//jQuery('#submit-action').attr('href','/paupress/?rel=pauContent&pau_type='+thisact); Mark 10:35-45, Sermon: BAT KOL, the Daughter of a Sound Welling Up Within, Lent: Letting Go of our Tightly Held Piety to See Our Need of Confession, Wrestling With the Almighty: Locating Our Very Selves in the Sacred Story a sermon on Genesis 32:3-31, What Can We Learn from Jesus? Little did I know that in 1977 it would take me almost three days to travel the more than 1,000 km; a trip which included disembarking over and over again to lend a hand to the conductors as we worked together to clear the tracks of snow. We must put aside our expectations of a quick and easy fix and settle in for the difficult generational evolution of our species. The underwater sight of two killer whales caused me to open my mouth to scream and water rushed into my lungs. The endless loop projects many faces of CHRIST. For all who are striving to form new governments, for thepeople of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine: that God will enlighten and inspiretheir leaders to build structures that will respect rights, promote life andhealth and establish educational and economic opportunities. I Do Deny the Resurrection! What do you know about the life of Jesus that sheds some light on who and what the MYSTERY that we call God is? Human beings have one kind, animals have another, birds another, and fish another. When I was an amateur wrestler, I was a world-class champion wrestler. As we toasted ourselves by the fire, my mind wandered back to the Cremation of Sam McGee and I wondered, if Id ever learn what strange things are done beneath the mid-night sun. God the Holy Spirit, who lled the disciples with the life of the risen Lord, empower you and ll you with Christ's peace. }); Join thousands of others like you who are contributing their voice to Progressive Christianity and list your church, organization or yourself in our global directory. Only a fool, would run head-long, open armed to kiss such a wayward fool, extravagantly bestow more household treasures, and expect the faithful to join in the rejoicing.Only a fool, would cajole the self-righteous, indignant child to join the celebration. all nourished from the same source of life. Welcome to Contemporary Liturgy website. For Paul, like Jesus, lived as a Jew in Palestine under the oppression of Roman Empire, which insisted that peace could only be established and maintained through violence. Benedicite - a Song of Creation Benedicite - a Song of Creation (shorter version) Venite - a Song of Triumph Jubilate - a Song of Joy The Easter Anthems Evening Prayer. Surely, today, when troops are again amassing in Europe and the world cant seem to sake itself loose from the myth of redemptive violence, surely today, it is time for us to move beyond thinking of DIVINITY as the ultimate purveyor of violence and Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. You created the world by speaking life into being. So much so that they confessed their desire to stay with Jesus in the splendor of that mountaintop. /* Some were staring vacantly through time, like the tens of millions of Ukrainians who were starved to death during the Holodomor by yet another brutal Russian dictator. Easter is the season of stone rolling rolling away guilt, fear, hatred, monotony, lifelessness and blandness. History should have taught us by now that that justice and not violence is the way to peace. Occasionally, I was able to hear Jesus say, Have you believed because you have seen me? Required fields are marked *. Even though we may be worshiping in individual spaces, Through the Spirit, we are forever united. ], [The Communion elements are distributed. When the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, he unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of our God is upon me: because the Most High has anointed me to bring Good News to those who are poor. rising you restored our life. We share this bread and drink, as Jesus shared a Passover meal with his disciples, and we partake of it together as our pledge of openness to the Spirit of Love in our midst, and as our remembrance of Jesus who invited us to do even greater things than he did. Amen. Thank you, Divine Crafter of the Table, for fashioning us a holy meal unites us with the Body of Christ. Click HERE to DOWNLOAD the Worship Bulletin, ONE with the LOVE which permeates the Cosmos! Many: On this day, we embrace faith by committing to love in action. I also want you to resist making the story all about you. Tis the season of resurrection. If theres one thing Ive learned after nearly a quarter of a century of preaching on the subject of resurrection, its that when it comes to resurrection, we look for what we have been conditioned to see. Thanks be to ALL that is HOLY! Im guessing that in vast majority of the