n her new novel, The Book of Longings,Sue Monk Kidd imagines a marriage between Jesus of Nazareth and a gifted young woman named Ana. As Ana navigates the patriarchal and misogynist culture of the Biblical era, Ms. Kidd crafts a portrait of Jesus as a person, a delightful one at that, looking past his standing as a holy icon...
There have been those who have asserted historical evidence that proves Jesus was married. But in this gem of a novel, we are treated to a novelist’s fascinating and ambitious take on what it might have meant if Jesus had, in fact, been happily married...and how that might have changed the course of history for the political and religious rights of women.
Sue Monk Kidd joins us on the phone from her home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
[The author invites readers to join her virtual book club during May for communal readings and discussions of The Book of Longings.]
6th Sunday of Easter - Afire with Divine Presence May 17, 2020
Welcome and Theme: Today we will take some time to consider the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, which we celebrate in a few weeks. This Sunday the gospel is part of the farewell discourse of Jesus. Jesus begins to prepare his disciples for how to cope with his impending absence from their presence. He reassures his disciples that he will not leave them orphans. He will send the Paraclete, the helper, to comfort and ultimately challenge them. This same Holy Spirit flows in, around and through us today. What a hopeful message during these troubling times.
Opening Prayer:
We sit in the presence of the Holy Spirit who connects us to the Divine and to each other. May we use this time to hear with the ears of our hearts to what we are being called to be, believe, and do. We trust that the web of connection to the Holy One and to each other is not vulnerable to physical distance but exists as a unity, a Oneness, of spirit as the family of the Body of Christ. Amen
Moment of Sending Peace to ourselves, one another, the world.
Opening Song: Song: I Will Not Leave You Comfortless
First Reading: The Breath of God is the Holy Spirit by Sr. Joan Chittister
"The Breath of God I believe is the Holy Spirit,
the breath of God on earth,
who keeps the Christ vision
present to souls yet in darkness,
gives life even to hearts now blind.
Infuses energy into spirits
yet weary, isolated, searching and confused.
The spirit has spoken to the human heart
through the prophets and gives new meaning
to the Word throughout time."
"Hildegard of Bingen, caught up in the Holy Spirit, wrote, “I am a feather on the breath of God.” Conscious of the breath of God within us and around us, we can with confidence set out on the road to God knowing that it may be rocky but that it is at the same time well lit, brightly marked, wholly traversable because the Holy Spirit makes the path with us. We have not been left alone. Under the impulse of the Spirit, we are guided and safe. The Descent of the Holy Spirit is the call to be abandoned to the will of God. It is a call to risk the consequences of God’s love, here and now."
These are the inspired words of Sr. Joan Chittister, and the community affirms them. Amen.
A reading from the Gospel of John
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.
These are inspired words from the Gospel of John, and the community affirms them. Amen.
Shared Homily
I wonder if we, if I, live a life that truly reflects a belief in the real presence of Sophia, Holy Spirit Wisdom. Preparing for this liturgy created space for me to spend a lot of time pondering this question. Do I believe that the Holy Spirit is a real thing or do I treat it as a theological concept or literary device? This would reduce it to a concept that “explains” the mystery of the Divine and the devastating absence of the human Jesus by creating an image of an entity that is still divine and still available and at work.
Let’s recall the context of the Gospel of John. It was written approximately 90-100 CE. That means it was written 20-30 years after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. Those who knew Jesus on earth were most certainly dead. Those Jews who continued to believe in Jesus as Messiah had been ousted from the Jewish community and both Jewish and Gentile Christians were experiencing severe persecution. John is the writer who begins to really expand our vision of Jesus as eternal. The first lines of John read, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. John wants the community to understand that the Word who is Jesus the Christ, has existed throughout time and is one with the Creator. Through the Holy Spirit we too would be one with the Creator God and the Redeemer Brother Jesus. It is a statement of Oneness with divinity and humanity for all.
In our gospel today we see the pivot from past to the future. Jesus knew his time was limited and that when he was gone, the disciples could be lost and confused. Remember, the Messiah was not supposed to die, he was supposed to restore Israel. The hope of a speedy return of Jesus became more elusive. And, so John gives us this farewell discourse. It is a message cast on the lips of Jesus that reassures with the message “I won’t be here but another aspect of divinity will be here, the Holy Spirit”. This Paraclete (companion, advocate, comforter) will be celebrated on Pentecost in two weeks. Let’s remember that these early Christians were not having an easy time of it at all. John needed to reassure them that God did not leave them comfortless.
