Unlike Lake Wobegon, it hasn’t been a
quiet week in Baltimore. Businesses have been looted, buildings set on fire,
police and protesters alike hospitalized. Words of accusation have flown back
& forth all week. Our Democratic mayor was said to be slow in responding to
the crisis. Our Republican governor was accused of wanting only a swift & strong
show of force to maintain public safety. A 10:00 p.m. curfew was supposed to help calm
tensions – and looting – in the City. But that same curfew cost shop owners and
other businesses thousands of dollars in revenue, and we saw an economic
downturn in the City last week. It was excruciating to watch, at the same time
that it was impossible to keep our eyes averted from the 24-hour news cycle of
Baltimore Crumbling and in Flames.
And yet concurrent with all of this,
plenty of peace was breaking out in Baltimore as well. More than one hundred ministers
of City churches walked as one, praying for peace, and marching for justice. Local
gangs of Bloods, Crips, and the Black Guerilla Family came together in a united
effort to protect police and property. Fathers and mothers brought their
children – black, white, and yellow – to learn firsthand the civics lesson of
peaceful protest. A very small child was filmed holding a sign that read This is what democracy looks like. Yet
another was seen handing out bottles of water to police in riot gear. Very
early on Tuesday morning, after a long night of looting and fires and property destruction, hundreds of ordinary citizens
came from all over the City armed with shovels, garbage bags, and brooms to
clean up their neighborhoods and try to start over again.
So no, since the arrest of Freddie Gray
on April 12, and his subsequent death on April 19, Baltimore hasn’t been
anything like the fictional, placid Lake Wobegon. In reaction to his arrest and
death, the violent response has been
palpable and even surreal. Things calmed down a bit on Friday, May 1, when the
State’s Attorney officially charged the six officers who arrested and transported
Freddie Gray with charges ranging from misconduct in office to homicide. And
this Sunday evening, May 3, the curfew will be lifted. But what underlies what
happened in Baltimore is still very much just beneath the surface and ready to
erupt again if we continue to refuse to address it.. And when you think about
what that is, it couldn’t be easier to understand.
For all that Freddie Gray wanted was
to have his voice heard. He was arrested, he was a prisoner in transport (apparently
unlawfully), but still he had the right for his voice to be heard. He wanted an
inhaler. He wanted a medic. He wanted someone to hear and acknowledge his pain.
And what he got instead was to be handcuffed and shackled and thrown into the
back of a police van, face-down, unsecured, possibly incurring the severe
spinal cord injuries that cost him his life. And no one heard his voice.
Freddie Gray just wanted to be heard.
The population of disenfranchised youth in Baltimore just wants to be heard.
People living in poverty, with minimal resources for housing, education and
income just want to be heard. Bottom-line that’s what all the violence in
Baltimore has been about this past week. For too many years, too many people
have not heard the cries of the poor. Oh, we’ve set up food banks and feeding
programs, and shelters and clothing drives and Code Blues in the winter when
the temperatures drop below 13 degrees and homeless people might literally
freeze on our streets. But the prophetic call for a full revamping of our society's
sinful structures – including our criminal justice system -- has not been
heard. This week has reminded me of many of the prophetic books in the Hebrew
scriptures – Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah
– but most of all Amos, wherein Yahweh
says,
They
have sold the upright for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals.
They have crushed the heads of the weak into the dust,
and thrust the rights of the oppressed to one side.
(Amos 2:6-7)
and the poor for a pair of sandals.
They have crushed the heads of the weak into the dust,
and thrust the rights of the oppressed to one side.
(Amos 2:6-7)
It’s been scary to be in Baltimore
this week. It’s been alternately depressing and uplifting. It’s been shameful,
knowing that our institutions, our culture, our very way of being have, indeed,
thrust the rights of the oppressed to one side. But it’s also been – and remains
– hopeful. People seem more willing to come together. People seem more willing
to hear voices other than their own. People seem more willing to consider the
common good. People seem to want to work, and pray, and play and live together
in peace. People seem saturated with the Holy Spirit. As St. Ignatius might
remind us, God’s in the midst of it all, and that is cause for joy.
