My own desire to resist the urge to respond to violence with violence weakens with every report of the injustices perpetrated as innocent lives are lost. Rejecting the concept of original sin or sin nature. Blessings on your Holy Week observance and Easter celebrations! High above the mountaintops, where only distance bars, Although it can sometimes feel like the demands of others, the restriction of our freedom that comes from living with others, and the constant struggle to maintain strong relationships with others are too painful and exhausting for what they cost us, the alternative, which is to isolate ourselves, is far worse. 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. good times, bad times - give me some of that: blogging on faith and life. Today, it is Easter Sunday for orthodox Christians. When I arrived, the place was empty, and I thought I was going to make a clean get-away. In LOVE, we are ransomed from our fear, ransomed from our arrogance and ransomed from our self-centredness, set free to trust the MYSTERY which is LOVE so that we to might live the way of LOVE, so that we might be LOVE in the world, here on this planet. Amen. Sign up for an account and get your newsletters right away! You responded with grace, humility, and welcome. This knowledge has to change the way in which we see our relationship with the MYSTERY that lies at the very source of our being; our Creator if you will. Abundant life is the Shalom we long for, for without justice there can be no peace, and without peace there can only be abundance for some and not for all. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of our God. Risk it all for the sake of LOVE. Lectionary sermon for 2 October 2022 on Luke 17: 5-10. My first conscious memory of hearing the BAT KOL, the Daughter of a Sound, the still small voice of DIVINITY happened on a sojourn into a Thin Place during a summer camping trip when I was just 13. The liturgy was adapted by Dr. Bert Polman from a form prepared by the Liturgical Committee of the Christian Reformed Church for use during an Easter Service; this liturgy can be used for all Sundays in Eastertide. 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. Humans are incomplete beings. Required fields are marked *. 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 . Believing, as Jesus believed, that beyond pain and darkness and death, God offered him, so that by his blood he should become the means by which peoples sins are forgiven through their faith in him. %PDF-1.5
Give us the gifts of this holy communion , [This triple blessing and sending/commissioning may be delivered by three different voices.]. We trust that with your grace present, even the smallest act of kindness, the shortest practice of goodness, or the slightest gesture of generosity can have significance well beyond all expectations. When I opened it, I found several passages of scripture written out in Annas immaculate style. var thisact = jQuery('#submission-action').val(); Easter Grace Blessing May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us this day. Thich Nhat Hanh. 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. Alleluia! The Apostle Paul did not need there to be an actual physical resuscitation of a corpse in order to believe that Jesus is risen from the dead. 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? Enjoy! }); Frame 17: Look for the resurrections in your life. <>
Faced with the needs of so very many, what can I do? 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. This dear friends is what it means for you and me to sit at Jesus side. Our gospel-storyteller wrote his story within a deeply wounded community to provide the much need hope for their own resurrection. O God, let us take in the moment of this day of crucifixion, not remembering it in the context of what came after it, but how it left Jesus' disciples and followers in tragic sadness and heart-wrenched disillusionment. If our hopes in Christ are limited to this life only, we are the most pitiful of all the human race. we gratefully receive the Easter offering. If you are looking for an Affirmation of Faith for a specific season or celebration (e.g. As a result of this splendid isolation, we spent several weeks as the only family camped in this idyllic bay. He is risen indeed! Strike-slip fault and overthrust and syn and anticline 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 dont know about you but when that giant phallic ship was trusting into the wild blue yonder, I became somewhat indignant. window.location.replace('https://progressivechristianity.org/paupress/?rel=contact&pau_form=contact_form'); What can we see in the wounds which are depicted in this story? Jesus lived and died giving his life to ransom us from ourselves, from our fears, so that free from the captivity in which our fear has confined us, we might walk freely away from our own self-centredness. Living lives of reckless abandon is untenable. My family had travelled to the west coast of Vancouver Island to what was back then, a mostly unknown treasure. A quick glace toward the shoreline confirmed that I was well beyond where I would safely swim on a summer day and a strange sort of vertigo began to take hold over me. One of the main attractions at Pachena Bay were the pods of whales that are attracted to the bay. Easter offers meaning and hope to all people. Set free from a Three-Tiered Universe! "Ground Us and Grow Us in Love," rtf or pdf file of liturgy at Worship Ways. There is so much more we can do and offer our readership with your support! The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death by the sword. the Divine thrives in our world. Contact Us. By J. Wayne Pratt. Christ is risen. Heavenly bodies have a beauty of their own, and earthly bodies have a beauty of their own. Read More. endobj
