Tonight, we remember the suffering and death of our Brother Jesus and all who suffer. Tonight, our Jewish brothers and sisters remember the story of the Exodus from Egypt. Our traditions are connected as we each are connected to one another.
Opening meditation chant. (Stay with Me by Taize)
https://youtu.be/zkivkORaeJA
In the Jewish tradition we know when someone dies family and friends come together to sit Shiva. They come to talk about their loss and they comfort one another. They remember the life of the one they lost. Candles burn for the entire period of mourning.
Lighting of Two Candles -There are two, one for the masculine and one for the feminine, equal, each standing upright, strong, in perfect balance with each other, light in the darkness, maintaining the harmony of the world.
Psalm 22 A Prayer of Deliverance and Vindication
(Translated from the Hebrew by Robert Alter)
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Far from my rescue are the words that I roar.
My God, I call out by day and You do not answer,
By night--- no stillness for me.
And You, the Holy One, --enthroned in Israel’s praise.
In You did our father’s trust, they trusted and you set them free.
To you they cried out, and escaped, in You they trusted and were not put to shame.
Psalm-sung response
Spirit of the Living God
https://youtu.be/G0_B0DpTbUI
Spirit of the Living God
Fall fresh on me Melt me, mold me
Fill me, use me
Spirit of the Living God
Fall fresh on me
A Reading from the Gospel of Mary of Magdalene
Then Miryam of Migdalah and Miryam ,the mother of Yaakov, Yosef, and Salome took the body of Yeshua and prepared it and bound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the burial custom required. In the place where he was crucified, there was a garden--and in the garden a new tomb in which no man had yet ever been laid. Then, because of the preparation day, for the tomb was near at hand, they laid Yeshua there.
These are the inspired words of Mary of Magdalene, the Beloved Companion of Jesus. The community affirms these words: AMEN
Today we remember-- We remember what is most important. We remember how Jesus loved us, and how he showed us the way to love one another.
We remember for the sake of the future; To remember is not only a memory of the past but a memory of the future—so we do not repeat the past or find ourselves condemned to it. We are called to stand in solidarity with all who suffer.
We remember:
Reader 1-the deaths and abuse of innocent children throughout the world and among our own families and friends.
Reader 2-we remember the ashen remains of children in the Holocaust, in the ashes of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan and all the places where children’s lives have been snuffed out by war.
Reader 3-we remember the slaughter of innocents in inter-tribal conflicts in Africa and especially young women kidnapped by military groups and sold into slavery.
Reader 4-we remember victims of physical and sexual abuse and those who are voiceless in their pain.
Reader 5-we remember the intentional separation of young children from their parents on the USA borders and the recent deaths of children held in detention camps.
Reader 6-we remember our planetary life, coral reefs, sea turtles, blue whales sea lions, black rhinos, and all those species that are disappearing from creation.
(Taken from Ilia Delio’s Homily at Gladdening Light February 2019)
A Prayer from the book of Yom Kippur- the Days of Awe
These I remember—
The ones who lives were shaped by a mitzvah (good deeds)
“You must not remain indifferent.”
The ones who lost their lives through devotion to a mitzvah
“Justice, justice you shall pursue.”
The ones who embodied, through deed and dedication, a mitzvah
“Choose Life.”
And these I remember—
The ones who mended the broken, brought healing to the wounded, and fought back despair with solace of faith.
Please extend your hands in praying together the Blessing of Going Out
Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. Go. Love intentionally, Love extravagantly, Love unconditionally. The broken world waits in the darkness for the light that is you. (L.R. Knost)
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