All are welcome at this Eucharist
that celebrates Christian discipleship;
where we gather as a
community of equals,
and
we share the dream of a world
where all our brothers and sisters live in peace.
Liturgy of the Great Commission for Peacemaking
Trinity Sunday
Living Water Inclusive Catholic Community
THE ORDER OF MASS FOR TRINITY SUNDAY
(parts excerpted and edited from Liturgies for Peace, PCUSA;
(parts excerpted and edited from Liturgies for Peace, PCUSA;
All Desires Known, Janet Morley;
Prayer in America, American PBS)
Brief Announcements
Procession & Opening Song
Introductory Rites
Presider: Let us begin in the name of the God who has created us, who
loves and empowers us, and who sends us forth each day to bring Divine Love
into our world.
All:
Amen.
Presider: May
our God be with you.
All:
And also with you.
Presider: As we prepare to celebrate the
mystery of Christ’s love, let us acknowledge that there are times when we fall
short, and ask our God for pardon and peace.
Deacon or Presider: God
of our journeys, you beckon us to follow, but sometimes we turn away in fear.
God, have mercy.
All: God, have mercy.
Deacon or Presider: God dwelling among us, you tell us that we
are to see your face in every sister or brother we meet, but sometimes we
refuse to look. Christ, have mercy.
All:
Christ, have mercy.
Deacon or Presider: God of infinite patience, again and again
you show us that you walk our road with us; yet we fail to trust in your
abiding presence. God have mercy.
All:
God, have mercy.
Presider: Good and gracious God, we long
to be a people who walk in your ways. Inspire us with a faith that does not
count the cost. Forgive us our weakness
and our fears, and give us the courage to be peacemakers.
All:
Amen.
Glory to God
Presider: Let us
offer words of love and praise to our God.
All:
Glory be to God who is all in all,
and on earth peace, peace among
those of good will.
We praise you, we bless you, we
worship you, we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great
glory,
holy God, tender God, God our
beloved creator.
Christ our desire, fullest
embodiment of God,
bone of our bone and flesh of our
flesh,
foolishness of God, still greater
than human wisdom;
poverty of God, still stronger than
human pride;
emptiness of God, still full of our
redemption;
you take away the brokenness of the
world, have mercy on us.
Beloved One, You are seated at the
right hand of God, receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are our desire.
You alone, O Christ,
filled with the Holy Comforter of
fire
are radiant with the grace and glory
of our Mother-Father God.
Amen.
Opening Prayer
Presider: Eternal
God, Consuming Fire, who every day gives us the gift of your Holy Spirit, fill
us with longing to speak your word to a
broken and wounded world, that we may lead others to the warmth of your light.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Anointed One.
All:
Amen.
First Reading
Lector: The
Word of God
All: Thanks be to God.
Psalm
All:
Sing or recite Responsorial Verse
with Lector.
Second Reading
Lector: The
Word of God
All:
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
Gospeler: Alleluia
(sung) or Alleluia!
Gospel Reading
Gospeler: Our
God be with you.
All:
And also with you.
Gospeler: A
reading from the holy gospel of …
All:
Glory to you, O God.
(Conclude
Gospel reading as follows.)
Gospeler: The
holy gospel of Jesus, the Anointed One
All:
Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
Homily
Profession of Faith
Presider: Let us
join together in our profession of faith, hope, and love.
All:
O God, the source of our being
and the goal of all our longing,
we
believe and trust in you.
The whole earth is alive with your
glory,
and all that has life is sustained
by you.
We
commit ourselves to cherish your world and to seek your face.
O
God, embodied in the human life of Jesus,
we
believe and trust in you.
Jesus our brother, born of the woman
Mary ,
you confronted the proud and the
powerful,
and you welcomed as your friends
those of no account.
Holy One of God, you emptied
yourself of power
and became foolishness for our sake.
You labor with us on our crosses,
and you bring to us the hope of
resurrection
from all that threatens to tear our
world apart.
We
commit ourselves to struggle against evil and to choose life.
O
God, life-giving Spirit,
Spirit
of healing and comfort, of integrity and truth,
we
believe and trust in you.