I have come that you might have life and live it abundantly.. They were both more than a little relieved to have Grandmas calming presence. Let it go. Sure enough, the vase slipped off as smooth as silk. The injustice of it all explodes into our living rooms day after day. He conveyed to us the importance of love and compassion. What is sown is a perishable body, what is raised is incorruptible. Robert Solon Jr. Little Crystal was only two and a half years old when she got hopelessly stuck. As we receive Communion, these words are said: You are the Bread of Life. Introit "The Strive Is O'er"(Voices United (VU) 159) "Christ Is Risen from the Dead"(VU 167) "Now Christ Is Risen"(VU 172) "Halle, halle, halle" (VU 958) Call to Worship. Scholars tell us that the letter was written between the years 53 and 57. Believe it or not, my wrestling skills actually helped me rise to the level of a world champion wrestler. Offering of Gifts(Ordinarily the Lord's Supper will follow; during the offertory the table xoill be prepared. The word liturgy means "the work of the people", and it is here that the poetry of prayer finds form and structure. Jesus said, I have come that they might have life and may live it abundantly! LIFE and not death. And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. The story I want to tell you comes from the Irish author Frank McCourts autobiography entitled Tis. healed those who believed in him, received all who sought him. We share it as our pledge of openness to the spirit in our midst, Or perhaps it is that both are dead. What tombs are there in the Church that exercise the same function? But when I became an adult, I put childish ways aside. Today, like Jesus, we too can proclaim liberty to the captive minds and recovery of sight to those who have been blinded by ancient ways of knowing. For us, Jesus can be the medium through which the Mystery we call God can be imagined. Surely, the Americans have an agency for this. I fumbled for my phone and hopped out into the frigid air desperate to capture a photograph which has always eluded me. A Communion Liturgy for the Whole People of God. Pachena Bay with its warm Pacific waters, heated even more by virtue of its shallow depths, attracted schools of salmon, ling cod and halibut, who make up a veritable smorgasbord for the pods of whales, that continue to visit the bay to this very day. The Easter Peace is shared *Hymn This Is the Day So, in the same way, we, of the Namaste Church, honor the Divinity in all people and this is why we called this church Namaste which means We honor the Divinity Within You.. He greets us with peace the world does not know. Share as a whole group some responses: What do you know about the life of Jesus that sheds some light on who and what the MYSTERY that we call God is? */ So much so that they confessed their desire to stay with Jesus in the splendor of that mountaintop. var thisact = jQuery('#submission-action').val(); I just knew that if God really did come up with such a barbaric bargain, then God must be in league with the Devil himself. Most Australian Anglicans use A Prayer Book for Australia (APBA) as the basis for our common prayer. *Leader: Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord! Sign up for an account and get your newsletters right away! Jesus taught this. Yesterday, I travelled out onto the frozen surface of Lake Simcoe. 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. Lord Jesus, come in glory. Try to hear the word ransom not with ears blocked by centuries of perverse theological atonement theories. Do this in remembrance of me. Justice is what LOVE looks like when LOVE is unleashed here on Earth. We need a saviour to rescue us from our sinfulness. He enacted peace in the midst of violence, love in the face of hate, Come then to the joyful feast of the Lord! The response is Alithos Aneste! Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. So, I will not presume to answer for Jesus hometown congregations murderous intentions. The Parliamentarians victory may have looked like the way to peace, but it was no peace at all, it was as Dom Crossan puts it, just a lull in the violence. Repent: Metanoia: to think new thoughts Let us repent, metanoia Let us think new thoughts. We all must take care of ourselves. christmas featuring two prayers suitable for including in a Christmas card to a friend. All tears are part of the river of life. We ask you to bless this bread and this cup. What do you know about the life of Jesus that sheds some light on who and what the MYSTERY that we call God is? One: On this day, we celebrate the risen Christ And while we are at it, it is long past time for us to project LOVE onto the MYSTERY which is DIVINITY. Yes, the woman should have been content with her 99 coins. And all the kings horses and all the kings men, couldnt put Humpty together again. */ How double-dog dare I? Just as Jesus empowered the people he encountered to believe in themselves, we want you to walk away with an awareness not of how ordinary you are not of how unworthy you are but an awareness of your greatness and lovability. It empowers us to hope in the coming resurrection and new life. *Easter Peace Beloved in Christ, God's love pours out from the grave of despair. The moss, the kelp, the zebrafish, the very mice and flies, This, dear ones, is Good News indeed! Resist reading into the parables a too small personal shepherd, woman, or father to act the part of a too small recklessly, foolish god. Im a scientific kind of guy and to tell you the truth There we stood, we three kindred creatures, waving together