Good Evening Beloved Family!
Wow! It is Sunday again and we have completed the first octave in November! As much as I would like to finish 2020 and begin another year, I don't like months that speed by. Oh well, that's the way the calendar goes and what happens when one is busy. What does that mean for us today? I think it means that we need to plug in periods of rest along with being prepared for anything like our Gospel reading tells. us So that means keeping it basic tonight and not getting goopy. Let us begin with our "Be stills" as a healthy spiritual reminder.
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still
Be.
Inhale.
Hold.
Exhale.
Pause and repeat the above twice.
Come let us worship and pray for the healing of this fragile and broken world.
Joseph Barth: A Grace
We give thanks for Being;
We give thanks for being here;
We give thanks for being here together.
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good tidings of salvation.Isaiah 52:7
Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.Luke 6:38
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.2 Timothy 1:7
Jesus said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’Luke 5:31
Call to Prayer
Hildegard of Bingen
The earth is at the same time mother,
She is mother of all that is natural, mother of all that is human.
She is the mother of all, for contained in her are the seeds of all.
The earth of humankind contains all moistness, all verdancy, all germinating power.
It is in so many ways fruitful.
All creation comes from it. Yet it forms not only the basic raw material for humankind, but also the substance of the incarnation of God's son.
Light of the World Phos hilaron
Light of the world, in grace and beauty,
Mirror of God’s eternal face,
Transparent flame of love’s free duty,
You bring salvation to our race.
Now, as we see the lights of evening,
We raise our voice in hymns of praise;
Worthy are you of endless blessing,
Sun of our night, lamp of our days.
Everything Has Its Time (From Ecclesiastes)
3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
Jesus, you are the way through the wilderness: show us your
truth in which we journey, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit be
in us the life that draws us to God. Amen.
(source: F.B. McNutt, The Prayer Manual [London: Mowbray, 1961], p. 29,
adapted)
IN LAK’ECH
Tú eres mi otro yo.
You are my other me.
Si te hago daño a ti,
If I do harm to you,
Me hago daño a mi mismo.
I do harm to myself.
Si te amo y respeto,
If I love and respect you,
Me amo y respeto yo.
I love and respect myself.
Luis Valdez
A Smudging Prayer
Creator,
our Father in heaven,
we come to you as your children.
We confess that we are weak and broken images of you.
We pray for the forgiveness and healing you give in Jesus Christ.
May his Spirit clean our spirits, minds, hearts, and bodies.
We pray that your Holy Spirit
will help us to worship in spirit and truth.
We pray in the name of Jesus,
so that his Spirit will carry our prayers to you.
Amen.
Let us confess our need for God’s healing grace.
Silence
Minister and People
Compassionate God,
we confess our weaknesses and our need for your
strengthening touch.
We confess that some illnesses stem from our own fault,
while others are beyond our control.
We turn to you, source of life,
and ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ
for the gifts of true healing and life in you. Amen.
Minister
May the God of love visit you in your times of trial and weakness, and raise you to newness of life, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Services of Religion: Free Nation and Free World
God, who has made us one nation out of many peoples, amid our diversities of race and tradition, unite us in a common love of freedom and in a high ambition for our national life.
Continue in us the pioneering spirit which led our fathers across the estranging sea and up held them in the wilderness.
Deepen in the people of this land a devotion to the common commonweal, so that we may open new doors of hope to the neglected and oppressed; cleanse our hearts from the greed which preys upon others; and deliver our politics from corruption.
Help us to establish this land in righteousness.
Endue with the spirit of wisdom those entrusted with authority, that there may be peace within our borders, and that we may stand among the nations of the earth an example of justice and a power of good will.
Let Your peace, O God, rule in all our hearts.
To every council where nations bring their hopes and fears, grant wisdom and mutual understanding, that distrust and hatred may be diminished, and a common law of justice be established.
Let peace, O God, prevail throughout the earth.
Beacon Song and Service Book: The Work of the World
Wondrous giver of all things, this world is full of Your riches. We thank You for the splendor of nature and for Your bountiful provision for our human needs. May we not waste Your gifts nor needlessly ignore the welfare of others in our use of them. We seek to do our part in the work of the world, and so enter into fellowship with all who toil and all who create. We would recognize the right of every human being to share in what You give. We would help to make our planet a true home for all of Your children, where each may have an equal opportunity both for work and for the rewards of work.
Stephen Vincent Benét: A Common Faith
God of the free, our Earth is small in the great universe. Grant us the wisdom and the vision to comprehend the great ness of the human spirit that suffers and endures hugely for a goal beyond our own brief span.
We are all children of the Earth. Grant us that simple knowl edge. If others are oppressed, then we are oppressed. If they hunger, we hunger. If their freedom is taken away, our freedom is not secure. Grant us a common faith that we shall know bread and peace, freedom and security, an equal opportunity to do our best, not only in our own lands, but throughout the world. In that faith, let us march toward the clean world our hands can make.