Warm wing-ed Spirit, brooding over
all creation,
rushing wind and Pentecostal fire,
we
commit ourselves to work with you to renew our world as an abode of peace for
all.
Amen.
Prayer of the People
Reader
Presider (conclusion of the prayer): Loving
God, we offer you the prayers we have spoken aloud, and those that remain deep
in our hearts, and ask them in the name of Jesus, our brother and your Anointed
One.
All:
Amen.
Song for the Preparation of the
Gifts
(If
a collection is being taken, baskets will be passed at this time.)
Preparation of the Altar
Offertory Procession
(Those
who bring up the bread and wine offer them to the Presider & Deacon. Then
all walk around to stand behind the altar. The Presider prays the first prayer,
commingling wine and water, then offers the bread & wine to ministers to
her/his left and right, who pray over the gifts.)
Offertory Prayers
Presider: (pouring water into the
cup): By the mingling of this water and wine, may we come to share in the
divinity of Christ, as Christ has come to share in our humanity.
Presider or Bread Minister: Blessed
are you, God of all creation, through your goodness we have this bread to offer
which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.
All:
Blessed be God forever.
Presider or Wine Minister: Blessed
are you, God of all creation. Through
your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human
hands. It will become our spiritual
drink.
All:
Blessed be God forever.
Presider: Sisters
and brothers, let us pray together that these our gifts may be acceptable to
God our Creator.
All:
May God accept these gifts from our hands, for the praise and glory of
God’s name, for our good and the good of all the church.
Presider: (Prayer inspired by St. Hildegard of Bingen, 12th century) Everlasting God, you sent to us your Holy
Spirit, root of all being, absolver of all faults, balm of all wounds. Infuse
our hearts with your unquenchable fire, that we may be filled with passion for
your gospel. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Christ.
All:
Amen.
(Bread
and Wine Ministers remain at the altar.)
Eucharistic Prayer (Please stand for the Eucharistic Prayer, and remain standing until
after Communion has been received.)
Presider: May
our God be with you.
All:
And also with you.
Presider: Lift
up your hearts.
All:
We lift them up to our God.
Presider: Let us
give thanks to our loving God.
All:
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Presider: We gather today with grateful hearts to remember the abundance you
promise us, O God, and we thank you for the feast of bread and wine that is before us. We remember
too that each of us, like the many grains of buckwheat in this bread, once
scattered in the field, have been brought together around this table by our
common passion for peace. Like this bread, the God of Life has kneaded us with
loving hands, making us strong in our desire for justice.
Bread Minister: God breaks open and creates a space for peace whenever we speak truth
to power.
Wine Minister: God breaks apart and makes room for new growth when we witness against
oppression and suffering.
Bread Minister: God breaks through and wraps us in loving arms when we remember we are
God’s Beloved.
Wine Minister: God breaks in, through walls of hatred, fear and despair, when we
proclaim the vision for which Jesus gave his life.
Presider: As we
prepare to break this bread, we remember the body of Jesus, broken for a vision
that he would not betray.
As
we prepare to share this cup, we remember the blood of Jesus, poured out upon
the seeds of nonviolence which he sowed with courage, tenderness and eternal love.
As
we prepare to eat this bread and drink this cup, we remember the brokenness of
our world, our nation, our city; we pray that as peacemakers we might be agents
of healing ; and we join in an unending hymn to the praise of your love, your
compassion, your wisdom and your mercy.
All:
Holy, holy, holy God, Spirit of Love and Peace. Heaven and earth are filled with your
glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the One who comes in the name of
our God. Hosanna in the highest.
Presider: How
wonderful the work of your hands, O God! All creation rightly gives you praise.
All life, all holiness, all blessing and encouragement come from you, through
Jesus, your Anointed One, and the working of the Holy Spirit. From age to age,
you gather a people to yourself so that, from east to west, from north to
south, from all races, all genders, and all walks of life, a perfect offering
may be made to the glory of your name.
