It can be deadly. This story was written by the anonymous gospel-storyteller we know as John some 70 years after Jesus' death, some twenty years after the Jewish war with Rome in which the Empire destroyed the Temple, raised most of Jerusalem to the ground, and sent Jews and the followers of Jesus into exile. So, longing to escape the confines of my cozy isolation, out onto to the ice I trudged, as the cold air sharpened my vision. we gratefully receive the Easter offering. This year, we at Holy Cross are giving up God for Lent. the Divine thrives in our world. Jesus reveals CHRIST. Perfect! "Ground Us and Grow Us in Love," rtf or pdf file of liturgy at Worship Ways. I found out later that dozens, I mean dozens of young people were slain in the Spirit, that is, struck down onto the floor, writhing and shaking, hootin and a hollering. The Risen One comes with hands full of love. 3:6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. So, the thing about stories, really good stories is that they have a life of their own. Jesus lived for this. Grandma took a good look at the vase that used to sit on her mothers kitchen table all those years ago. Send us your: ResourceEventNewsIdeasnow As the train finally pulled into Narvik, I couldnt quite believe my eyes. Frame 17: Look for the resurrections in your life. 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. Pachena Bay is by far one of the most beautiful places in all of creation. Forget for a moment the layers of interpretations offered by generations of Jesus followers who have interpreted that little word ransom as some sort of cosmic escape clause offered by Jesus as a way out of the trials and tribulations of life on this planet. We remember on the night when Jesus and the disciples Not all of us are up to the challenges. Please come, the meal is ready. [Meal is shared according to custom of congregation.]. jQuery(document).on('change', '#submission-action', function(){ I suspect that pulling brothers together who have genuine axes to grind is the kind of recklessness that is worth the risk, if those siblings can learn to work together to pursue justice. People: It is right for us to give thanks,It is our joy and peaceat all times and in all placesto give thanks to you, almighty, everlasting God,through Christ, our Lord. by our unbelief and lack of understanding of Gods presence in us. We proclaim and celebrate this Easter season because it links Jesus with all life, with transformation, and with possibility of life beyond our imagining. Please feel free to use in your faith communities with attribution. endobj
We share it as our pledge of openness to the spirit in our midst, Children and youth might be used as servers and/or readers. We just knew what we knew. In the 17th century, Galileo Galilei a personal friend of the Pope, published a paper demonstrating that the sun could not possible revolve around the earth. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window). What can Jesus teach us? Then Grandma rubbed little Crystals back, held her close and gently, but firmly said: Let it go, child. Well, for now, we weep. It is not our beliefs about what happened in history that transform us but the extent to which we allow these glimpses into the heart of God to energize our lives. Continue reading . /* We believe that death is not the end, but rather a transformation into new possibilities. When we say that we believe in the resurrection of the dead, we are proclaiming that no matter how dead someone may appear to be, no matter how dead we may feel, new life is always possible. The PROMISED ONE has come not to be served, but to serveto give a ransom for the many. Sure, it is easy to scoff at billionaires squandering their ill-gotten gains on momentary flights of fancy. THEME The Connecting Solitude THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION The spiritual desert is not a foe to be conquered but an emptiness to be affirmed: for when we are full, we perceive nothing, but when we are empty we can receive everything. 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. and the capacity to give people an experience of God. Let us confess our sins. We give thanks for Jesus of Nazareth who inspired us to put our hope and trust in the spirit of Life and Love moving in the depths of our being. Still no luck. Theres a story in the Hebrew Scriptures which resonates with me in light of some of my own experiences in Thin Places, in the presence of MYSTERY. When I think about the churchs practice of public confession, I can see how desperately I have been holding on to candies that no longer satisfy my need for forgiveness. There are heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies. Not all bodies are the same. Where, O death is your sting?. He has served since October 2020 as priest-in-charge at St. John's Episcopal Church in Passaic, New Jersey. Risk it all for the sake of LOVE. What we all missed is what was there all along, Humpty Dumpty you see was a cannon. This week, two events stand in stark contrast to one another. Living as the Vine and Branches in the Era of COVID-19: A Worship Liturgy. The pastor is often on vacation; the choir scales back. McCourt asks: Who says its an egg?, Of course, its an egg. 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. More Worship Resources. When I was an amateur wrestler, I was a world-class champion wrestler. Odd, long-vanished creatures and their tracks & shells are found; The face of CHRIST which must be seen if we are to end this madness. So, let me just cling to what I have accumulated and pay lip-service to the need for sacrifice. If the sacrament is not to be celebrated, the service may conclude with PartV.). Some of these messages convey ways we might experience subtle resurrections and deaths in our everyday lives. With visions of a grand and glorious past they were free from the dangers of the violence being wrought upon their world by the forces of the Roman Empire. Just like Thomas, who had the good sense to doubt the resurrection, most of us have been conditioned to look for the physical resuscitation of a corpse; a bonified, pardon the pun, a bonified, actual physical body, complete with wounds and all. Sign up for our FREE monthly eNewsletter! Pray deeply, reverently, and