Upper Room Inclusive Catholic Liturgy: Easter Vigil 2021 - Presiders: Denise Hackert-Stoner, ARCWP, and Ellen Garcia

Easter Vigil 2021:  A Liturgy of Utter Amazement

Denise Hackert-Stoner: Welcome to our celebration of the Easter Vigil.  Tonight we sit in utter amazement as we recall the resurrection, the Christ, and witness that resurrection in earth and spirit.

Ellen Garcia:   Opening Prayer:  

“So let us pick up the stones over which we stumble, friends, and build altars.  

Let us listen to the sound of breath in our bodies.  

Let us listen to the sounds of our own voices, of our own names, of our own fears.  

Let us name the harsh light and soft darkness that surround us.  

Let’s claw ourselves out from the graves we’ve dug, let’s lick the earth from our fingers.  

Let us look up, and out, and around.  

The world is big, and wide, and wild and wonderful and wicked, 

and our lives are murky, magnificent, malleable and full of meaning.  

Oremus.  

Let us pray.” (Padraig O’Tuama)

Lynn Kinlan:  Blessing of the Fire  (read while Easter Candle is being lit) 

Holy One,
You are the unfaltering
Creator of every light.
We bless this fire in your name,

For you are the light that never fails. 
Amen.

We now invite you to light your Easter candle and respond three times in song:

Lynn:  RISING SUN OF JUSTICE (3 times)

All: Thanks Be to God! (3 times)

Lynn:  During the Exsultet we invite each of you to hold your candle in front of you so that each square of our Zoom gathering is alight.

Ellen:  Exsultet:  The Proclamation of Easter and Spring (revised by Denise Hackert-Stoner)

Exult!  Let them exult, hosts of the Kin-dom!

Let the Holy One’s Angels exult,

Let the trumpet of renewal

Sound aloud Christ’s holy presence!

Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her, 

Ablaze with light from her eternal Love, 

Let all corners of the earth be glad,

Knowing an end to winter’s gloom and darkness.

Rejoice, let all creation rejoice,

Arrayed with the lightning of their creator’s glory,

Let this holy universe shake with joy,

Filled with the mighty voices of whales and birds, people and crickets.

It is with ardent love in mind and heart

And with joyful shouts and songs

That we proclaim the rebirth of earth,

This re-creation of life rising from the darkness of winter.

Holy One, as we move and live in your Divine Love

We remember our brother Jesus,

Who likewise fell into the darkness of death 

Only to have his Christ spirit rise like the spring grass.

This is the night

When the yoke of slavery was broken

And our forebears who had suffered so long

Sang with joy new songs of freedom.

This is the night

When a thousand small flames were

Raised in the hands of children

Hoping to end gun violence.

This is the night

When four women working for justice

Lost their lives to injustice

Only to have their Christ Spirits rise to inspire the work of others.

This is the night 

When the Christ within all gathered here

Rises to fill this room, this earth,

This universe with new life.

This is the night
of which it is written:
“The night shall be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me,
and full of gladness”

Therefore, O Holy One,
we pray that this candle,
representing your light that shines in all creation,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome all darkness.

May this flame be found still burning
by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
The Christ within us and around us,
who has shed peaceful light on humanity,
and whose love shines forth forever.  Amen.

Renewal of Baptismal Promises 

Denise: Please respond “I promise” to the following questions as we renew our Baptismal promises:

Do you promise to do what is good for your sisters and brothers everywhere, rejecting injustice and inequity and living with the freedom and responsibility of children of God?

All: I promise.

Do you promise to work for the realization of God’s vision of harmony and right relations among people and peoples, rejecting the idols of money and property and accepting all as family, regardless of race, gender, or position?  

All: I promise.

Do you promise to cherish the universe, and this precious planet, working creatively to renew and safeguard the elemental sacraments of air, earth, and  water?

All: I promise.

Do you believe in God, the great Spirit of Creation, in Jesus, the simple servant of justice and love who lived among us so that all might live with abundant fullness; in the breath of God’s center, the Spirit, who continues the work of forgiveness and reconciliation, birthing and blessing, challenge and hope, so that together we can continue the work of creation?

All: I promise.