Epiclesis
Presider: And
so, Abba, we bring you these gifts. Loving God, let your Holy Spirit move in
power over us and over our earthly gifts of bread and wine, that they may
become for us, and we, for all the world, + the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
Words of Institution
All:
On the night before he met with death, Jesus came to table with the
women and men he loved. He took bread and praised you, God of all
creation. He blessed and broke the
bread, and gave it to his disciples saying:
Take this, all of you, and eat it: This
is my body which will be given up for you.
All:
When supper was ended, he poured a final cup of wine, and blessed you,
God of all creation. He passed the cup among his disciples and said: Take this, all of you, and drink from
it. This is the cup of my blood, the
blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.
Deacon or Presider: Let us
proclaim the mystery of faith.
All:
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Presider: (adapted
from the St. Hilda Community) Come
now, Spirit of integrity, of tenderness and judgment: touch our speechlessness,
kindle our longing, reach into our silence, and fire our words with your truth;
that each may hear proclaimed in his or her own language the mighty works of
God.
Let
your Spirit also come upon our leaders, both religious and political, so that
they might act without fear. Move our minds and our hearts also, that we too
might act without fear. May we, together with our leaders, become peacemakers –
to transform your church and to protect your world.
Strengthen
and console all who are suffering in any way. Bless all those who have gone
before us in faith, and bring them into the everlasting joy and peace of your
presence.
We
ask that you gather together women, men and children of every race, language,
religion and way of life to share in your one, eternal banquet. Then, in your
presence, we shall give you glory, with all creation and with Jesus, through
whom your goodness flows.
(Bread
and Wine Ministers elevate the bread and wine.)
Doxology
All: For it is through Christ,
with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, that all glory and
honor are yours, All-Loving God, forever and ever.
Prayer of Jesus
Presider: Let us
pray together to our Loving God as Jesus taught us:
All: Our father/mother in
heaven
Hallowed
be your name
Your
kin-dom come
Your
will be done
On
earth as it is in heaven.
Give
us this day our daily bread
And
forgive us our trespasses
As
we forgive those who trespass against us
And
lead us not into temptation
But
deliver us from all evil.
For
yours is the kin-dom, and the power and the glory
Forever
and ever. Amen.
Deacon or Presider: The
peace of God be with you all.
All:
And also with you.
Deacon or Presider: As we
share our joy, let us take one another’s hands and remind our neighbors that
today we are commissioned to live as peacemakers.
(Bread
and Wine Ministers share the Sign of Peace, then be seated.)
Presider: This
is the Lamb of God, who promises that swords will be beaten into plowshares,
and spears molded into pruning hooks.
Jesus is the peacemaker who takes away the brokenness of our world. How blessed are we who are called to this
table.
All:
Jesus, you make me worthy to receive you. By your word, I am healed.
Presider: This
is the welcoming table of Jesus Christ. All are invited and welcome to
participate in this meal.
Sharing of Communion & Communion
Song
Post-Communion Meditation Song (optional)
Closing Prayer
Presider: O God, we believe that peacemaking means planting seeds, though we may
never see the flowers or taste the fruit.
May we work unceasingly toward that world you have promised us, where
kindness and faithfulness shall be one, and where justice and peace may kiss. We
ask this in the holy name of Jesus, your anointed one and our brother.
Announcements
Final Blessing
Presider: Our God be with you.
All: And also with
you.
Deacon or Presider: Let us raise our heads and pray that God’s
blessing be with us.
Presider: With God’s grace, may we become
at all times, now and forever,
a
protector for those without protection
All:
Amen.
Presider: a
guide for those who have lost their way
All:
Amen.
Presider: a ship for those with oceans to
cross
All:
Amen.
Presider: a bridge for those with rivers to cross
All: Amen.
Presider: a safe haven for those in danger
All: Amen
Presider: a lamp for those without light
All: Amen
Presider: a sanctuary of peace for those in the midst of violence
All: Amen
All: Amen
Presider: And
may our loving and compassionate God bless us all, the God Who made us for
love, Who saved us by love, and Who loves us still.
All:
Amen.
Deacon or Presider: This
Mass is ended. Go in the peace of Christ to carry out his commission to preach the Gospel of peace to all the
world.
All: Thanks be to God.
Closing Song & Procession
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