interpretations of these parables, the shepherd, the woman, and the father are usually identified as a symbol for the MYSTERY which we call GOD. Easter is the sky that encloses the broken egg. Weakness is sown, strength is raised up. Is that right?, Crystal was a little breathless from all the crying she had been doing and all she could manage was a whimpered, Mmm hummm. Honey, tell grandma the truth now. Alleluia, amen. Holy Scriptures about Communion. Somehow, hed managed to secure me with what we professional wrestlers call an arm bar. O God, who gifts us moments of amazement, help us to accept the rhythm of the ordinary and the extraordinary that we may retain a steady awareness of your presence both in grey days and in bright. Today is the 35th annual International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Alleluia! I know it is much easier to poke fun at billionaires and lay the blame for suffering at the feet of self-serving fools. Disco dancing is one thing, but being slain in the SPIRIT, well lets just say, Theres a reason Im a Lutheran pastor. This particular interpretation is a poor translation, but it was very popular way back in the day. We live a resurrection life. He is risen indeed! The magnitude of loss was positively unbearable. World in Prayer, the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, Lodi, California. good times, bad times - give me some of that: blogging on faith and life. Only a fool would leave to search for the stray who might be wounded, damaged, dying, not interested in being rescued. You dont want to miss Paul when hes worked himself up to his point. Because when you look at the shepherd, the woman, and the father in these parables, they come do come off as reckless fools, unless they are risking all that they have for the sake of something worth risking everything for. Your resurrection we affirm with joy. thanksgiving prayers Listen for yourself to the skilled rhetorician Paul, who employs the tactic well in the reading assigned for this Sunday, by the powers behind the Churchs Revised Common Lectionary. Do this in remembrance of me." Great is the mystery of faith: God has sent me to proclaim liberty to those held captive, recovery of sight to those who are blind, and release to those in prison to proclaim the year of Gods favour. Rolling up the scroll, Jesus gave it back to the attendant and sat down. I only know that they appeared to follow in my footsteps in the snow as they ventured out to the place where the Cosmos had made itself known to me. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. It is hard to maintain the heights that we attain on the celebration of Resurrection Day. Still no luck. Rile em up! And also with you. What mechanisms do I use to attempt to tame the untamable wind of Gods Spirit? Life finds a way. Having this "catch-cry" as a . Thats at least 20 years before the Gospel according to Mark, 30 to 40 years before the gospels according to Matthew and Luke and probably nearly 50 years before the Gospel according to John. I had three jobs, but back in the day, the grocery store, and the Legion Hall, where I worked as a cashier and a waitress, they closed on Sundays. Suddenly, in the tears of that little Ukrainian family, I began to see the tears of generations of weepers. Father's Day Video "Foster Kid Father's Day". Continue reading . Alleluia, amen! I expect people to act. For the journey that life has been, Amen. Or study cells, or living things, seek truth with open hand. Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.]. So, there could have been half a dozen or there could have been only one whale. The Bible was written by men who believed that they lived in a three-tiered universe. Then there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. Come, drink together from the Cup of Gladness! Galileo recanted, but the Earth is moving still MASS READINGS. Humans wrote the Bible; God wrote the world. Welcome to the liturgy of The Namaste Church! He rose again in victory because the powers of death cannot overcome the Divine power of Life. Im not talking about some Pollyanna notion of passivity in the face of violence, and I know that we are not going to solve our addiction to violence anytime soon. You can skip to the end and leave a response. When our heartbeats returned to normal, we decided that wed made a clean escape and we chose not to share the adventure with our sleeping parents. Gone are the vestments, the prescribed lectionary readings, and the familiar words. We proclaim and celebrate this Easter season because it links Jesus with all life, with transformation, and with possibility of life beyond our imagining. The truth has left its living word for anyone to read. In a world that so often denies or ignores the humanity-robbing effects of pain and suffering, Irrepressible (Personal Spiritual Practice