What can we see in the wounds which are depicted in this story? 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. I say quote to be polite, which is generally not the way these Christians impart these words of Scripture to me. I like the Apostle Paul, do not believe in the resuscitation of a corpse. What kind of body will they have? What a stupid question! My oh, my, oh my In my sacred imagination, I can see Paul sitting up from his letter writing and nodding as if to say, there that out to stop those endless arguments about the resuscitation of a corpse.. Later, at work, Anna sat down with me in the lunchroom to explain that their pastor had explained to them that he suspected that I didnt believe that God sent Jesus to die for my sins. MASS READINGS. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Jesus. Whether your interpretation of the resurrection is literal or metaphorical, Easter morning is always welcome. I expected that such a thrust would have released my arm from Alans iron grip. Amen. Frame 6: You are a special and unique image of God. Let us be LOVE. Easter Communion Liturgy Inspired by A Song of Faith. We turn Easter back into Good Friday when we worship ugliness, sterility and unthinking conformity. Yes, the shepherd should have been guarding the 99. On first inspection Divinity appeared to the seekers to be like a luminous egg, well rounded, self contained, completely clothed in light and amenable to definition. Steve carefully explained to me that I was in mortal danger. Resurrection is about seeing behind and beyond death, ugliness, injustice, pain and despair. Petes words remind me over and over, and over again that Jesus lived and died embodying the CHRIST which is the DIVINE LOVE which rises in with through and beyond you and I, again, and again, and again. Others, they looked confused and terrified as they are loaded on board trains. All rights reserved. None of these parables is the stuff of everyday loss. My friend and I were doing our level best not to laugh, we were too young to be sensitive, and to this day I find it difficult to keep a straight face in the presence of that particular kind of spirited movement. Thank you, Divine Crafter of the Table, for fashioning us a holy meal unites us with the Body of Christ. Let it go. Sure enough, the vase slipped off as smooth as silk. You see the Pentecostal church was located down in the neighboring town of Hinton, about an hours drive away. I expect solutions. United States Do you still have a hold of that candy? Mmm humm. Surly, even Putin will come to his senses. We take wine and drink, as Jesus invited his friends to drink, Maybe Jesus was wrong about justice as the only way to peace. Easter is the sky that encloses the broken egg. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. The parts of the service preceding the text in UMH are guided by a bulletin or by announcement. Hosanna in the highest. During his blessing, Jesus reminded them how he would go to the ends of the earth in his love for them. This question has generated more than a few sermons of its own. 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. In preparation for communion, please join us in reciting the Prayer of Unity that is in your program. There are those who name the stars, who watch the sky by night, Continue reading . So, longing to escape the confines of my cozy isolation, out onto to the ice I trudged, as the cold air sharpened my vision. How the living things that are descend from things that were. I dont know. 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. For the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it (here the minister shall break the bread) and said, "This is my body which is for you. You and I are the wealthiest followers of Jesus who have ever walked the Earth. Some of these messages convey ways we might experience subtle resurrections and deaths in our everyday lives. Gig Harbor, WA 98335 By your Spirit unite us with the living Christ and with all who seek to follow in his life-giving way, If there is a natural body, then there is also a spiritual body., Theres more, lots more, but lets just stop and catch ou breath. Infused, inspired, and incarnating as CHRISTs body, as LOVE here and now in this place and in this time, we are anointed to this bring Good News to the poor and to free the captives! The writers of our creeds firmly established that God lived in heaven. Dying you destroyed our death, Living lives of reckless abandon is untenable. Or better still, let me cling to the promise of a Saviour who will carry us out of this world and into the next, at no cost, free of charge because Jesus paid the ransom for my soul. Above the sky were the Heavens. The Apostle Paul wrote: We who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. When followers of Jesus in the first century and in the twenty-first century talk about the resurrection of Christ, we are proclaiming that death did not have the last word in the Jesus story because his followers were raised up to be his body right here, right now. I proclaim these words from Pauls conclusion to the chapter at every funeral I have ever presided over. My rail-pass covered all of Scandinavia, which before I had the opportunity to ride the Scandinavian rails, I had only seen on distorted maps which made it look ever so small in comparison to Canadas vast land mass. Only a foolWould find. Evolving beyond the myth that violence can solve our problems, or bring us peace, is vital. We proclaim and celebrate this Easter season because it links Jesus with all life, with transformation, and with possibility of life beyond our imagining. For none of us can do this kind of relentless, reckless abandon constantly. /* 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. One of the whales rose out of the water and as she came crashing down, I marveled at the magnificence of this beast. Well, I deny the resurrection in the very same way as I suspect you deny the resurrection. So, I waved and was gifted by their own energetic response. World in Prayer, the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, Lodi, California. John 20:19-31, Parables of Loss Through the Lenses of Resistance Luke 15, CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD THE WORSHIP BULLETIN. Its not all about you. If you have not donated yet, please do so today. In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26), Below these passages, Anna wrote: Repent and believe! I expect things to be resolved. Our Hebrew storyteller paints such a vivid picture of the Thin Place in which Elijah stands. Center for Liturgy, St Louis University. It is a scary proposition for a pastor to venture out on a journey without the familiar trappings of familiar liturgy. Salvation is not about saving us for life after death. Progressive Revival Easter Prayer By Paul Raushenbush Living and Reigning God We give you thanks on this Easter morning for the Resurrection of your son Jesus Christ! This collection of liturgies is . As the earth sheds its snow, it begins to drink in the warm rains and creation comes alive once again. We lose our capacity for peace and joy, we struggle to show compassion and to connect with others, and we may find ourselves slipping into toxic and destructive attitudes and habits. 