Blessing of and Anointing with Water 

Joan Chesterfield:  At this time we invite you to bring your bowl of water close for our blessing.  We recall that water is given to us by our creator as a blessed gift.  After our blessing we invite you to anoint yourself with water.  Please raise your hands as we bless the water.  

Creator of all, you gave us water, and made it blessed and powerful.  Your gift of water makes life possible on our planet.  Tonight let us bless it anew and revere it as we anoint ourselves with it in the Name of the One who gives life, and of the One who brings peace, and of the One who gives us the wisdom to understand.  Amen. 

Opening Song:  

Glory to God, Marty Haugen

LITURGY OF THE WORD 

Suzanne O’Connor:  First Reading:  (The Story of Genesis, adapted by Jay Murnane)

In the beginning, there was only chaos and a void. God breathed life into it and said, "Let there be light." And there was light: sun and moon and stars in the heavens. There emerged vast bodies of water filled with live creatures. Then, birds flying across the breadth of the skies, and on the earth, reptiles and animals of every kind, color and shape. And all had a purpose. God saw what had come to be, and God found it very good.

God then said: "Let us make human beings in the divine image; women and men together to take care of all of this, and one another! When this was done, God viewed the whole of creation, and loved it, for it was very, very good.

This is our ancient story of the creation of the world and we honor it by saying Amen.

Ann Bayly:  Second Reading:  

The goodness of God fills all the gaps of the universe, without discrimination or preference. God is the gratuity of absolutely everything. The space in between everything is not space at all but Spirit. God is the “Goodness Glue” that holds the dark and light of things together, the free energy that carries all death across the Great Divide and transmutes it into Life. 

These are the holy words of Richard Rohr from his book “Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self.”  The people affirm them by saying Amen.

Dave DeBonis:  Third Reading:

Have you ever seen a caterpillar transform into a beautiful butterfly? There are few transformations in nature as miraculous and fascinating as the process of becoming a butterfly.

Butterflies go through a life cycle that involves several stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The metamorphosis from a caterpillar into a butterfly occurs during the pupa stage. During this stage, the caterpillar's old body dies and a new body forms inside a protective shell known as a chrysalis.

Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar is transforming into a new creature. This requires that the old caterpillar body be broken down and turned into something new. 

During the first three to four days, the chrysalis is a little bag filled with rich fluid. Imaginal cells use the fluid to grow and form a new body. Imaginal cells are undifferentiated and they can become any type of cell. Some parts of the caterpillars’ body are more or less unchanged, including the legs. Inside the chrysalis, the butterflies’ wings are fully formed. A butterfly's sucking mouth parts are formed from the caterpillar's chewing mouth parts. 

A couple of days before the butterfly emerges, the chrysalis changes color, The butterfly’s patterns and color can be seen though the chrysalis. The butterfly breaks out of the protective chrysalis and pumps blood into its newly formed wings. Then it flies away.

This story of metamorphosis is from Wonderopolis, and Sciencing, and we affirm it by saying Amen.

Dennis McDonald:  Alleluia

Thaeda Franz:  Gospel:  Mark 16:1-7

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him.  Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.  They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”  When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large.  On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed.  He said to them, “Do not be afraid!  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.  But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’”

These sacred words are from the Gospel of Mark.  We affirm them by saying AMEN.

Denise:  Homily Starter

A stone rolled back.  An empty tomb.  A man in white.  And “They were utterly amazed.”  Exactly what happened that night so long ago, the historical details, are not available to us.  But we don’t really need the historical details.  Our truth is deeper than history.    

In the north we are coming out of the cold barrenness of winter.  We witness the greening of spring, the rebirth of living things called forth by the Holy One in the language of day length and warmth, and we are utterly amazed. 

We look up into a night sky and ponder our universe, which sprang from nothing when the Divine voice called, and through the holy fire of that big bang birthed billions and billions of worlds, and billions beyond that, all of them very, very good.   And we are utterly amazed.

We watch the resilient creatures of this earth as they are called out of hibernation or called to long migration by the Divine voice in the language of their own yearning, and we are utterly amazed.

We stand in wonder as the caterpillar, urged into the future by its own indwelling divinity, form its own chrysalis tomb and dissolves the only self it has ever known, only to emerge as a butterfly, and we are utterly amazed.

