Theme: Actions
speak louder than words
 |
| Kathryn Shea ARCWP and Lee Breyer Co-Preside |
Welcome and Opening Expression
Presider: Welcome everyone. Once again. Today we start a new liturgical year and do
so, appropriately, with a preparation of the celebration of the Divine Presence
taking on, in the Incarnation, the humanity that was our gift on this earth
decades ago. And in the start of that period, Advent, we come together here in
this sacred sanctuary space aware that we, like Jesus, are also – in our own unique
and personal ways - expressions of the Divine Presence on this planet. We
understand that we are all companions on our journeys together, supported by
the spirit of the Divine Presence and the teachings and example of Jesus.
Let us take a minute or two
to collect ourselves together in mind, heart and spirit to recognize and
acknowledge our sacred commonality.
The
Advent Prayer and Blessing and Lighting of the Center Candle
Advent Candle Prayer and Lighting (Jay
Murnane -- see attached page)
Opening Song: Sing Out Earth and Skies
vs 1,3 and 5
Gathering/Opening Prayer
Presider:
Nurturing God, in your goodness, you blessed all of creation…made all of it
sacred in your everlasting care. We are
grateful that you graced our planet Earth
with your presence in the Incarnate Jesus
of Nazareth. We believe that you, through him, are a
part of our very being and that we share our existence in him.
All: He was, through his life, his teachings and
example, committed to show us how to live as fully as you would have us do
so. Through him, you had the experiences
of joy and sorrow, success and failure, effort and exhaustion, and all the
things that we encounter in our lives – and the very things that we ask you for
your support and strength through your Spirit. What we ask of you now, Loving
God, is to bless all of us gathered here today and those of our community who
are not with us now. Open all of our
hearts, however scattered we may be, to the message of the gospel of Jesus now
and always. It is our aspiration to be always more like him. Amen.
Penitential
Rite and Community Forgiveness
(We will pause briefly to reflect on our ever-growing
ability to show more understanding and love with others and with creation.)
Presider: Creator God, to
you all hearts are open, no desires are unknown, and no secrets are
hidden.
All: We ask your help to better understand Sophia’s
message to each one of us so that we can be truly faithful to it and then
spread her graceful concern and care among all your people - wherever we meet
them.
Presider: Jesus, grant us
the courage we will need to spread your example of universal love.
All: Help us to grow in our understanding, confidence
and strength in living and sharing your messages that bring peace to each one
of us here and to everyone in the world.
Presider: Loving God, pour
out your healing mercy on us here, and especially on those who are in so many
difficult settings in so many dangerous places where forgiveness and compassion
are so badly needed.
All: We ask for your love and understanding of the
frailties of our human nature. Grant us
that - despite our weaknesses - we may develop the ability to extend the
forgiveness that you have shown to us with all those with whom we come in
contact.
All: (with an extended arm) God, the Father and Mother of mercy,
through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, he certainly bonded the world and
all creation to you. He sent the Spirit
among us to give us the strength and compassion to love one another as She does
with us. Loving God, teach us the
virtues of pardon and peace so that we may - in turn - learn to forgive each
other for our failures to care for one another and for our planet Earth. We ask this of you, our healer and
comforter. Amen.
Glory
to God
Presider: Let us give glory
in song to our loving Holy One.
(Sung) Glory to God,
Glory, O praise God, alleluia. Glory to
God, glory, O praise the name of our God.
(3x)
Liturgy
of the Word
First
Reading: Jeremiah 33: 14-16 All: Amen; thanks be to God.
Psalm
25. Responsorial: To you, O God, I lift up my soul.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:1 All: Amen; thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia (Celtic version)
Gospel: 1 John 2: 1-9, 4: 20-21 and John 13:34 All: Amen; thanks be to God.
Shared
Homily/Community Reflections and Responses
Homily
starter: Actions speak louder than words.
Love
God. Love your neighbor. These are teachings that were not at all new
to the Jews in Jesus’ time. They were
both recorded in the Old Testament in the books of Deuteronomy and
Leviticus. What, according to
commentators was new was that, in Jesus’ time, these two commonly known
precepts were connected with an “and” -- and the pair was used as a criterion
for truly “knowing and following” God.
Love God.
We all proclaim to loving God and our acts of worship (such as the
liturgy here), among other things demonstrate our words.