then fast-forward to the music. Frame 6: You are a special and unique image of God. For the most part, the Bible points to the Heavens above the firmament as the home of God. I can certainly identify with the disciples in the story who became angry with the sons of Zebedee for jockeying for seats alongside Jesus in the next world, when the forces of Empire in this world continue to suck the life out of the poor. When I opened it, I found several passages of scripture written out in Annas immaculate style. Humans wrote the Bible; God wrote the rocks. I proclaim these words from Pauls conclusion to the chapter at every funeral I have ever presided over. Living the Questions is happy to join other Michael Morwood fans in welcoming the arrival of Michael's newest book, Prayers for Progressive Christians. Among the passages was the text which is assigned for this very Sunday from Pauls letter to the church in Corinth. Beautiful! My family had travelled to the west coast of Vancouver Island to what was back then, a mostly unknown treasure. Lutheran good order can and does ensure that such ecstatic behavior never happens in worship. window.location.replace('https://progressivechristianity.org/paupress/?rel=pauContent&pau_type='+thisact); There are flowers in the sanctuary during Lent! *All: Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord! endobj
He was teaching in the Galilean synagogues, and all were loud in their praise. The sun is in the same place at the same time as it was yesterday, but today all our clocks insist that it is actually 11:00 and not 10:00. Crystals mother tried to move quickly without panicking. Now the green blade rises from the buried grain; Wheat that in dark earth for may days has lain; Love lives again, that with the dead has been: Love is come again like wheat that rises green. As the earth sheds its snow, it begins to drink in the warm rains and creation comes alive once again. Jesus Way of being insists that justice for everyone is the only way to peace. Imagine knowing everything there is to know about that final day in Memphis, about the motel, about the people who were on that balcony when Dr. King was shot, about the shooter, the gun that was used, about the funeral procession, the grieving, and about the people who tried to go on walking in the ways of Dr. King. Resist the illusion that finding what we have lost will be a sweet, harmless, story. I confess, I was in denial. If a few well-placed bullets could reunite and restore that little Ukrainian family, maybe Jesus was wrong about non-violent resistance. If ever we needed to be intentional about preserving and honouring our basic humanity and that of our neighbours, its now. SALTs Lectionary Commentary for Lent 3, Cross Purposes: SALTs Lectionary Commentary for Lent 2, Change Your Life: SALTS Lectionary Commentary for Lent 1, What Freedom Is For: SALTs Lectionary Commentary for Epiphany Week 5, Revised Common Lectionary Commentary Mark 1, Revised Common Lectionary Commentary Mark 1:29-39, Revised Common Lectionary Commentary Isaiah 40:21-31, What Is Salvation? Repent from the Greek word metanoia made up of two Greek words: meta which means, beyond and noos which means mind. Metanoia is an invitation to move beyond your current way of thinking. It was so good to be there, where they could see in Jesus the face of CHRIST. You and I are the wealthiest followers of Jesus who have ever walked the Earth. Your email address will not be published. So, let us begin with our own lives, our own daily challenges, let us strip ourselves of our own entanglements with violence. Reformed Worship 2023 by Worship Ministries of the Christian Reformed Church. Some will hurl the text at me in ways which communicate their anger, their disgust, and in some cases their hatred of me. As for that little Ukrainian family, what do we do in the wake of their tears? The first face of CHRIST belongs to a Ukrainian Father who is struggling to say good-bye to his young daughter. It is a lovely liturgical offering. That left my chamber-maiding at a local lodge where the housekeeper was always kind enough to keep my Sunday mornings free so that I could go to church, while hung-over colleagues struggled to clean up. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. In the past few weeks, Ive been thinking a great deal about the systems of domination and the pain inflicted by the unjust empires of our world. Support our mission with a tax-deductible donation! Suddenly, in the tears of that little Ukrainian family, I began to see the tears of generations of weepers. Welcome to the liturgy of The Namaste Church! Christ is risen! If you have not donated yet, please do so today. Weve heard these interpretations of Jesus life, death, and resurrection so many times that they have almost become indistinguishable from the idol that we have created to stand in for the Mystery that we call God. I stomped my feet upon the ice in a vain gesture of defiance until my stomping evolved into a dance of freedom, as I gleefully celebrated our liberation from the captivity of a three-tiered universe. One of the authors of the Book of Genesis described creation like this : And God said, Let there be afirmamentin the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made thefirmament and divided the waters which were under thefirmamentfrom the waters which were above thefirmament: and it was so. See if you can pick them out. Not all bodies are the same! I can also hear the voice of reason condemning me as a fool. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); *This liturgy is an adaptation of the traditional. Posted by mictori in Church Life, Holidays, Liturgy, Pop, Communion, Communion Liturgy, Easter, Easter Communion, Easter Communion Liturgy, Easter Morning, Liturgy, non-violent Communion, progressive Christianity, Resurrection. Her unseen hand was stuck inside her great-grandmothers vase. 