Really the Paraclete makes sense. How the heck else could anyone convince anyone that voluntary suffering in the name of a failed Messiah was worth it? Stephen, Peter, Paul and countless other men, women and children suffered and died for this cause. In first century Palestine there was a Messiah on every corner. They could have just jumped ship to another easier leader. I would suggest that the fact that Christianity is here feeding our souls’ hunger for God today is evidence that the Holy Spirit is not merely a concept. It is a real, although mysterious thing. It connects all creation. It also compels some to do very unpleasant things like risk unpopular positions and uncomfortable life choices. Still, for 2000 years, followers of Jesus have turned to the comfort of the presence of the Spirit for wisdom, courage, inspiration, clarity and connection to other believers.
In our first reading, Sr. Joan Chittister encourages us to recognize the role of the spirit in life today. The spirit provides light and help in a world with personal and communal darkness that is not much different than the world John lived in. Just like 1st century Palestinians we face war, famine, pandemics, poverty, isolation and confusion. We strive to be a people of love, reconciliation and compassionate justice. I cannot imagine that we could possibly do this alone, we need the fuel of divinity which is spirit in around and among us.
Every mystic, every saint, every believer for 2000 years has tapped into the same divine spirit that existed before Jesus and which exists after him. Hildegard of Bingen called herself a feather on the breath of God. Through the eyes of faith the breath of God is everywhere. It is the first breath of a newborn baby, the breeze through the trees, the last breath of a dying Covid-19 patient , the stardust air we breathe, the creative energy bursting forth in Springs’ renewal of life on earth, It is everywhere and always.
The commandment to love God and others as ourselves is the path to living in spirit-filled consciousness. If this is true, if spirit is real and if we believe it, it should show in how we live. Like the early Christians, we maintain our connection to one another during these particular challenging times. Like the early Christians who were suffering terribly, people would want what we have because they would marvel at our hope and joy, our caring for one another and for our world. I believe in the holy spirit because there is no other explanation for this love we feel, this hope we feel and the comforting joy of awareness of God in prayer and in time with each other.
What did you hear in our reading?
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: As we prepare for our sacred meals, we recognize that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. And we bring blessings, cares and concerns.
We pray for these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.
Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together: (Portions from Diarmuid O’Murchu and from ARWCP worship resources)
All: O Holy One, you are always with us. In the blessed abundance of creation, we gather to celebrate Your nourishing gift of life. May our hearts be open to You as You invite us to participate in the wise and wonderful work of co-creation.
May we be ever aware of Your Spirit within and among us as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty into the fullness of life.
We are grateful for Your Spirit whose breath inspired the primal waters, calling into being the variety and abundance we see around us. Your Spirit sustains and animates our every endeavor, inviting us to act in wisdom and in truth.
In gratitude and joy we embrace our calling and we lift our voices to proclaim a song of praise:
All: As a community, we gather in the power of your Spirit, refreshing wind, purifying fire and living breath, for the variety and diversity of life. We seek to live as Jesus taught us, wise and holy as Spirit-filled people, courageous and prophetic, ever obedient to your call.
Presider: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: We invoke Your Spirit upon the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape, that they may become gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
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.
All lift their plate as the community prays the following:
When he returned to his place, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and offered it to them saying:
Take this bread and eat it;
This is my very self.
(consume bread and pause)
All lift their cup as community prays the following:
Jesus then raised a cup of blessing, spoke the grace and offered the wine 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.
(drink and pause)
All: In union with all peoples living and dead, we unite our thoughts and prayers, asking wisdom and courage to discern more wisely your call to us in the circumstances of our daily lives: to act justly and courageously in confronting the pain and suffering that desecrates the Earth and its peoples; to take risks in being creative and proactive on behalf of the poor and marginalized; and to love all people with generosity of heart, beyond the labels of race, creed and color.
Holy One, your transforming energy is always moving within us and working through us. Like Jesus, we will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and we will live compassionate lives,
for it is through living as Jesus lived,
That we awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to glorify you,
O Holy One,
At this time and all ways.
Amen.
Presider: Let us pray the prayer Jesus:
All: 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 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 (Miriam Therese Winter)
Communion Meditation: prayed in unity of spirit by 300 people in 15 countries
Closing Sung Prayer: We pray this song today in honor of Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP. She recently underwent surgery for a serious health crisis. Two days before the surgery, she stood in front of the hospital and danced, danced, danced. She lives in the confidence and joy of the Spirit. This song is prayed in honor of her endless joy and faith that the Spirit is always with her. May we share in this joy and confidence. If we lived like we believe this, how could we keep from dancing?