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. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountain apart and shattered the rocks by YHWEHs powerbut YHWH was not in the whirlwind. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. 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? 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. 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Perhaps Jesus sensed that even their anger was a type of jockeying for position, when he insisted that, Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest; whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. Welcome to Contemporary Liturgy website. So, when you catch a glimpse of the REIGN of LOVE, celebrate and as you celebrate remember to invite others into the party. As a result of this splendid isolation, we spent several weeks as the only family camped in this idyllic bay. With open minds and hearts, may the God-in-us find generous and courageous expression in our words and actions as we endeavor to make the presence of God evident in our world. Because if the dead are not raised, then Christ is not raised, and if Christ is not raised, your faith is worthless. We accept you into our bodies, into our lives. 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. Does attending worship make my heart dance? Send us into the world resurrected, refreshed and ready to share Christs unconditional love. Occasionally, I was able to hear Jesus say, Have you believed because you have seen me? This despite the fact that the biblical author of the book of Joshua wrote that God stopped the rotation of the sun around the earth in order to provide Joshua with an extended period of daylight in which to kill his enemies. This week, I have been transfigured by the face of CHRIST, not glowing on a mountaintop, but weeping. In the same way the cup, after supper (here the minister shall pour the wine and lift up the cup) saying, "This cup is a new covenant of my blood. Even though I know full well that by doing so, I will undoubtedly open myself up to the wrath of those who would have me confess and repent the error of my ways. Morning . 1 0 obj It is right. When asked what he thought was the solution to the planetary crisis, Cosmologist Brian Swimme said, "It would be to reinvent ourselves, at the . Bit by bit, hope has begun to build upon hope as we look forward to Spring when we call launch forth into fuller more robust living. Frame 1: We are about to enter a world of life-giving beauty. I thought, or hoped, sometimes even believed that the myth of redemptive violence could no longer tempt me. and out of the death of the old comes the birth of the new. We will never know what actually happened two thousand years ago, we will always. Beginning with the traditional opening from Charles Wesley, this moves into a progressive Christian expression of resurrection. Ask congregation if they have any resurrections they would like to share. This, dear ones, is Good News indeed! Where truth has left its sketches on the slate below the ground. Pauls description of resurrection does not conflict with our 21stcentury inability to accept the suspension of the natural order of the Cosmos. If we look at the stories that have been told about Jesus, the stories that have contributed so much to the creation of the idol that masquerades as the Mystery we call God, we discover a narrative that seems preoccupied with Jesus death. We need to reach our year-end fundraising goal that will determine what we can do for 2023. Let us be reckless in our LOVing, Grounded in our service, outrageously generous in our ransoming life on this planet. and of the sufferings that are going on around us, let us pray for the establishment of peace, in our hearts and on earth. As we recall the trusting of impotent rocket ships escaping for mere moments the confines of the empires we thrive in, do we have the courage to see our own hypocrisy? I expect people to act. We can be transfigured by the face of CHRIST which is revealed to us through the tears of all who suffer the ravages of injustice. The Apostle Paul denies that Jesus resurrection was an actual physical resurrection. Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, Mass During the Day: O God, who on this day, through your Only Begotten . 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. Amen. And star differs from star in brightness. Lets extend our hands over one another for a final blessing: May you have the power to live life fully. HOMILY: Resurrection Springing to New Life. So, I invite you to see for yourselves. if ( '' != thisact ) { Then Grandma rubbed little Crystals back, held her close and gently, but firmly said: Let it go, child. There are flowers in the sanctuary during Lent! It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give you our thanks and praise, O God! And swim we did all the way back to shore. Bunnies remind us of all the animals You made, and all the beautiful things You created. Now, the dingy wasnt totally inflated on account of the leak that it had sprung the day before. But he still had me. Alleluia! But by the free gift of Gods grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free. with the Source and Sustainer of all that exists. What matters is that LOVE rises. Fortunately, the youth hostel was full, and we were forced to hike up and out of town to find a suitable spot to pitch our tents. Good Shepherd Sunday in Quarantine - Easter 4A. Concessions will be made, and war averted. by acting as if we were disconnected and separate from God, our neighbor, and our world. Continue reading . For we are ONE with an evolving DEITY. Remember the precarious nature of the lives of the people who first heard these parables. Then one day that perfect relationship was severed when for one reason or another the humans disobeyed the rules established by the creator. Can you drink the dup I will drink or be baptized in the same baptism as I? We can, James and John replied. All your creatures testify to your mighty deeds! We are smart. 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