In the tears of that little Ukrainian family, I began to see yet another face of CHRIST, a face I had refused to see before. One: On this day, we shout Hallelujah! I went headfirst into the ocean, and I sank like a stone. Evolving beyond the myth that violence can solve our problems, or bring us peace, is vital. To which Jesus responded, From the cup I drink of, you will drink; the baptism I am immersed in, you will share. I assumed that it had something to do with counting myself out of their way of worshipping. Then Grandma rubbed little Crystals back, held her close and gently, but firmly said: Let it go, child. Sometimes, when I manage to muster up my courage and try to view these parables of loss through lenses of resistance, I can begin to feel a kind of reckless abandon welling up in me, inspiring the kind of passion, which tempts me to take leave of my senses, to risk everything for the sake of what is currently being lost. 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. Risen Christ, The world despised and rejected you. Alison Etter. The agency connects leaders with needed resourcing, training, consulting, and networking that support spiritual Frame 6: You are a special and unique image of God. What can Jesus teach us about God? Its not all about you. Thats the loop which has been playing round and round in me, all week long. Most Australian Anglicans use A Prayer Book for Australia (APBA) as the basis for our common prayer. Make them the food and drink of everlasting life, [After the Lords Prayer, the ministers and other worship leaders break the bread and place the pieces in baskets or on plates for distribution. What a stupid argument. He blessed it and broke it, and shared it with the disciples. Ive got to say that even though we shared the same weight class for most of our childhood, when it came to world class wrestling holds, I had him beat. Lectionary sermon for 2 October 2022 on Luke 17: 5-10. The Resurrection is witness to the golden incandescence at the heart of life which neither suffering nor death can destroy. They must have seen me gazing at them, or at least I like to imagine they did. All crosses can be transformed into trees of life. 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? 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. thanksgiving prayers As Jesus invited his friends to drink, mindful of a relationship of love and trust between ourselves and the spirit of life, Especially when what was lost is restored. Frame 17: Look for the resurrections in your life. Lift up your hearts. For years I reigned as the champion of our little world! We give thanks for all the influences in our lives that have helped us see beyond the present and have called us to live in hope and trust whatever endings we have experienced. 2023 ProgressiveChristianity.org, Re-Pitching the Tent: Reordering the Church Building for Worship and Mission, Transforming the Stone: Preaching Through Resistance to Change, A Joyful Path, Childrens Curriculum Sample Lessons for Years One, Two and Three, Find Faith Communities Using A Joyful Path, The Core Values of Progressive Christianity, Bishop Spong Newsletter Progressing Spirit, Advertising on ProgressiveChristianity.org, There are different kinds of life and death: our physical bodies most obvious but we also experience a kind of life and death emotionally and in our interaction with others, We all experience death and resurrection in our everyday lives, New Life we are constantly recreating life, We dont want to change dont want to let go but in the dying, new life emerges. Perhaps a story will help us move beyond what we think were looking for to actual miracle of resurrection. So, it made it difficult for us to work up much speed. This page features the work of the Liturgy Commission of the Anglican Church of Australia. There was work to do. It was so good to be there, where they could see in Jesus the face of CHRIST. } We give thanks for the way he opened our minds and hearts to see and appreciate the intimate and never-ending connection between loving and the spirit of love. After the wind there was an earthquakebut YHWH was not in the earthquake. . Invitation */ My brother and I were always at it. High above the mountaintops, where only distance bars, Weakness is sown, strength is raised up. Do we have the courage to serve? SPRING - EASTER The Dance Of Transformation. 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? Let us give thanks to our Creator. The big challenge of this period in the Church Calendar is that the focus is so very clearly on events that happened to "Someone else" so very long ago. As a Pharisee, Paul believed in the resurrection of the dead and certainly he believed that Jesus had been raised from the dead. that we gather this morning and remember together that . But lately, the news has encouraged us all to begin to emerge from our pandemic protocols. I am using it this Sunday and sharing your credit information! The texts contained in this site are unofficial. - Trinity Sunday, Moon-Dancing Bears, Jesus and Nicodemus: a sermon on John 3:1-17. I expected that such a thrust would have released my arm from Alans iron grip. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words we would like to share a slideshow with you that gives life both visually and in its various messages. Here at this table your promise of life is made tangible. We celebrate the table in which we can join together with friends and strangers, loved ones and enemies. Children and youth might be used as servers and/or readers. Amen. Repent: Metanoia: to think new thoughts Let us repent, metanoia Let us think new thoughts. Every time I do not serve my neighbour, every time I walk away from the poor. if ( thisact == "contact" ) { Today, we, ourselves and our neighbours, no longer live captive to the contours of the very tiny universe in which our ancestors confined their thoughts. For heavens sake, when you sow a seed into the ground and it bursts forth into new life, that new life doesnt come in the form of a seed, it comes to life as a plant! Wellspring Liturgies. Resurrection is about the wisdom and the courage to proclaim with our lives that Jesus vision of the Reign of LOVE continues to rise in us. jQuery(document).ready(function(){ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. He conveyed to us the importance of love and compassion. But there were no tears to be seen. Instead, I was blessed by two, I dont know if they were my brothers or my sisters or one of each. Frame 1: We are about to enter a world of life-giving beauty. They were concerned for my mortal soul. Hell, I dont want to see it. This year, we at Holy Cross are giving up God for Lent. Jesus lived for this. May this meal be blessed as we gather to celebrate together. I remember flying out of there in a hot rage. So, rather than side-step the subject of resurrection, I decided to include both readings today. 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. Lectionary, study and worship resources from Faith Futures Jesus Then & Now. 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. Alleluia, amen! So glad to hear that this liturgy is meaningful for you. United States Believe it or not, my wrestling skills actually helped me rise to the level of a world champion wrestler. <> Years ago, a good many years ago in fact, when my life as an adult had only just begun, I was backpacking around Europe, and I began to hear people talk about the land of the mid-night sun. The sermon is broken up into three short homilies. 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. Grandma sat little Crystal on her knee. You are invited to this table of life as we join with each other and seek communion with God. But I can, even now hear these stories told to inspire resistance to the violence and injustice of empire, for the sake of justice and peace. Alas, the power of Pauls rhetoric has waned over the centuries. Only a foolWould leave the ninety-nine unguarded: to wander aimlessly, to be ravaged by some unknown predator, to fall prey to who knows what. Others, they looked confused and terrified as they are loaded on board trains. Evening Prayer Service Bulletin which is to be printed double-sided. 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! Send us into the world resurrected, refreshed and ready to share Christs unconditional love. Would leave ninety-nine sheep to look for one lost sheep. Inflammatory rhetoric is a method of speaking designed to capture the attention of those upon whom it is inflicted. Only a fool would leave to search for the stray who might be wounded, damaged, dying, not interested in being rescued. The first face of CHRIST belongs to a Ukrainian Father who is struggling to say good-bye to his young daughter. For we have been blessed with the ability to grasp so many more details about the Cosmos in which we live and move and have our being, than our ancestors could ever have imagined. if ( '' != thisact ) { Michelle L. Torigian. //jQuery('#submit-action').attr('href','/paupress/?rel=pauContent&pau_type='+thisact); McCourt was a schoolteacher, and he tells this story about a particular class in which he was challenging the assumptions of his young students. I first heard it at a retreat on the West Coast a lifetime ago), In this fast paced world of ours, I often find myself in little Crystals predicament. 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. Easter (250) Easter 2 Year A (102) Easter 2 Year B (114) Easter 2 Year C (122) Easter 3 Year A (49) Easter 3 Year B (29) Easter 3 Year C (50) Easter 4 Year A (120) At this Easter gathering, we take bread, as Jesus took bread, and we remember, as Jesus remembered, the constant presence of the spirit of life and love. It didnt take very long for me to realize that I was in the presence of something much larger than myself. See if you can pick them out. Heavenly bodies have a beauty of their own, and earthly bodies have a beauty of their own. Through a simple meal of grain and grape, we, your children, unite. Jesus insisted with all that he is, that justice and not violence is the only way to establish and maintain peace. Apparently, my body language suggested that I was filled not with the SPIRIT but with Satan himself. Alleluia! Your support is needed to help ProgressiveChristianityorg. 