We meet the man called Jesus, who listened to the Holy One’s language of love and allowed it to inform his life of service, compassion, and prophetic truth.  A man who by living out his own divinity showed us how to live out ours.  A man who, by choosing the road he chose showed us the way to go. And as we follow to the end of that road, like those women so long ago, we discover an empty tomb.  And like them, we are utterly amazed.  

This is our story, and it is beyond myth or history.  It is beyond fact or fiction.  It is the story that we feel in our bones, the story whispered to us as the sun rises earlier and sets later, warming the soil of our own being and calling it to new life.  And it is utterly amazing.

How did tonight’s readings speak to you?  What amazes you?  Please share your sacred thoughts.

A Statement of Faith 

Gayle Eagan: Please join in proclaiming our Statement of Faith.

We believe in one God, 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 God's Word,
bringer of God's healing, heart of God's compassion,
bright star in the firmament of God's
prophets, mystics, and saints.

We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of God's love,
a source of God's wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of God's peace in the world.

We believe that God's 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. Amen.

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

Dennis: As we prepare for this sacred meal we remember that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, our gratitude and our cares and concerns. 

We bring to the table….. 

Dennis:  We pray for these and all unspoken prayers and blessings. Amen.

Denise: Let us pray our Eucharistic prayer together.

(Easter Preface adapted from “i thank you god for this amazing,” a poem by e.e. cummings)

We thank you, God, for this most amazing day/ for the leaping, greenly spirits of trees/ for the true, blue dream of sky/ for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. We who were dead are alive again today/ and today is the sun's birth-day, the birth-day of wings/ in all of this wonder, how could we human merely beings/ lifted from the no of all nothing/ doubt unimaginable you? Now the ears of our ears awake/ now the eyes of our eyes are open/ awakened, quickened, alive, we join with all living creatures, and we sing:

Holy, Holy, Holy

(Words and music by Karen Druker)

https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI

Ellen: Holy One, what we can ever say about you is revealed in the harmony of nature all around us, and all right-relations. We have been taught that it can be found within us and among us, as well.

We give thanks for all your visionaries throughout our history, in so many traditions, who have enacted your peace in the fragile vessel of their humanity.

We are grateful for our brother Jesus, whose life forever shows us the truth of your love and our own capacity for love, to create with you a place of peace for everyone.

He lived what he taught, and in him, as in the emergence of your springtime, we understand that death has no final dominion. Through this recognition comes our own rebirth to freedom, courage, and encouraging love.

On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the Seder supper with his friends. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet, so that they would know how to remember him. 

Back again at the table, he lifted up the bread of freedom, spoke the grace, broke the bread, and offered it them, saying:  (All lift bread)

Take and eat; this is my very self. 

Then he lifted up the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered them the wine, saying: (All lift cup)

Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life in you.  Whenever you remember me like this I am among you.

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.

Receive the bread and cup in union with Christ alive in the universe.

Communion Meditation: 

Now the Green Blade Rises,by Stephanie Seefeldt

https://youtu.be/pYINjdHC2SQ

Denise:  God of creation, we thank you for our lives. You give us eyes to see the wondrous world around us as it rises in color, form, and life.  You give us ears to hear the singing of birds and the laughter of children.  You give us hearts to rejoice in this time of rebirth.

Denise: Let us pray together the prayer of Jesus 

Holy One, you are 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.  

Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter 

Ellen:  BLESSING

Great Love, you have brought to being an infinitely beautiful world.  Everywhere we turn there are new marvels, whether we look to the trees or the sun, to tiny snowflakes or inside cells, to the smiles, the tears, and the touches, or in the quiet of our own beings - You are there and it is amazing.   Please help us keep our hearts, eyes, and ears open to all the wonders you have gifted us and help us to work with you to continue to bring the world to new life, and share it with each other.  Amen

Closing Song:  

Arise, Three Altos

https://youtu.be/pYgJqEmbE38

Upper Room Inclusive Catholic Community - Good Friday Stations of the Cross for Our Times - Presiders: Rosemarie Smead, ARCWP, and Jim Marsh, ARCWP

Please join us between 5:00 and 5:25 pm via Zoom

Here is the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656

Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155

Introduction: Jim Marsh

Friends, we began our Lenten journey this year with a focus on “Living Well—listening with all our heart, soul, strength and mind.”