Theme: “….and they received the Holy Spirit. (Today’s First Reading)
“But you can recognize the Spirit because the Spirit remains with you and will be within you.” (Today’s Gospel)
WELCOME
Presider 1: Welcome to the inclusive catholic community of Mary, Mother of Jesus in Sarasota, Florida where all are welcome. Because of the pandemic, we are unable to gather in St. Andrew UCC Church where we have met for many years. As usual, God has brought good out of what seems bad, and has given us the gift of being able to go beyond the boundaries of space and time to include friends and family from North and South America and sometimes Europe – something we would love to have done before, but couldn’t imagine how!
With this new technology we are learning new ways to experience liturgy. These include being able to hear certain voices while keeping our personal computers on “mute.” At certain times we like to hear from our community and will invite sharing. If you feel drawn to share, you must unmute your microphone, speak, and re-mute yourself.
Finally – when the liturgy is finished – the IT person will unmute everyone, giving us a chance to say “hi” to each other. As for our longstanding custom of sharing dinner after the liturgy, we now do that in our separate homes using FaceTime or Zoom. Maybe you would like to try that!
Even though your microphone is muted, wherever you are, please respond where the liturgy is marked “All,” and feel free to sing your heart out! Our opening song is:
OPENING SONG “Welcome Holy Spirit” with lyrics - 2 verses (Chocolate Timun)
Presider 2: After reflecting for a moment, please raise your hand in blessing and say the “Ho’oponopono Prayer.”
All: I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.
OPENING PRAYER
Presider 1: Eternal God, you are here and now, experiencing human life through us. There is nothing we go through that is foreign to you. We know that death is a terrible struggle for our loved ones suffering with the Corona virus. Silent Companion, let them know that you, too, have experienced the terrors of such a death, and that you are close to them. Tender Jesus, let this suffering remind us to love as you love, be compassionate as you are compassionate, and be your face and your gentle touch where you are needed. Good Teacher, have mercy on us and help us to learn what we can from this. For all that we ask, we count on your Spirit who is always with us to be our Teacher and our Light.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST READING: (Mary Al) Acts 8:5-8,14-17
The first reading is from the Acts of the Apostles.
Philip went down to the town of Samaria and there proclaimed the Messiah to them. Without exception, the crowds paid close attention to Philip, listening to his message and taking note of the miracles he performed. Many people were freed from unclean spirits, which came out shrieking loudly. Many people who could not move or could not walk were cured. The rejoicing in the town rose to a fever pitch.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down to these people and prayed that they might receive the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet come down upon any of them, since they had only been baptized in the name of Jesus. Upon arriving, the pair laid hands on the Samaritans and they received the Holy Spirit.
This a reading from the Acts of the Apostles and we affirm them by saying “Amen”.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM 66: (Mary Al)
This is a partial rendition of Psalm 66 by Nan Merrill.
Sing a joyful song to the Beloved all the earth, and praise Love’s name;
Sing in glorious exultation!
We say to You, “How magnificent are your ways:
So great is your power that fear and doubt vanish before You;
You are our Teacher for all ages:
We, who choose to listen and learn, sing songs of gratitude and joy.”
You Have allowed us to fall into the net:
You have watched us reap all that we have sown;
We went through fire and through water,
yet you have brought us through our pain and into your dwelling place.
I enter your Heart surrendered to Love.
I commend my soul into your keeping;
All that my lips uttered, all that my mouth promised
when I was in trouble and pain,
I offer up to You.
Blessed be the holy Name of the Beloved,
Loving Companion Presence, who embraced me, and renewed my life.
SECOND READING: (Katy)
This is a reading of a chapter “Human Like Us” from the book ”Prayers for Progressive Christians” by Michael Morwood.
Being fully human is more than enough.
Jesus could not have predicted that in the centuries after his death, he would come to be seen as “consubstantial” with God. As a faithful Jewish prophet he would have considered the idea misguided and a grave misunderstanding of his message. There was no need whatever to elevate his status; for him, being fully human was more than enough!
Driven by a deep conviction that he – and every human person – was imbued with the “Spirit of God”. His dream was that other people would see what he saw, and experience in the depths of his own humanity. He wanted them to feel and know the presence of their God within them as he did. He believed that this would change their understanding of themselves and their GOD, and would encourage them to take on the responsibility of creating “God’s kin-dom’ on earth.
These words are from the book by Michael Morwood and we affirm by saying “Amen”
Homilist: If you feel called to share, unmute yourself, raise your hand and wait to be asked to speak. Mute yourself again after speaking
STATEMENT OF FAITH (Taken from “The Friends in Faith” and shared by Joan Meehan)
All: Gathered together as people of faith, we profess our belief in God who is larger than we can name, unable to be contained, yet present in each one of us. We have come to know this God in the living of our lives. And in the holiness of the earth we share.
