Prayer of Confession and Pardon for Easter. Turns out I was close. 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. Breathe in the goodness of that space. May 23, 2022 | Father's Day, Mini-Movies. Gardens often provide a space for worship in a neutral setting outside the church for people to gather and share a faith experience. 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. :+FI_!+zh}&7 qdhe'{p [&xQJX/nf69. One quiet afternoon my brother Alan and I were playing on the shore. Even our ancient Greek forebearers, they understood that if horses had gods those gods would be horses. Your email address will not be published. healing, overcoming divisions, welcoming all. 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? As the train finally pulled into Narvik, I couldnt quite believe my eyes. Let us pray: May each of us be aware of the Spirit of God within us today and respond to the Good News, we pray. What do you know about the life of Jesus that sheds some light on who and what the MYSTERY that we call God is? The moss, the kelp, the zebrafish, the very mice and flies, Amen. 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. Through his resurrection Life you gave birth to your church, Weakness is sown, strength is raised up. Remember the precarious nature of the lives of the people who first heard these parables. Lectionary, study and worship resources from Faith Futures Jesus Then & Now. Then it is given the body designed for itwith each kind of seed getting its own kind of body. Oh, how I miss those Sunday closings! How solid? But then I looked at the readings assigned for next Sunday and discovered that, yet another section of 1st Corinthians 15 is included. What might we wealthy followers of Jesus be prepared to pay to serve the needs of those held captive to the financial empire of our time? How the living things that are descend from things that were. We are free to embrace this LOVE, to walk in this LOVE, and to be this LOVE. I dont much care about silly arguments about Jesus rising from the dead unless those arguments lead us to a place where we ourselves can claim the power of resurrection to create a hunger for SHALOM, a passion for the justice which creates peace. 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) The SPIRIT of DIVINITY is BEYOND Creation, BEYOND the Cosmos, even as it is in, and with, and through, all of Creation, all of the Cosmos. When Grandma finally arrived, both Crystal and her mother were almost hysterical. My predicament often makes it difficult for me to appreciate the beauty of the heirloom. When all the people have received, they rise to give thanks.]. Surely, the Americans have an agency for this. yet again to the Spirit raising. But when I became an adult, I put childish ways aside. As we receive Communion, these words are said: You are the Bread of Life. I proclaim these words from Pauls conclusion to the chapter at every funeral I have ever presided over. We proclaim and celebrate this Easter season because it links Jesus with all life, with transformation, and with possibility of life beyond our imagining. I dont have any solutions to offer you. - Trinity Sunday, Moon-Dancing Bears, Jesus and Nicodemus: a sermon on John 3:1-17. Neither Anna nor I knew we were engaged in a long pointless argument which had been going on since round about the fourth century. 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); Just like the people in the story, I want to be transformed by the story of Jesus; transformed from someone who cowers in a place of safety, filled with fear and doubts, into a powerful member of a movement to create peace through justice. Beginning with the traditional opening from Charles Wesley, this moves into a progressive Christian expression of resurrection. They all knew the dangers of traveling to Jerusalem. The Cross and Easter are two faces of the one mystery. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of our God. jQuery(document).on('change', '#submission-action', function(){ By stem and root and branch we trace, by feather, fang and fur, Alleluia, amen. We can wrap our heads around GOD embodied in a shepherd, and even GOD embodied as the woman who losses her coin. Faith and EthicsKaren Armstrong is amongst a group of religious scholars who have noted that the essential teaching of each of the major religions usually includes some version of "love your neighbour". 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. Not all of us are up to the challenges. Change). And all the kings horses and all the kings men, couldnt put Humpty together again. Letting go isnt as simple as it sounds. Only a foolWould risk a reputation as a wise shepherd, a careful guardian of the known and secure, to seek one lone sheep. What can we learn from Jesus life about who, or what the MYSTERY we call God is? I affirm the resurrection each and every time I look into your eyes and see the face of CHRIST.. Repent: Metanoia: to think new thoughts Let us repent, metanoia Let us think new thoughts. As a Pharisee, Paul believed in the resurrection of the dead and certainly he believed that Jesus had been raised from the dead. And there was no official campsite back then. One: On this day, we embrace the grace which reaches from the tomb. Ready: Perhaps some will ask, How are the dead to be raised up? Jesus way did not include taking up the sword to achieve peace. Im a scientific kind of guy and to tell you the truth 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. But like so many athletes, when my status changed from amateur to professional, I lost my championship status and although I still qualify as a professional wrestler, and I like to see myself as a champion, Im no longer what you would call world-class. Let us give thanks to our Creator. REPENT God Loses His Home. The Apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the