Guide PDF), More Than Words Living What We Pray (PDF), Living in the Promised Land: A Lent Journey (Year B) (PDF). As frightened as I was, I was determined to get close to these magnificent beasts. Second Sunday of Advent. Or perhaps it is that both are dead. Lift up your hearts. Let us offer a sacrifice in the form of embodied LOVE. Out or on the Fringe of the Church. So, I will not presume to answer for Jesus hometown congregations murderous intentions. Bert Polman (bdp5@calvin.edu) is a hymnologist who is a professor and chair of the music department at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan. I deny the resurrection every time I participate in an unjust system. But as it is, Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep., Ah Paul, you sure know what youre doing! The patient stone can speak, if we but listen when it talks. ELOHIM, the GOD who is the feminine plural of MAJESTY, said to Elijah: Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of YHWEH, for YAHWEH is about to pass by. Imagine the MYSTERY, which is the I AM, the very essence of BEING is about to pass by. Frame 13: I would rather have one rose and a kind word from a friend while I am here than a whole truckload when I am gone. Perhaps photographers of old avoided them, maybe people back then were better had holding those tears back. You called forth prophets who dared to speak the truth of Life to worldly powers that promoted death. Easter Communion Liturgy Inspired by A Song of Faith. Letting go isnt as simple as it sounds. Whether your interpretation of the resurrection is literal or metaphorical, Easter morning is always welcome. Let us be LOVE in the world, by fearlessly serving the poor. Breathe in the goodness of that space. Heavenly bodies have a beauty of their own, and earthly bodies have a beauty of their own. My reign as world champion would have continued if it werent for the abrupt ending of my amateur status. Nothing was said until dinner the next day, by which time Steve and Anna had been back to church twice. I like the Apostle Paul, do not believe in the resuscitation of a corpse. The liturgy wasdeveloped for use during Lent. The third face of CHRIST belongs to a Ukrainian Mother holding back her tears as she embraces her little family. He was teaching in the Galilean synagogues, and all were loud in their praise. Settle into your seat, close your eyes and imagine a place that brings you comfort and peace. And all the kings horses and all the kings men, couldnt put Humpty together again. In Jesus they saw CHRIST. When asked what he thought was the solution to the planetary crisis, Cosmologist Brian Swimme said, "It would be to reinvent ourselves, at the . Here's a call to worship and opening prayer for Memorial Day or Remembrance Day. Paul insists that there are natural bodies, which he equates with earthly bodies what we would call physical bodies and there are spiritual bodies which Paul equates with heavenly bodies. In his new book, Unbelievable, our friend, Jack Spong writes: The laws by which the world operates have not changed since the dawn of time, but the way human beings explain and understand those laws has changed dramatically over the centuries of human history. Jack has a way of reminding us of the obvious. Today, we celebrate this earth-shaking love of Jesus a love that sent him to the cross and a love that lives eternally with us, encouraging us to live a resurrected life. Easter is the festival of the irrepressible God whom not even death can contain. He urged them: Remember me. Let me attempt to be kinder than the Apostle, whose willingness to call his opponents stupid, I do not share. <>>> They all knew the dangers of traveling to Jerusalem. Close with quote from Michael Morwood: In nature we see superb aspects of transformation in supernovas exploding and in their dying giving birth to new possibilities resurrection producing abundant life. None of these parables is the stuff of everyday loss. Alleluia! I was unbeatable. Think about it, Jeff Bezos net worth is estimated at just shy of 200 billion dollars. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. jQuery('#submit-action').attr('href','/paupress/?rel=pauContent&pau_type='+thisact); *Leader: Grace be to you and peace, from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of kings on earth. While the first century story told by the anonymous gospel-storyteller we call Mark, sees the sons of Zebedee, jockeying for coveted seats at the right and left hand of Jesus, our 21st century story portray the contrasting circumstances of wannabe-astronauts blasting far above our planet with scarcely a thought for the 150 million or so who will slip into the depths of poverty before this year ends. I had to confess right then and there, in my twentieth year of life, I struggled to believe that any GOD who sent His only