This past Sunday, we began a “Holy Week” marked by Christians around the globe: remembering the humble yet jubilant procession of the Galilean teacher Jesus into Jerusalem, where many in the throng of onlookers shouted “Hosanna!”

Yesterday, within the context of a meal we remembered the words “Love one another as I have loved you” in the ancient ritual of a household servant (read and imagine ‘one less than’) performing the intimate act of foot-washing.

This day, we remember Jesus being condemned to a violent death by both empire and religious authorities for daring to live God’s vision of kin-dom. The question we must ponder is: What does Good Friday and the Cross symbolize and mean when we have abandoned a theology of atonement and its necessity for Jesus’ death as a divine-given for forgiveness, salvation and redemption?

As disciples of Jesus, do we ask “where are you staying?” to which Jesus replies “Come and see.” (John 1:38) Let us enter into the journey as individuals and people of faith to experience the Christ-event yet again.

Jesus is condemned unjustly by those who were frightened of what he did and said. Perhaps they sensed that this man could make a difference, that he could turn their world upside down.

We continue to condemn people unjustly today. People are condemned because of the color of their skin, their gender, their beliefs, because they are born with a disability, because they don’t conform to our way of thinking; the list is endless.

There are also the people who have been justly condemned, who have been found guilty, served their sentence and asked for forgiveness. Does our society really forgive; really believe that people can change or do we continue to condemn them over and over again?

 

Sung Response: Were you there when Jesus was condemned? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, we pray for the grace to see, respect and love your image in all people, both innocent and guilty. May our hearts be transformed to see with new eyes those we so easily might otherwise condemn.

A cross is not simply a piece of wood. It is a symbol of everything that is difficult in life.

There are burdens that we all carry, some are very obvious and others we take great care to hide. There are the burdens of illness, pain and disability, of old age, dependence, and caring for someone who no longer knows who we are. There are the burdens of constant fear, of loneliness and of isolation.

Sung Response: Were you there when they laid the cross on him? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, may we feel your presence as we acknowledge and carry our burdens this day. May we be more aware of the crosses that other bear and help to ease and alleviate their burdens.

Jesus shows us that being heroic means getting up and starting again after falling.

She might be living on the streets or he may be slouched in a doorway on skid row. Do we look on with disdain or avert our eyes to “not see them?” Did we play a part in their falling down?

Sung Response: Were you there when he fell beneath the cross? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, may we embody compassion and recognize the dignity of each person we meet. May we have the courage and fortitude to eradicate the stumbling blocks to living joyfully as your sons and daughters.

Jesus knows the intimate bonds of connection to family.

Do we see Mary’s pain in the mothers and fathers who watch their children giving up their life to drugs, addictions and suicide; in the women and men who suffer violence and the ongoing threat of violence in their home from a spouse or a child?

Sung Response: Were you there when Mary met her son? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, may we have courageous hearts to bring love to our spouses, children and to all those places of fracture and disharmony in our relationships.

Simon of Cyrene, a stranger, lends his strength to one whose own had waned. Simon embodies a ministry of presence and accompaniment.

Across our world we see human suffering in the faces of strangers struggling in war zones, in the faces of those dealing with the loss of life and destruction of property due to destructive natural forces and the effects of climate change, in migrants and refugees seeking safe haven, in families who have lost loved ones, jobs and homes to the COVID pandemic.

Sung Response: Were you there when Simon came to help? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, may we grasp the opportunities to be Simon to our world with our giftedness and resources. May we also have the humility to accept the Simons along our road in our moments of need.

Veronica moves courageously from the crowd to offer comfort by wiping blood and sweat from the face of Jesus.

Today, the leaders of our Church have wounded and disfigured many by its own sins of abuse and power: children sexually abused, women’s gifts and talents dismissed outrightly, and the very dignity of gay, lesbian, transgendered and queer folk questioned and condemned.

Sung Response: Were you there when the woman wiped his face? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, may we bring healing to those who suffer so unjustly these sins against your own creation. May our loving and compassionate response reveal your Holy Face (ver - icon) to our world.

Stretched to the breaking point, Jesus stumbles again.

