How long til we see
the light?
Refrain
On the green, green
grass
They gathered long
ago
To hear what the
Master said.
What they had they
shared =
Some fishes and
some loaves.
They served until
all were fed.
Refrain
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