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. He is risen indeed! Practicing resurrection happens when we empower one another to rise.Practicing resurrection happens when we build communities of compassion that live fully, love extravagantly, and empower people to be all that they were created to be. Christ is risen! Let us declare our faith together (you may rise): who welcomes us into the household of faith. Nothing that exists is ever completely destroyed. [on the night before he died, Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: From desert cliff and mountaintop we trace the wide design, Heidi Carrington Heath, Sabbath: SALT's Lectionary Commentary for Second Week after Pentecost, Year B, Into the World: SALTs Lectionary Commentary for Easter 7. You responded with peace, forgiveness, and new life. So, today Im inviting you to stop trying to identify the DIVINE MYSTERY as an individual person in these parables. Ask congregation if they have any resurrections they would like to share. It wasnt about believing in resurrection it was about practicing resurrection. <> Welcome to the liturgy of The Namaste Church! It is in Jesus life, not his death that we will find salvation. You see Paul was skilled in the ancient art of rhetoric and would recognize my own rhetoric for what it is. How double-dog dare I? The numbers, they are staggering. Their pastor had warned them that my countenance was putting us all in danger. OK, if youve stuck with me this far, you are probably beginning to wonder how exactly you, or I deny the resurrection. The magnitude of loss was positively unbearable. Posted on September 28, 2022 by peddiebill. Springtime is a season of optimism and hope, and the Christian lives a faith centred on hope. Perhaps someone will ask, How are the dead to be raised up? The eradication of poverty is the work of LOVE in the world, this world, here and now, on this wonderful bountiful planet, upon which there is already more than enough to nourish abundant life for all. Traditionally, the season of Lent is a time of repentance. Michael first walks the reader through the theological shifts that are necessitating changes to liturgical, group, and personal prayer and then demonstrates how these major shifts can be incorporated into a new template for meaningful . And when she got stuck she did what all small children do, when they have gotten themselves into a situation that the cant get out of, little Crystal cried for help. Strip away our biased convictions so that through our selfless giving we can gaze clearly on your vision for our lives. endobj I find the stories of the empty tomb hard to take in. 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. Father's Day Service Outline and Ideas. Through this meal, make us the body of Christ, that we may join with you in promoting the well-being of all creation. 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 with prayers and blessings for easter services. We thank you, God, for the incredible gift of Jesus, the Word made flesh. I dont know how to stop this loop from playing. Lent is observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Oriental . Amen. It was Jesus who introduced this meal to his followers. We are not fallen creatures. 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. Among the passages was the text which is assigned for this very Sunday from Pauls letter to the church in Corinth. For those of you preaching on the text fromGenesis 32:3-31: You may not be able to tell from looking at me. One clear shot and Putin would be gone. I mean, like, its common sense. So, this morning Id like us to take our focus off Jesus death and all we may have heard, or learned about why Jesus died so that we can see what it was about Jesus life that endeared him to his followers. I confess, I was in denial. Repent Metanoia let us think new thoughts so that we might ask: What can Jesus teach us? No wonder Jesus took Peter, John, and James up there to pray. The congregation is encouraged to move around the sanctuary. You are still in your sins, and those who have fallen asleep in Christ are the deadest of the dead. The followers of Jesus stood up and got on with the business which was begun by Jesus. So the question about the kind of body the risen Jesus had was, as Paul puts it, quite simply, stupid. My youth and inexperience allowed the more ornery side of my nature to come to the fore. To climb down from our lofty positions of wealth and privilege in order to serve the poor? May this Spirit help us to recognize the Christ-presence in our midst. It can all tend to become a nice "show" or a good academic exercise, but with little impact on us as we seek to follow this Jesus. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.. 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