People all around us, overburdened by struggle fall again and again… those who have lost jobs, those who struggle to keep others in work, those who suffer because of failures in our health and justice systems.

Sung Response: Were you there when Jesus fell again? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, may we not lose hope. May your indwelling Spirit give us strength to bring justice to our world.

At seeing their distress, Jesus breaks his silence and speaks to them: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children.”

For whom do we weep? Do we weep for the women and children who are victims of abuse and sex-trafficking, for the young who cannot find a job or their way in life, for the people who starve every day in a world of abundance, for folks who are homeless, in exile seeking refuge, for the old ‘locked-down’ in nursing homes and forgotten …

Sung Response: Were you there when the women wept for him? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, may we challenge all that brings suffering to people in our world. May our response transform tears into dancing and lives overflowing with joy and gratitude.

Broken, exhausted physically and emotionally, Jesus gets up yet again to continue the journey. How? By what power?

Many in our world today feel that they are at a final falling, that their burden of addiction or mental illness is too much to carry. Feelings of isolation and aloneness become overwhelming—they cannot bear it any longer and suicide becomes the escape from hell.

Sung Response: Were you there when Jesus fell again? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, may we never forget your unconditional love for us even when we grow weary of life’s challenges. May we provide hope by embodying your love in word and action during times of depression and utter despair.

Jesus was stripped of his dignity before a crowd of onlookers.

We continue to strip people today of dignity, particularly anyone who is labeled as “less than.” At times, under the guise of truth and/or entertainment, media has sullied reputations while society devours each detail. What about the women, children and even men who are exploited as sex objects?

Sung Response: Were you there when they stripped him of his clothes? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, we seek forgiveness for ‘prying’ into another’s life, for being gossipers, and consumers of fake news that exploits. May we grow in our respect for the dignity of all our sisters and brothers, enabling them to reach their full potential. 

The hands that have wiped blindness from eyes, opened the ears of the deaf, cured lepers and blessed children are now nailed to a cross.

Jesus continues to be crucified in the ten children who die every minute of hunger in our world. He is crucified in all who are maimed, damaged and displaced because of war. He is crucified in all who are marginalized because of race, creed, sex, or gender-identity. He is crucified in those who are abused physically, emotionally, or sexually. He is crucified in those who are trafficked across the world. He is crucified in the exploitation of the earth’s resources and its plant and animal life.

Sung Response: Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, we pray for all victims of violence—both those who suffer it and those who inflict it. We pray for children, the elderly and the vulnerable whose voices are often unheard. We pray for those who are dying this very moment. May they always know that You are with them by our care and presence.

As his life ebbs away, Jesus speaks words of forgiveness: “Abba, forgive
them; they know not what they are doing.” This is the real challenge of the cross—to forgive even those who hurt us most.

There is much to seek forgiveness for in our world today. Each one of us praying these stations should take this opportunity to reflect on our own culpability—deeds of commission and deeds of omission. Let us also pray in silence for those who have hurt us.

Sung Response: Were you there when Jesus breathed his last? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, we thank you for your love which can’t be measured. May we respond to all we meet by acting justly and loving tenderly. In this way, we will break the silence, tear down walls, and sing of your praises with all creation.

Jesus’ body is cradled by his mother. Does Mary find consolation and meaning in his words: “This is my body, broken … this is my blood poured out …”

Mary’s grief is our grief too. She stands with all parents who’ve lost children to death: through accidents or acts of violence, by suicide, those who died suddenly or after long protracted illnesses. Mary grieves with all who sorrow for lost loved ones.

Sung Response: Were you there when Mary held her son? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, we pray that our losses will not lead us to despair, but give us a renewed sense of gratitude for the gift that each person represents. Help us to experience resurrection and life without end.

The few who stayed, quickly buried Jesus according to the customs. No doubt, they were exhausted and felt lost. They sealed the tomb and left.

How do we deal with the countless losses and deaths we personally experience each day? Do we linger in the darkness, overcome by grief?

Sung Response: Were you there when they laid him in the tomb? Were you there? Were you there?

Prayer: Holy One, we remember the parable “unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.” We pray for all those who have died and those who have no one to pray for them as death approaches. Give us “eyes of faith” to see that the darkness of womb and tomb offer the promise of new life.