Love my neighbor…okay, “let’s see.” I am loving, kind, and considerate to my neighbors.
most of them anyway…and try to act that way with them. Some of them I don’t know much about; but they
seem to be “good folks” and I’d be helpful to them if I could be. Who is my neighbor? Oh, I remember the story of the Good Samaritan
in Luke’s gospel. So I don’t even have
to know them to show them a loving act.
Love my enemies, pray for them even if they curse
me. Whoa…I know Mark’s Jesus tells me
that in the Sermon on the Mount says that I should love them as much as God
loves me…so, if asked, I’d probably say that I could love them. I’d have to forgive them first, and then see
what I might be willing and able to do.
So, as
I’ve drawn this out, forgiveness is an important factor in this “love the
enemy” setting. How many times do I have
to forgive someone so I can love them as Jesus told me to do? Matthew’s Jesus says “7 times 7” or indefinitely. That can be very difficult, but is
possible…to someone who is following God’s command to love others as God loves
us.
Two brief examples…
Some
time ago, at a Pax Christi retreat with the theme of forgiveness, a woman told
a story about man who killed her niece and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
This woman was going nuts about this horrible event and, in counselling, was
advised to forgive the killer as a major part of her therapy. Short story…she started to write to
him and, after a long time, she got up the nerve to visit him in prison which
she then did regularly. When family and
friends asked about this, did she really forgive him and grow to love him, she answered…yes,
she did, she gave him her forgiveness and love, because that is what the
scriptures, as well as her counsellor, told her she should do. But, she concluded, if she sometime learned
that he had a fall in prison, split open his
head and died, she wouldn’t be sad, but no too sorry, to hear about it. I guess that was
Another
is a month-old Herald Trib story about the October 27 rampage at the Tree of
Life synagogue in Pittsburg. Short
Story: Injured people were immediately
taken to E.R. rooms in various local hospitals. At Allegheny Hospital, a male
Jewish nurse was on duty there as some people, including the shooter, were
brought in. The nurse, a member of Tree
of Life, said that he was “instilled with panic in his heart worrying that his
parents were among those who were killed.”
He said that after his medical treatment of the shooter, the person “thanked
him for showing his kindness.”
Love
God…love your enemy… This is what the
Jewish nurse said to people and the press. “Love, that’s why I did it. Love as an action is more powerful than
words, and love I the face of evil gives others hope. It demonstrates humanity. It reaffirms why we
are all here. Love I the only message I
wish to pass on. It my actions mean
anything, love means everything.”
And if
these weren’t sufficient, we might think reflect on Jesus who, while on the
cross, forgave those who put him there.
Actions
speak louder than words.
These
incidents could be call “heroic,” as indeed they are showing what high level of
response is possible. Heroism sets standards.
Jesus set a standard “love one another as I have loved you.”
Actions
speak louder than words. They are the
attentions and efforts to follow-up what we say to God, to ourselves, to
others. We have a range of “action manuals,” the gospels with Jesus’ actions
and teachings. We have our own words…in
the liturgy’s Litany of the Breaking of
the Bread; we will all commit to live justly, love tenderly and walk humbly
with God.
Let us,
in silence before we continue with our Profession of Faith, take a few minutes to
look at the Advent candle and be inspired by Jay Murnane’s prayer. We can
examine our personal plans about our Advent actions - that will speak louder
than our words - as we wait to celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus on earth.
Then, at the end of today’s liturgy, we will pray that we will “Let this little
light shine.”
Profession
of Faith
All: We
believe in God, the Creator of an unfinished world in an ever-evolving
cosmos, a God whose divinity infuses all that exists and makes everything in
the universe sacred. We believe in Jesus,
the Christ, who is our love, our hope, and our light. Through his incarnation, we have become a new
people, called beyond the consequences of our brokenness. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Breath
of Wisdom who keeps the Christ-vision present to all those who are
searching for meaning and wholeness in their lives. She is the Holy Sustainer who heals and
energizes us when our strengths grow weary in our journeys. We also believe that God’s kindom is
here with us now and will always be there for those with eyes to recognize it,
minds to understand it, and hearts and hands to make it known to their brothers
and sisters wherever they may be. We say “amen” to the partnership and equality
of all people, regardless of gender, race, and beliefs. We say “amen” to a world of peace and justice
for everyone, everywhere, with no exceptions.
In all of this, we surely believe.
