O God, how many times have we sought to bury you again, for fear of what you might do to our predictable grayness? 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. Our parents were sound asleep when the whales arrived. Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. What followed was a long, useless argument about the theories of atonement. Youll find it in the first Book of Kings. Alleluia! My point is Paul was just warming up. 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. The liturgy wasdeveloped for use during Lent. For the LOVE expressed in the life and death of Jesus lives in you and in me. This story with which we have been conditioned to look at the issues of our doubts about the resurrection itself, was written in the midst of colossal violence, violence which had escalated in the 70 years since the execution of Jesus of Nazareth. The moss, the kelp, the zebrafish, the very mice and flies, Think for a moment. Today, during this season of Easter, our doubts about the possibility of resurrection are not as important as our doubts about the possibility of peace. Perhaps someone will ask, How are the dead to be raised up? Resist reading into the parables a too small personal shepherd, woman, or father to act the part of a too small recklessly, foolish god. Our gospel-storyteller wrote his story within a deeply wounded community to provide the much need hope for their own resurrection. 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. 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. % 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. For more information on the Commission, its mandate and membership, please click here. Amen. Resist the illusion that finding what we have lost will be a sweet, harmless, story. At the time, I didnt know what the word countenance meant. Only a fool would rejoice with such extravagance. of our connectedness with God and with all people. Come, drink together from the Cup of Gladness! All who are truly sorry for their sins, who sincerely believe in the Lord Jesus as their Savior, and who desire to live in obedience to him, are now invited to come with gladness to the table of the Lord. jQuery('#submit-action').attr('href','/paupress/?rel=pauContent&pau_type='+thisact); I Suspect that You Do Too! I affirm the resurrection each and every time I look into your eyes and see the face of CHRIST.. It wasnt until the 15th century that the flatness of the Earth was seriously challenged by the likes of Columbus. In the same way he took the cup, saying: You can see it in the reckless passion of justice-seekers fighting for affordable housing, equitable healthcare, and food security. The Gospel this morning comes to us from the anonymous Gospel storyteller that we know as John. Im not sure how many whales entered the bay. Amen. At Easter all the themes of the Christian Gospel are held together in one great burst of life. 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. Peace begins with non-violent resistance. Think of ransom as a way out of captivity to Empire. We give thanks and rejoice that Jesus so clearly and courageously linked our loving and our dying with living on in God. It began to seem like the only way to get Crystals hand out was to break the family heirloom. *All: Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord! You dont want to miss Paul when hes worked himself up to his point. Mortal tongues and angels say: Alleluia! Most Australian Anglicans use A Prayer Book for Australia (APBA) as the basis for our common prayer. Our continued evolution relies upon our ability to metanoia, to move beyond primitive ways of thinking. This weeping CHRIST plays on an endless loop in my mind unravelling my carefully constructed images of the DIVINE MYSTERY which is the LOVE we have the audacity to call GOD. Father's Day Service Outline and Ideas. Anybody??? Take a few moments to walk across the sanctuary and have a word with someone about who Jesus was? This question has generated more than a few sermons of its own. Traditional interpretations of the life of Jesus insist that Jesus sacrificed himself, took all our respective punishment onto his shoulders, died for us, upon a cross, so that our relationship to our creator could be restored. This service is found in UMH 12-15 and is designed for those wishing a brief text beginning with the Invitation to the Lord's table. Thats the loop which has been playing round and round in me, all week long. O Little Town of Bethlehem - Spoken Word - Christmas Mini Movie. We need to reach our year-end fundraising goal that will determine what we can do for 2023. Although she has never been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church she is venerated in both the Lutheran and Anglican churches. jQuery('#submit-action').click(); God is with us! Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.]