++
From the Arusha Call to Discipleship (World Council of Churches)
Loving God, we thank you for the gift of life in all its diversity and beauty. Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, we praise you that you came to find the lost, to free the oppressed, to heal the sick, and to convert the self-centred. Holy Spirit, we rejoice that you breathe in the life of the world and are poured out into our hearts. As we live in the Spirit, may we also walk in the Spirit. Grant us faith and courage to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus: becoming pilgrims of justice and peace in our time. For the blessing of your people, the sustaining of the earth, and the glory of your name. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
70 Deus, in adjutorium
1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me; *
O Lord, make haste to help me.
2 Let those who seek my life be ashamed
and altogether dismayed; *
let those who take pleasure in my misfortune
draw back and be disgraced.
3 Let those who say to me "Aha!" and gloat over me turn back, *
because they are ashamed.
4 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; *
let those who love your salvation say for ever,
"Great is the Lord!"
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy; *
come to me speedily, O God.
6 You are my helper and my deliverer; *
O Lord, do not tarry.
Wisdom 6:12-20
Description of Wisdom
12 Wisdom is radiant and unfading,
and she is easily discerned by those who love her,
and is found by those who seek her.
13 She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.
14 One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty,
for she will be found sitting at the gate.
15 To fix one’s thought on her is perfect understanding,
and one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,
16 because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,
and she graciously appears to them in their paths,
and meets them in every thought.
17 The beginning of wisdom* is the most sincere desire for instruction,
and concern for instruction is love of her,
18 and love of her is the keeping of her laws,
and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality,
19 and immortality brings one near to God;
20 so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom.
Amos 5:18-24
The Day of the Lord a Dark Day
18 Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light;
19 as if someone fled from a lion,
and was met by a bear;
or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a snake.
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
A Song of Pilgrimage Priusquam errarem
Ecclesiasticus 51:13-16,20b-22
Before I ventured forth,
even while I was very young, *
I sought wisdom openly in my prayer.
In the forecourts of the temple I asked for her, *
and I will seek her to the end.
From first blossom to early fruit, *
she has been the delight of my heart.
My foot has kept firmly to the true path, *
diligently from my youth have I pursued her.
I inclined my ear a little and received her; *
I found for myself much wisdom and became adept in her.
To the one who gives me wisdom will I give glory, *
for I have resolved to live according to her way.
From the beginning I gained courage from her, *
therefore I will not be forsaken.
In my inmost being I have been stirred to seek her, *
therefore have I gained a good possession.
As my reward the Almighty has given me the gift of language,*
and with it will I offer praise to God.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The Coming of the Lord
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,* about those who have died,* so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.* 15For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.* 16For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
The Song of Mary Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior, *
for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you *
from generation to generation.
You have shown strength with your arm *
and scattered the proud in their conceit,
Casting down the mighty from their thrones *
and lifting up the lowly.
You have filled the hungry with good things *
and sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel, *
for you have remembered your promise of mercy,
The promise made to our forebears, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Matthew 25:1-13 - Note that this Gospel reading packs a punch at the end when we get there. We will begin our Matthew 25 Sunday serial reading trifecta today. These readings are also in preparation for Celtic Advent.
The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids
25‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids* took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.* 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” 7Then all those bridesmaids* got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” 9But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” 10And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11Later the other bridesmaids* came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” 12But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” 13Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.*
A Song of True Motherhood
Julian of Norwich
God chose to be our mother in all things *
and so made the foundation of his work,
most humbly and most pure, in the Virgin’s womb.
God, the perfect wisdom of all, *
arrayed himself in this humble place.
Christ came in our poor flesh *
to share a mother’s care.
Our mothers bear us for pain and for death; *
our true mother, Jesus, bears us for joy and endless life.
Christ carried us within him in love and travail, *
until the full time of his passion.
And when all was completed and he had carried us so for joy, *
still all this could not satisfy the power of his wonderful love.
All that we owe is redeemed in truly loving God, *
for the love of Christ works in us;
Christ is the one whom we love.
The Lord’s Prayer or the alternative is said. From A New Zealand Prayer Book
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
Or
Eternal Spirit,
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples
of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever. Amen.
Father,
let us not serve you grudgingly like slaves,
but with the gladness of children
who delight in you
and rejoice in their work;
through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
Amen. (ANZPB)
Christ has no Body
Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks. Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world. - Teresa of Avila
The Beatitudes Matthew 5:3–12
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (5:3)
Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted. (5:4)
Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth. (5:5)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled. (5:6)
Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. (5:7)
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God. (5:8)
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God. (5:9)
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.
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