as ONE, held in a vast Cosmos touched by the MYSTERY which is the LOVE which permeates ALL that IS, including us, for we are ONE, ONE with DIVINITY. Beginning with the traditional opening from Charles Wesley, this moves into a progressive Christian expression of resurrection. Let us metanoia Let us think new thoughts about who Jesus was and why Jesus died. Your email address will not be published. Glory be to you, Lord Jesus. God did this in order to demonstrate that he is righteous. Letting go of our carefully crafted and tightly held images of the ONE who IS the SOURCE of ALL BEING is a daunting task. Yes, the father should never have trusted his sons with all that he had, and when his lost son showed himself to be untrustworthy, he shouldnt have been welcomed with open arms, and as for the faithful, self-righteous son, well sometimes justice demands that we abandon the rules, if we are to achieve peace. Sign up for our FREE monthly eNewsletter! The distortion of maps deceived me into believing that it would be a short trip from Bergen to Narvik. We are not alone! For after the fire came a BAT KOL. read more More Poetry Week of February 5, 2023 "Less is more." Repent: Metanoia: to think new thoughts Let us repent, metanoia Let us think new thoughts. 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. Pauls words were interpreted from the King James version of the bible to read like this: And now I want to remind you, my friends, of the Good News which I preached to you, which you received, and on which your faith stands firm. Frame 6: You are a special and unique image of God. Pinging is currently not allowed. A Liturgical and Devotional Guide for Lent. The truth is Humpty Dumpty was not an egg. Only a fool would leave to search for the stray who might be wounded, damaged, dying, not interested in being rescued. It didnt take very long for me to realize that I was in the presence of something much larger than myself. jQuery('#submit-action').click(); Hosanna in the highest. If it doesnt is it my heart or is it the worship that is dead? We celebrate the table in which we can join together with friends and strangers, loved ones and enemies. You sent your only-begotten,in whom your fullness dwells, OK, if youve stuck with me this far, you are probably beginning to wonder how exactly you, or I deny the resurrection. And each and every time we find what has been lost is a time for celebration. My brother and I were always at it. That Paul didnt much care about a physical resurrection ought to give us the courage to see the notion of a physical resuscitation of Jesus corpse for the late first century development that it was. God at that moment was transformed into a violent, murderer, willing to put my beloved Jesus to a torturous death. Anyway, we did what any self-respecting kid would have done in our position. May this meal be blessed as we gather to celebrate together. What matters is that LOVE rises. First of all, I hadnt been born again, and then there was the dancing, and as for my serving beer to the crowd at the Legion, well, my roommates were concerned. 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. Only a fool Would rather be relentlessly looking for one small, lone coin when nine, known and countable, are all that are really needed. Amen. Crystal had always been told that one day the magnificent vase would be hers. Suddenly, the Cosmos reminded me that freedom from ancient ways of knowing does not mean freedom from REALITY. So, when the possibility arose to actually travel up to Narvik in Norway to see the mid-night sun I was off. I first heard it at a retreat on the West Coast a lifetime ago). Living the Resurrection Second Sunday of Easter, Year B On the Sunday after Easter, there is a general let down. Life is somehow stronger than death. Even though Jesus knew he would be betrayed and deserted by those at this supper, he still continued to join them at the table, sharing time and space with whom he grew closest. We can only begin to imagine the magnitude of what a conquered, oppressed, suffering people has lost. sermon 4 Giving Up God for Lent John 3:16, GOD IS DEAD! Lord, help us to make. The Liturgy of the Hours includes several specified times of prayer. As a kid, this Canadian epic always sparked my imagination, as I dreamed of those, strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold. for The Artic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold;The Northern Lights have seen queer sights and on and on it goes spinning a which always fills me with glee as I warm my soul by the heat of the cremation of Sam McGee, wondering about all the other strange things done in the mid-night sun. Out of the familiar emerges the extraordinary that transforms the ordinary. To which Jesus responded, From the cup I drink of, you will drink; the baptism I am immersed in, you will share. Pauls understanding of resurrection was good enough for those early followers of Jesus way. For there is no division within the divine. Think for a moment. Lent & Holy Week BEYOND Atonement! If you have already donated, thank you! Support our mission with a tax-deductible donation! For he is risen, and nothing separates us from Gods love! The Cross and Easter are two faces of the one mystery. Life finds a way. All week long, I have been emersed in the anonymous gospel-storyteller we know as Lukes account of Jesus first sermon, in which Jesus declares that he has been anointed to bring Good News, and it wasnt until my own frozen epiphany set me to dancing on ice that I actually noticed that part of the Good News of which Jesus speaks involves the proclamation of liberty to those held captive! 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