. There is so much more we can do and offer our readership with your support! We are privileged. They were compiled over the years to complement the official resource, the Roman Missal. Easter Sunrise We encourage you to celebrate the Resurrection with your family (and perhaps with neighbors, safely at a distance outdoors) by worshiping the Lord at sunrise using the liturgy below. So that its not just the characters actions which are pointed to as the workings of DIVINITY, but the characters themselves are viewed as stand ins or symbols of GOD Himself or Herself. In my bleakest moments, I could imagine the worst. How deep? Sign up for an account and get your newsletters right away! Or perhaps it is that both are dead. Easter people, come now to the table with Christ! Yet, with the unique calling and nature of Jesus, and the unique character of these events, it can be a stretch to find ways to [], admin2023-02-20T10:39:19+02:00Feb 6th, 2023|0 Comments, admin2023-02-13T17:15:16+02:00Feb 6th, 2023|0 Comments, admin2023-02-06T21:15:25+02:00Feb 6th, 2023|0 Comments, Copyright 2012 - 2020 | Sacredise | All Rights Reserved, Sacredise | Liturgical Resources for Progressive Communities. As different as night and day these 21st century events are brought into focus by the first century story which just happens to be the assigned Gospel reading for this Sunday. Generations beyond any cameras reach, each with their own pain. These liturgies immerse us into the immen-sity of our calling: Christ's passion and passage have been completed. 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. He had the extraordinary capacity to recognize the Divinity in all human beings. You wouldnt know very much about the civil rights movement, about Dr. Kings dream, his vision of equality, his struggle for inclusion, his cries for justice for the poor, his vision economic equality, or his passion for peace, and his commitment to non-violent resistance. an ethic of justice and peace, and for the promise of transformation made manifest in his life, death and resurrection. Jesus way did not include taking up the sword to achieve peace. Let it be so among us. It is long past time for us to move beyond arguments about a physical resuscitation of Jesus body. Practicing resurrection begins when we huddle together refusing to let our fears entomb us. If we fix our gaze upon the surface, we limit the power of these parables to do what parables are designed to do, to turn worlds and lives upside down and inside out. Helping you win loyal friends through your communications, All the stuff I should be writing down for a book someday, Soulful leadership in its many manifestations, A Liturgy for Easter Day (with HolyCommunion), Preaching Thomas on Low Sunday Some PossiblePathways, Reflection and Hymn: The Most DeliciousBread, Encampments: In Situ Poems and Found Devotions, This was the Original Episcopal Cafe site. endobj The nursery rhyme dates back to the English civil war, when the Royalists were being attacked by the Parliamentarians, they put their faith in the size of their cannons, one of them was so large it went by the name Humpty Dumpty, which at the time was a term used to describe fat rich guys. It wasnt about believing in resurrection it was about practicing resurrection. How the living things that are descend from things that were. We thank you, God, for the incredible gift of Jesus, the Word made flesh. Your mommy told me that you reached into the vase for candy. Advent C. First Sunday of Advent. 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 sequence of death and resurrection is the pattern of all creating and of all loving. Let us pray for an abundance of health, for prosperity, and for joy. When I read the accounts of those early followers of the way who abandoned the tomb of the upper-room to gather together to build communities of compassion it is clear to me who was raised up by images of resurrection. So, it should not surprise us that our ancestors in the faith, projected onto the DIVINITY the kind of personality which resonates in a culture where violence is seen as the answer to chaos. 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. The hands are up like a shot. People: We praise you, Lord, for these gifts of bread and wine. Do this in remembrance of me. Then one day that perfect relationship was severed when for one reason or another the humans disobeyed the rules established by the creator. It was the summer of 1978, when twenty-somethings like myself, we couldnt get enough of the Bee Gees and their Disco tunes. The flat Earth was surrounded by the waters. They were an unusual couple in that we shared the uncommon habit of going to church. If you have not donated yet, please do so today. Let us be resurrection by practicing resurrection, that is by resisting violence, resisting injustice, so that the Reign of LOVE ushers in the peace we long for the SHALOM which is abundant living. This year, we at Holy Cross are giving up God for Lent. I dont know how to stop this loop from playing. Paralyzed by their fear, hiding behind a locked door, something happened which gave them the strength to burst forth from their own tomb and change the world. I expect people to act. This week, I have been transfigured by the face of CHRIST, not glowing on a mountaintop, but weeping. Unlike our ancestors who succeeded the writers of the bible and went on to develop the theology of the church, we dont believe that the round earth is the center of the universe. }); Jesus called them together and said, You know how among the Gentiles those who exercise authority are domineering and arrogant; those great ones know how to make their own importance felt. There are heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies. Not all bodies are the same. *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. Winter gives way to sprin After what seemed like hours but was probably just a few minutes, the whales moved on and I was left to clumsily put words onto the depth of my experiences, in what the ancient Celts would call a Thin Place; a place where the lines between the ordinary and the sacred are thin, and we can see, feel, touch, hear the MYSTERY which lies at the very heart of reality. <> And our Creator needs us to pay for our sinfulness. Posted on September 28, 2022 by peddiebill. Yes, I have my doubts about the possibility of SHALOM, especially now as we peer into the abyss which are the horrors of Ukraine, Syria, Myanmar, and countless other places where injustice has bred violence the likes of which seems unstoppable. Let us be LOVE in the world. Alas, the power of Pauls rhetoric has waned over the centuries. Pete said it this way, and I couldnt agree with him more: I deny the resurrection of CHRIST every time I do not serve at the feet of the oppressed, each day that I turn my back on the poor; I deny the resurrection of CHRIST when I close my ears to the cries of the downtrodden and the oppressed. All crosses can be transformed into trees of life. Are we prepared to make sacrifices in order to ransom those who suffer the indignities of the hell we have created here on Earth for the one and a half billion people held in the captivity of poverty? Repent from the Greek word metanoia to think new thoughts. Easter offers meaning and hope to all people. It is the vison of the foolish who are prepared to risk it all for the sake of what we have lost, the SHALOM we long for. 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. We lift them up to God. Among the passages was the text which is assigned for this very Sunday from Pauls letter to the church in Corinth. Easter Communion Liturgy Inspired by A Song of Faith. Let us be LOVE in the world, by fearlessly serving the poor. It was Jesus who introduced this meal to his followers. I do know that the followers of Jesus held dear their vison of Jesus, in whom they saw the CHRIST. Remember, should you have to choose between them in the strife, Sign up for an account and get your newsletters right away! Today, when each of us is coping with the loss of an hours sleep, perhaps it is easier for us to understand that the way in which we describe reality does indeed change over time. As the embodiment of LOVE, LOVE ensures that Jesus never dies. Hosanna in the highest. But there is more going on in this story than just the literal words on the page. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. In a world driven mad with bloodlust, we peddle as pleasurable, fascinating, and entertaining, the kind of violence which can efficiently torture and kill distant populations at the push of a button. Please feel free to use in your faith communities with attribution. Click HERE to DOWNLOAD the Worship Bulletin, ONE with the LOVE which permeates the Cosmos! Give us the gifts of this holy communion , [This triple blessing and sending/commissioning may be delivered by three different voices.]. For he is risen, and nothing separates us from Gods love! Your support is needed to help ProgressiveChristianityorg. Nov 10, 2022 | Christmas, Featured 1, Mini-Movies, Seasonal, Videos. And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Prayer of Communion 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. Life in the spirit continues in ways beyond our imagining. Today, is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The safety of the mountaintop must have been glorious. If you have not donated yet, please do so today. What tombs are there in the Church that exercise the same function? As a whale gently brushed the underside of the dingy, a strange calm came over me and I was not afraid. Occasionally, I was able to hear Jesus say, Have you believed because you have seen me? 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. You simply asked the members of the First Nation for permission to pitch your tents on their land. May 23, 2022 | Father's Day, Mini-Movies. window.location.replace('https://progressivechristianity.org/paupress/?rel=contact&pau_form=contact_form'); We accept you into our bodies, into our lives. 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. It is a scary proposition for a pastor to venture out on a journey without the familiar trappings of familiar liturgy. Frame 5: God is everywhere, in all of creation. THEME The Rapturous Awakening The Irrepressible God The Ever-present Mystery, From Good Fridays gruesome darkness. Why they decided to cut your off before you made your point, well thats a sermon for another day. Now there are those that insist that it was the power of Jesus having been physically resuscitated from the dead that motivated his followers to change their lives and the lives of millions who have come after them. Easter is the eternal moment that supersedes all time;the vision that puts into perspective all visionless living. The endless loop projects many faces of CHRIST. The profoundest act of worship is to try to understand. 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