Prayers
of the Community
Presider: We are a people of faith who deeply believe
in the power of prayer. We are mindful of God’s unconditional love and care for
each of God’s family. And so, in our
prayers, we bring the needs of our brothers and sisters to our merciful and
gracious Healing One.
After each intercession, respond: Compassionate
God, bless our petitions.
Presider: We pray for those
broken families, torn apart…suffering in their separation… unsure of their
futures. Compassionate God, bless our
petitions.
Presider: For what other concerns do we pray at this
time? (other intentions mentioned here….)
Presider: Holy God, we ask you to strengthen us in our
concerns and care for one another, here and throughout the world. We ask you to
bless our efforts for justice and equality so that, with our sisters and
brothers, we may promote cultures of peace and nonviolence in the world. As we always do, we make these prayers to
you, O God, in the names of Jesus, our Brother, and the Holy Spirit, our
Wisdom. Amen.
Offertory
Procession and Song: “Table of Plenty” #310
Gathering
of the Gifted
Presider: Blessed are you,
God of Creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer…this grain
of the earth that human hands have prepared for our use. It will become for us the bread of life. All:
Blessed be God forever.
Presider: Blessed are you,
God of Creation. Through your goodness we have this wine to offer…this fruit of
the vine that human hands have prepared for our use. It will become for us our spiritual
drink. All: Blessed be God forever.
Presider: Jesus, who has often sat at our tables, now
invites all of us to join him at his.
And all of us, the family of
God, are welcome at his table; please join us now.
Presider (when everyone is around the altar):
Blessed are all of us who have been
called to this table of plenty by the God who loves and lives in us and the
Sustainer who supports and cares for us.
Let us show our gratitude to them - and our care for one another - as we express our recognition of the Divine
Spirit that is in each of us. All:
Namaste (3x)
Eucharistic Prayer
Voice 1: Gracious God,
you have set this banquet table and have invited all of us to the feast of
unending delight. Here we celebrate your
divine love beyond what words can describe.
Your divine compassion connects us to the young and the old, the first
and the last, the highest and the lowest…to everyone, everywhere.
Voice 2: Ever living
and ever-loving God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks. In you we live and move and have our very
being. In gratitude for your everlasting presence, we join with that large
community of saints who have gone before us and now live with you in the
eternal now, we sing with thankful praise….
All: Holy,
Holy, Holy God, God of power, God of light.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed
are all who come in the name of our God.
Hosanna in the highest.
Voice 3: We thank you
for the gift of Jesus in history - and the gift of Jesus in faith. Through him,
you breathe life into us. His life on
earth was deeply moved by his vision of your constant presence in everyone he
met, everywhere he went. You raised him up from among your people to baptize us
in your Spirit. He reflected your being in everything he said and did in his
life well lived. And he showed us, by
his many spoken messages and lived examples, not only how we should live, but
also for what we might even killed, as was he, in the service of the gospel
message.
Voice 4: And when his
time on earth had come to an end, Jesus – aware of and accepting his destiny –
suffered much for the values that he deeply believed, lived and taught…his
conviction that love is stronger than death.
And then, providing an example of his insight for the understanding of
ages to come, he opened wide his arms and died. Then the Spirit, who raised
Jesus from the dead showed us - in his resurrection - that life is
eternal and that love is immortal.
Jesus is with us today as he will be through the end of time. The Spirit
that blest Jesus is a foretaste of the pascal feast of heaven that awaits all
of us as well.
All: O God,
let your Spirit of life, healing and wholeness come upon these humble pieces
that we gathered from your fields and placed on our table – this simple wheat
and wine. May She make them holy so that
they will become for us the Body and Blood of Jesus, our brother.
All (with an outstretched arm, we pray the
consecration together.): We remember
the gift that Jesus gave us on the night before he died. He gathered with his friends to share a final
Passover meal. And it was at that supper
that Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to them
saying: take this all of you and eat it.
This bread is you; this bread is me.
We are one body, the presence of God in the world. When you do this, remember me - and all that
I have taught you. This is the new and everlasting covenant. [Pause]
In the same way, Jesus took the cup of
wine. He said the blessing and, gave it
to his friends saying: take this all of you and drink it. This wine is you; this wine is me. We are one blood, the presence of God in the
world. When you do this, remember me and
all that I have taught you. This is the new and everlasting covenant.
Presider: Jesus who was with
God “in the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth” is with us now
in this bread. The Spirit whom the
prophets spoke of in history is with us now in this cup. Let us proclaim this mystery of faith.