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 . Gods love pours out from the grave of despair. Last week, I compiled a list of online video resources for worship. Somehow, the flight of the billionaire Bezos phallic Blue Horizon thrusting its five privileged passengers across our screens will capture more attention from those of us who are wealthy enough to own screens, than the roughly one and a half billion men, women, and children who are consigned to live in poverty. This week, I have compiled resources that can help in creatively planning worship services. The flat Earth was surrounded by the waters. Get their attention and then, deliver your point! In the eating of this bread, as Christs body, and in the sharing of this cup, as Christs blood, } Accept our praise and thanksgiving, I knew I was about to drown. TODAY! We give thanks for the spirit of new life active in our lives as it was in the life of Jesus. There is so much more we can do and offer our readership with your support! Even our ancient Greek forebearers, they understood that if horses had gods those gods would be horses. May 23, 2022 | Father's Day, Uncategorized. Practicing resurrection begins when we huddle together refusing to let our fears entomb us. by Alydia Smith and the Rev. Julian is the author of the first English book ever to have been written by a woman: Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love. This particular interpretation is a poor translation, but it was very popular way back in the day. It is beautiful! Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. He offered Divine Life to all people suffering under worldly forces of death. One of the whales rose out of the water and as she came crashing down, I marveled at the magnificence of this beast. Forgive us, Merciful One. In the past he was patient and overlooked peoples sins; but in the present time he deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate his righteousness. healing, overcoming divisions, welcoming all. Anyway, poor old Elijah suffered in his quest to bring the WORD of YHWH to his people and in the midst of his turmoil, Elijah was lost and fearing for his life. Apparently, my body language suggested that I was filled not with the SPIRIT but with Satan himself. Bunnies remind us of all the animals You made, and all the beautiful things You created. Our Hebrew storyteller paints such a vivid picture of the Thin Place in which Elijah stands. Especially not when the Pastor insisted that there were sinners in need of prayer and headed over to the two of us and gathered us all in a prayer, a like no prayer, Id ever been part of. Salvation is about making us whole, ONE with one another and ONE with the ONE who is as Jesus taught with his very life is the LOVE we call GOD. give us the new joy and justice of Easter, Responsive Chant Psalm 118: 1-6, 15-18, 24, Anthem, or Creed, Prayers or other Response of Faith here. Listen carefully. We believe that faith can move mountains, and that caterpillars can be transformed into butterflies. The Risen One comes with hands full of love. The congregation is encouraged to move around the sanctuary. One morning when I was about 13 and my brother was 9 and a half, we were going at it, and to his credit my bother had me in an ingenious hold. healed those who believed in him, received all who sought him. After the wind there was an earthquakebut YHWH was not in the earthquake. stream
}); 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. May we be transfigured by her courage to do our part to turn her mourning into dancing. The apostle Paul who was the first to write about Jesus, portrays Jesus as a doorway into the ultimate. After two long years of isolation, I have learned how to block out the world. Anyone among you, those who aspires to greatness must serve the rest; whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. Today, thanks to daylight savings time, the earth hasnt quickened its course around the sun. All crosses can be transformed into trees of life. You might say my countenance betrayed me, because it wasnt long before I took my body and its language out of the apartment to the nearest bar, where among friends, I began to look for a new place to live. 2014-04-20 liturgy [Easter sunrise] Author: Mike Farley May the Spirit open our souls in order for us to see humanity, God and creation through the eyes of Jesus. You can also watch the videos of the homilies our videorgrapher is enjoying the Family Day weekend so my head is missing from the first parts but thanks to a volunteers intervention my head is restored in the third video. When asked what he thought was the solution to the planetary crisis, Cosmologist Brian Swimme said, "It would be to reinvent ourselves, at the . Social Justice Lectionary, Bruce Sweet, 2014. A sacred offering of for the sake of life here on this our one and only planet, a planet capable of nourishing life for all of Earths inhabitants? It didnt take very long before the many layers of clothing, with which I had hoped to insulate myself from the dangers of the cold, failed to keep me moving very far into the expanse of white snow drifts which glistened as the Suns glorious rays danced incapable of warming much of anything but my heart. I suspect that even offering all you have to a wastrel and a scoundrel is worth a shot if it means finding peace. Turns out I was close. Let us pray for the intentions within our hearts: We know that when we raise our minds and hearts to the Presence among us, extraordinary things happen. Not because I had been driven out of my home. The magnitude of loss was positively unbearable. As tensions escalated and our world held our collective breath, the fragility of the peace we cling to, the peace built through military might, and threats of violence and mutual annihilation, this illusion of peace was threatened by the ambitions of a powerful oligarch obsessed with delusions of restoring tribal supremacy for his once mighty nation. It was as if my body was teaming up with my mind to convince my spirit to abandon this peculiar excursion. }); Where truth has left its sketches on the slate below the ground. But suddenly, those who had waited in silence saw the egg crack and a phoenix bird emerge and immediately fly away into the mysterious nothingness leaving the seekers sitting in the broken shells of their religious presuppositions and carefully crafted ceremonies. With humility, with awareness of the existence of life. Ready: Perhaps some will ask, How are the dead to be raised up? Do this in remembrance of me. On this Easter, we pray in Your name. 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