We believe in a God revealed in all peoples, all genders, religions, and orientations. We embrace a compassionate God, who champions justice and mercy, and is always faithful when we call. Our God gives and forgives, patiently loving without conditions.
We gratefully believe in a God who feels our deepest struggle, and celebrates our deepest joys. A God who both dances with us in celebration, and holds us when we cry. This God is not the “other” to us, but shares our breath in every moment and promises we are never alone.
We believe in a God who believes in us – believes that we are precious and incredible gifts, worthy to claim image and likeness to the divine. We hold fast to our God who journeys with us, who continually calls us to choose the shape of our days through the choices we make. This God accepts us as we are and shares each hope we have for becoming. This is the God in whom we believe, our Creator, our Mother and Father, who became human in Jesus, our brother. Our God is the Spirit of Life, the voice that continues to speak love, and asks us to answer. In this God we choose to believe. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE COMMUNITY
Presider 2: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Creator God, we look with you at the various life forms that exist on this beautiful Earth, and ask you to open the eyes and hearts of humans to the destruction we seem unable to prevent ourselves from causing.
All: Holy One, hear our prayer.
We see with you our overworked and stressed friends and neighbors who care for the sick and who keep our civilization running. Stand beside them, strengthen them, and work through them.
All: Holy One, hear our prayer.
For what else shall we pray?
Unmute your microphone Speak your concern when there is an opening
Re-mute your microphone
We pray for these and all unspoken concerns that we hold in our hearts.
Presider 1: Blessed are you, God of all life. Through your goodness we have bread, wine, all creation, these prayers of the heart, and our own lives to offer. Through this sacred meal may we become your new creation as we respond to your call to use our gifts in loving service to our sisters and brothers.
All: Blessed be God forever.
Presider 1: God is within you, blessing the world through you.
All: And within you.
Presider 1: O Holy One, we lift up our hearts to You, You who gently invite us to enter into a deeper relationship with you that will affect how we live our lives and make decisions. This transformation seems to come through difficulties and pain, yet you are there with us always. Come Holy Spirit, be with us and with all who have gone before us, as we lift up our hearts in praise and sing:
All: We are holy, holy, holy (Karen Drucker) – Mary Theresa’s adaptation
Presider 2: Our Holiness is your Holiness within us. Help us to seize opportunities to reveal it to the world.
All: You pour out Your Spirit anew upon this bread and wine and upon us as we become more deeply the Christ Presence in our world. On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the Seder supper with the men and women he loved. He washed their feet. For this they would remember him.
Presider 2 : Please lift the bread as we pray the Prayers of Consecration:
All: When he returned to his place, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat of the Bread of Life, my body, given to strengthen you. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you. (pause)
Presider 2: Please lift the cup as we pray:
All: 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)
Presider 1: Let us share this bread and cup, and welcome everyone to the Banquet as we live the gospel of justice and peace in our world.
ALL: We are called to do everything Jesus did, to be the living presence of a love that does justice, of a compassion that heals and liberates, of a joy that generates laughter, of a light that illumines right choices and confronts the darkness of every injustice and inequity.
All: We trust you to continue to share with us your own Spirit, the Spirit that filled Jesus, for it is through his life and teaching, his loving and healing that all honor and glory is yours, O Holy One, forever and ever.
Sign of Peace: Presider 2: If you are with others now, please turn to them and give them a sign of peace. Then let us all face the screen and express a sign of peace to one another. “May God’s peace be with you”,
Prayer for the Breaking of the Bread
Presider 1: Please join in the prayer for the breaking of the bread.
All: O God of Courage, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We will live justly. O God of Compassion, You call us to be your presence in the world. We will love tenderly. O God of Truth, You call us to speak truth to power. We will walk with integrity in your presence.
(All hold up the bread and wine.)
Presider 2 This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Through it we are nourished and we nourish each other .
All: Through him, we have learned how to live. Though him, we have learned how to love. Through him, we have learned how to serve. AMEN.
Presider 1: Please now receive Communion with the words “ I am (You are) the Body of Christ” and “I am (You are) the Blood of Christ”
Blessing
Presider 2: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
All: May you be blessed with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships.
May you seek truth boldly and love deeply within your heart.
May you continue to be the face of the Holy One to all you meet.
May your name be a blessing in our time.
Prayers of Thanksgiving, Announcements:
Closing Prayer:
Presider: 1 Usually we close our liturgy with a prayer reminding God once more of our needs and concerns. But if we truly believe what we have read and spoken today, we will instead squarely face the God within ourselves. Our prayer must then become a question: “How, God, can I reveal your living presence in the here and now?”
Closing Song: Blessing to the World – Karen Druker