All: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ lives today through us reflecting him
to all.
Voice 5: In memory of Jesus’ life, death and
resurrection, we offered you, God, this life-giving bread and this saving
cup. May all who shared this sacred meal
be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit. And may that Spirit, that Divine Presence,
that moved so freely in Jesus’ life bless us by her manifestation in ours as
well.
Voice 6: God,
remember all of us, your Sacred People throughout the world, and grace us that
we may continually grow in love and caring, mercy and compassion, and peace and
justice. Bless Francis, our Pope,
Bridget Mary, our Bishop, and the whole of your family wherever they may be -
especially those who live on the margins of church and society. We remember in prayer the entire Communion of
Saints, both those who are with us now on this earth and those who have gone
ahead of us to their everlasting homes.
We remember with overflowing gratitude those blessed people who have
touched our lives and left your footprints on our hearts. We remember
especially …(pause as names are mentioned).
Presider: And so we say… All:
Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, through the power of the Spirit,
all glory and honor is yours, Creator God, forever and ever (singing) Amen.
All (holding hands): Our Father and Mother, who are in heaven,
blessed is your name…..
Presider: God, we have just prayed that your kindom “may
come” among us -- we believe that
it is “with us now“ in
a widely unrecognized way. Grant that we
may open our heads to acknowledge its current presence and our hearts to make
it known in its continued evolution. And
may we use our hands to serve one another while waiting for its fulfillment in that
blessed time.
The
Sign of Peace
Presider: Jesus, you said to
your disciples, “My peace I leave you; my peace I give you.” Look on the faith of those gathered here
today and…
All: …. grant us your peace. O God, following the example of Jesus and
with the strength of the Spirit, help us spread that peace throughout the
world, to everyone, everywhere, no exceptions.
Amen.
Presider: May the peace of God be always with us, and
let us extend that peace to one another as we join hands in a circle of love
and sing “Let There Be Peace on Earth” #532.
Litany
for the Breaking of the Bread
Presider: Loving God…. All: you call us to Spirit-filled service and to live the Gospel of
peace and justice.
We will live justly.
Presider: Loving God…. All: you call us to be your presence in the world and to be bearers
of understanding and compassion, forgiveness and healing everywhere in your
name. We will love tenderly.
Presider: Loving God… .All: you call us to speak truth to power. We will walk humbly with you.
Presider: This is Jesus, Emmanuel, who liberates,
heals, and transforms us and our world.
All are invited to partake of this sacred banquet of love.
All:
We are the Body of Christ.
Pre-Communion
Prayer
Presider:, As we come to
share the richness of this sacred table … All:
O God, we cannot forget the poverty of so many of our brothers and sisters, our
families and neighbors.
Presider: We
cannot eat this bread and forget those who are hungry… All: O
God, your world is one world and we are stewards of its nourishment for all
your… people.
Presider: We cannot drink this wine and forget those
who are thirsty… All: O God, this very earth and its people cry out for environmental
justice.
All:
We cannot listen to your words of peace and not grieve for a world at
war’s doors.
Communion Hymn: Instrumental
Prayer of Thanksgiving after Communion
Presider: Loving God, may this Eucharist in which we
share Christ’s healing love deepen our
oneness with you and with
one another. May we reflect, like Mary,
your liberating, mothering
love for all. We are grateful for all of the saints who
gave so much of themselves to live the beatitudes and serve as examples of
God’s love and compassion in our world.
May we emulate them in all that we do.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Christ. All: Amen.
Introductions, Gratitudes, Announcements
Closing Community Blessing
All:
May our hearts be glad on our journey as we dream new dreams, see new
visions, and create a new heaven and earth.
May we live and work for understanding
and compassion, justice and non-violence in our hearts and in those of everyone
we meet.
May we learn to bless and honor and
hold in reverence all creation, the earth, and one another.
May our loving and liberating God fill
us with radiant joy and deep peace… and bless us always with the strength to
serve the sick and the stranger.
Closing Community Commissioning
Presiders:
As we leave here in the peace of Christ, let us be the people that God created
us to be. Let us birth Christ anew in
our world today…and in all the tomorrows of the future.
All: Thanks be to God. Let it be so!
Closing Community
Hymn: This Little Light Of Mine
This Little Light This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine 3
X Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel? NO! 3 X I’m gonna let it
shine, Let it shine 3X
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine 3
X, Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
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