Upper Room Liturgy, Sunday, February 16, 2020
Opening Song
Eye Has Not Seen. Marty Haugen
Eye has not seen, ear has not heard what God has ready for those who love him. Spirit of love, come give us the mind of Jesus, teach us the wisdom of God.
When pain and sorrow weigh us down, be near to us, O God, forgive the weakness of our faith, and bear us up with in your peaceful word.
Our lives are but a single breath, we flower and we fade, yet all our days are in your hands, so we return in love what love has made.
To those who see with eyes of faith, the Lord is ever near, reflected in the faces of all the poor and lowly of the world.
We sing a mystery from the past in halls where saints have trod, yet ever new the music rings to Jesus, Living Song of God.
First Reading
Sirach 15: 15-20
If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you;
if you trust in God, you too shall live;
God has set before you fire and water
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
Before you are life and death, good and evil,
whichever you choose shall be given you.
Immense is the wisdom of the Holy One,
mighty in power, and all-seeing.
if you trust in God, you too shall live;
God has set before you fire and water
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
Before you are life and death, good and evil,
whichever you choose shall be given you.
Immense is the wisdom of the Holy One,
mighty in power, and all-seeing.
These are the inspired words from Sirach, and the community affirms them by saying, AMEN.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Second Reading
“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells them is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.”
These are the inspired words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the community affirms them by saying Amen.
Gospel, Matthew 5. 17 – 22.
“Don’t think I’ve come to abolish the Law and the prophets. I have come not to abolish them, but to fulfill them. The truth is, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter of the Law, not even the smallest part of a letter, will be done away with until it is all fulfilled. I tell you, unless your sense of justice surpasses that of the religious scholars and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kindom of heaven.”
These are the inspired words of the Gospel writer known as Matthew, and the community affirms them by saying Amen.
Homily Starter by Deb Trees, ARCWP
Jesus says he did not come to abolish the law, but to complete it. The writer of Matthew’s gospel goes on to enumerate the ways that we must follow the law. If we were to have read the longer version of this gospel, we would hear the following: Do not kill, do not be angry, do not commit adultery, it’s better to cut off your hand or gauge out your right eye, to lose one of your own members than to have your whole body go to Gehenna. Don’t swear, don’t judge, like the pharisees. Lots of rules.
But Denise and I wondered, what does it really mean to follow the law and choose life, not death?
The theologians from the Jesus Seminar, the contributors to The Five Gospels note that in our reading, Matthew nullifies the centrality of the love commandment in the teachings of Jesus which is Jesus’ concentration on fulfilling the law rather than formally observing the law. They remark that the early Christian Community, in essence trying to “hear” the words and teachings of Jesus after he is gone, are in a sense grappling with their historic understanding as they have learned and lived the law as Jewish Christians. In the reading above, the theologians comment that most likely, Jesus did not say those things.
So what is Jesus telling us about choosing life rather than death? What have we and others heard in our lives, steeped not only in the teachings and example of Jesus, but in the examples of those around us?
Sirach notes that God gives us a choice, and God is all-powerful and all-seeing. We have the power too, to choose good and evil. We know that some situations may call us to look beyond the letter of the law, to the heart. This seeing is led by the Holy Spirit. God, knowing our heart, knows our intention.
In our contemporary life, we have beautiful examples of this ability we have been given, this power of choice to lead our hearts and actions. Martin Luther King and others have shown us the way of understanding that what is “right” may not seem to fit under the “laws” that are in place. We are given permission to choose in that sense, as long as the Spirit is leading us.
Albert Schweitzer notes: “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the ONLY thing.” Our actions speak louder than words. Our strict adherence to a law, not based in Love and Justice, is a choice that is important for each of us to contemplate carefully and to make with our own sense of love and justice. Our all-powerful God knows our hearts.
Jesus, living the law of Love, gives us the perfect example by his life of service in all ways.
What did you hear, dear friends? What will you do about it? What will it cost you?
Communion Song: Who Will Speak If You Don’t by Marty Haugen
Closing Song: Lean On Me by Bill Withers
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