Child to die, on a cross, is worth getting up on a Sunday morning for. Think for a moment. Let LOVE live in, us, through us, and beyond us, for now as always, LOVE lives, LOVE dies, and LOVE rises, again, and again, and again. These parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons, point us in a direction of a way of being in the world characterized by foolish and passionate abandon. <> We are free to embrace this LOVE, to walk in this LOVE, and to be this LOVE. As we begin the Offertory, we prepare the gifts of this celebration. Progressive Christianity USA's Liturgy Project The USA-based Liturgy Project provides hundreds of liturgical posts by authors around the globe. After the wind there was an earthquakebut YHWH was not in the earthquake. It does not surprise me that Paul may have framed Jesus death in the context of both Pauls own Jewish sacrificial theologies and Romes violent philosophies. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. When all the people have received, they rise to give thanks.]. if ( thisact == "contact" ) { But just when Alan was approaching the point of no return, I managed with a feat of superhuman strength to rise up, twist around and swing for all I was worth and connect with what I though must be my brothers chest. we invite your Spirit to lead us ever more faithfully to be the body of Christ in the world. Repent: Metanoia: to think new thoughts Let us repent, metanoia Let us think new thoughts. 3:4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. Resist the empires to which we have lost the justice which has the power to create peace. I am tweaking this for this Sunday credit to your site will be given. And our Creator needs us to pay for our sinfulness. But it does have the power to transfigure. Thank you. If a few well-placed bullets could reunite and restore that little Ukrainian family, maybe Jesus was wrong about non-violent resistance. Amen. Let us pray: May each of us be aware of the Spirit of God within us today and respond to the Good News, we pray. I dont have any solutions to offer you. Lectionary Commentary Elizabeth Myer April 27, 2021 Progressive Lectionary Commentary, Progressive Christian Resources for Advent, Lectionary Commentary, Progressive Liturgical Resources, Revised Common Lectionary Year B, Revised Common Lectionary Easter 5 Year B, Revised Common Lectionary Easter 5, Lectionary Commentary Easter 5 Year B . May this Spirit help us to recognize the Christ-presence in our midst. Humans wrote the Bible; God wrote the rocks. These days hikers on the Pacific Rim trail often begin or end their hike by camping at Pachena Bay. (I have searched for the source of this story, withoutsuccess. We remember that his disciples met him on the road. The SPIRIT of DIVINITY is within all Creation, permeating all of the Cosmos! My youth and inexperience allowed the more ornery side of my nature to come to the fore. Christ is risen! Contact Us. 1 0 obj Frame 8: When you make the biggest mistake ever,something good comes from it.*. Some of the people remained in the fragmented remnants and developed compensating mantras. How double-dog dare I? Now, the dingy wasnt totally inflated on account of the leak that it had sprung the day before. Others stretched the wings of their spirituality and flew off into the magic darkness joyfully singing: All will be well and all manner of things shall be well! (Julian of Norwich). In both Ukraine and in Russia a wounded CHRIST is struggling to rise from death. that we may further your reign of peace and justice in every place. There are heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies. Not all bodies are the same. Whether your interpretation of the resurrection is literal or metaphorical, Easter morning is always welcome. But because I had been forced to grapple with something I could not at the time reconcile with the person of Jesus whom I loved. But I suspect that like the sons of Zebedee, who earned renown by jockeying for privileged positions, the powerful images of an aging Captain James Kirk and his merry band of billionaires will earn far more renown than the 150 million poor souls who are about to slip into poverty as a result of the COVID pandemic. Well, as time passed, the situation became more and more serious. The safety of the mountaintop must have been glorious. } else { Jesus passions reveal to us the image of the Mystery that we call God that Jesus worshipped. The SPIRIT of DIVINITY is BEYOND Creation, BEYOND the Cosmos, even as it is in, and with, and through, all of Creation, all of the Cosmos. Embrace the HOLY foolishness which lives, in, with, through, and beyond you. Some walking away to become refugees, joining the endless flow of the displaced. Lets try to focus on what is actually happening in the story. Read More. 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