followers of Jesus Way in Corinth, about 20 years after Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. When you sow, you do not sow the full-blown plant but a kernel of wheat or some other grain. To be ransomed from our very selves, ransomed from the fear which holds us captive to empires built on the backs of the poor. You sent your only-begotten,in whom your fullness dwells, We celebrate the table in which we can join together with friends and strangers, loved ones and enemies. Ice and water below me, the Sun shining before me, and behind me the Moon rising, all holding me in the embrace of a Cosmos the likes of which exceeds the farthest horizon of my ability to comprehend. So, let me get to the point, so that those who like nothing better than to use the Bible to bludgeon anyone who dares to stray from their narrow understanding of the text, they can simply hit ALL CAPS in their keyboards, without having to read any further. Crystal sobbed. Living lives of reckless abandon is untenable. It is long past time for the followers of Jesus Way of being in the world, to repent. Would restore, would be a shepherd, foolish enough to care enough to save the lost, the wandering, the lonely, the one outside the bounds of the flock. The magnitude of loss was positively unbearable. Robert Solon Jr. The liturgy wasdeveloped for use during Lent. We are not fallen creatures. The week before Easter, known as Holy Week, is very special in the Christian tradition. My family had travelled to the west coast of Vancouver Island to what was back then, a mostly unknown treasure. And also with you. Crystals mother tried to move quickly without panicking. We pray with faith and confidence. Only a fool would rejoice with such extravagance. 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. THEME The Rapturous Awakening The Irrepressible God The Ever-present Mystery, From Good Fridays gruesome darkness. This, dear ones, is Good News indeed! 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. But as it is, Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep., Ah Paul, you sure know what youre doing! We, too, experience new possibilities arising from our failures or disappointments or what has come to an end. Only a fool Would resist the contentment, the satisfaction of a purse fat with nine shiny, weighty coins. I Suspect that You Do Too! I can also hear the voice of reason condemning me as a fool. You see having a brother who was just 18 months younger than me meant that I had ample opportunities to hone my wrestling skills. This page features the work of the Liturgy Commission of the Anglican Church of Australia. I dont know. Frame 9: When you think the world has turned its back on youtake another look. Leader: Let us pray.Lord God, send your Holy Spirit upon us, that the bread which we break may be to us the communion of the body of Christ, and the cup which we bless the communion of his blood. God is with us! Fosdick Dr. NW #80 Gig Harbor, WA 98335 Think of ransom as a way out of captivity to Empire. After warming myself on my cars heating vent, I caught sight of sundog begin to emerge as the Sun was still setting. *People sing: ("Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain," stanza 3)"Alleluia!" Pinging is currently not allowed. The storyteller writes: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Once again, I struggled to keep a straight face. Welcome to the liturgy of The Namaste Church! Through this prayer, the people of God sanctify the day by continual praise of God and prayers of intercession for the needs of the world. Easter Sunrise: Outdoor Worship. Let it go. Sure enough, the vase slipped off as smooth as silk. The basileia ton THEON, the Empire of GOD, the GOD which Jesus knew as ABBA, a LOVING PARENT, the basileia ton THEON, the Reign of the GOD that IS LOVE, where justice and not violence creates the kind of peace in which everyone has enough to live the abundant life Jesus insisted he came to give to the world. Amen. He was teaching in the Galilean synagogues, and all were loud in their praise. Nothing was said until dinner the next day, by which time Steve and Anna had been back to church twice. 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. The way that the Jesus story has been told has crafted, molded and shaped the idol that masquerades as the MYSTERY we call God. Holy Mystery that is Wholly Love, you are beyond complete knowledge, above perfect description. Listen carefully. What tombs of conformity does society create in order to control the spirit of fully alive divergence? Somehow, the flight of the billionaire Bezos phallic Blue Horizon thrusting its five privileged passengers across our screens will capture more attention from those of us who are wealthy enough to own screens, than the roughly one and a half billion men, women, and children who are consigned to live in poverty. Non-violent resistance is dangerous. (LogOut/ Please come, the meal is ready. that we gather this morning and remember together that . Others stretched the wings of their spirituality and flew off into the magic darkness joyfully singing: All will be well and all manner of things shall be well! (Julian of Norwich). At the time, I didnt know what the word countenance meant. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.. (LogOut/ Im guessing that in vast majority of the interpretations of these parables, the shepherd, the woman, and the father are usually identified as a symbol for the MYSTERY which we call GOD. Every time I do not serve my neighbour, every time I walk away from the poor. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. Herman Praamsma, pastor of the Fellowship CRC ofRexdale, Ontario. }); Join thousands of others like you who are contributing their voice to Progressive Christianity and list your church, organization or yourself in our global directory. Christ is risen indeed! It is hard to maintain the heights that we attain on the celebration of Resurrection Day. Today, in the midst of colossal violence, it is long past time for us to see beyond our conditioning about what to believe about resurrection so that we can focus our attention on practicing resurrection. Living the Resurrection Second Sunday of Easter, Year B On the Sunday after Easter, there is a general let down. If I could, I would comfort the young woman I was by reassuring her that whatever the MYSTERY which we call God is, it is not a vengeful murderer whose thirst for a blood sacrifice, compelled Him and I do mean him, to come up with a plan which required violence, torture, and a slow, painful death. Pray deeply, reverently, and then fast-forward to the music. One day, Elijah demanded of the voice, I have been very zealous for YHWH God Omnipotent. DONATE NOW! For the death of what it took me years to learn about, the death of atonement theories has given birth to the resurrection of DIVINITY, a DIVINITY liberated from ancient projections onto the DIVINE of the myth of redemptive violence. The LOVE which is the SACRED MYSTERY which is the LOVE that we call GOD. Now let us greet one another: I honor the Divinity Within you Namaste Peace. and the capacity to give people an experience of God. Afterwards, Jesus took the cup. It is right. We lift them up to God. We break and share this bread, as Jesus broke and shared it. And so in this spirit of brightness and life, we celebrate. Certainly, in the church the Bible is considered to be the supreme authority of the nature of God. One: It is through our neighbors and creation that we see the rising of Christ, O God. As we enter this season of Easter, we ask that the warm winds of the Spirit encircle this table and accompany us on our journey. Living accommodations were not a priority. <> Hosanna in the highest. } Do you still have a hold of that candy? Mmm humm. Jesus lived for this. McCourt was a schoolteacher, and he tells this story about a particular class in which he was challenging the assumptions of his young students. Let us be LOVE in the world. Why they decided to cut your off before you made your point, well thats a sermon for another day. Where truth has left its sketches on the slate below the ground. Amen. The pastor is often on vacation; the choir scales back. God did this in order to demonstrate that he is righteous. window.location.replace('https://progressivechristianity.org/paupress/?rel=contact&pau_form=contact_form'); My childlike faith died that day. No wonder Jesus took Peter, John, and James up there to pray. I stomped my feet upon the ice in a vain gesture of defiance until my stomping evolved into a dance of freedom, as I gleefully celebrated our liberation from the captivity of a three-tiered universe. Sacrifice one for the sake of the many. Beautiful! And now let us recite a creed, that is, an affirmation of faith, based on a contemporary view of Christianity: We believe in God, the power of life, love and being, We believe in Jesus, who revealed the good news. For we are ONE with an evolving DEITY. Steve and Anna were very quiet on the ride home. The agency connects leaders with needed resourcing, training, consulting, and networking that support spiritual 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. Odd, long-vanished creatures and their tracks & shells are found; Embrace the HOLY foolishness which lives, in, with, through, and beyond you. Out of the familiar emerges the extraordinary that transformsthe ordinary. jQuery('#submit-action').click(); Repent: Metanoia: to think new thoughts Let us repent, metanoia Let us think new thoughts. Can you drink the dup I will drink or be baptized in the same baptism as I? We can, James and John replied. When the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, he unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of our God is upon me: because the Most High has anointed me to bring Good News to those who are poor. Somehow, these long busy days working in my office at home, while we all do our best to cope with what we hope will be the last tidal wave of this pandemic, somehow this created a longing in me, strong enough to push me out on the ice despite the -23 which threatened to rob me of my breath. Alleluia! Suddenly, one of those magnificent monsters rubbed up against the bottom of our dingy. Long ago, when torture broke the remnant of his will, She went into her mothers study, holding in one hand a family treasure and her other hand couldnt be seen. I am using it this Sunday and sharing your credit information! Working, dancing, and church, a blessed trinity designed to secure passage back into my travels abroad. I only know that they appeared to follow in my footsteps in the snow as they ventured out to the place where the Cosmos had made itself known to me. He suffered and died because of his refusal to participate in the death-dealing violence of the world. Just when I thought I had God under control the wild wind of the spirit blew me away. This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine; this is my home, the country where my heart is; here are my hopes, my dreams, my . Required fields are marked *. Get their attention and then, deliver your point! It took the Church until 1991 to concede that Galileo and not the writer of Joshua was right and that the Earth did indeed revolve around the Sun. Heavenly bodies have a beauty of their own, and earthly bodies have a beauty of their own. Resurrection is not a solitary endeavor. Today, when science confirms that humans did not rise out of the Earth fully formed, but are continuing to evolve, surely today we can metanoia, think beyond the primitive, childish notions of original sin, and begin to see humanity as an incomplete, ever- evolving species which runs the very real risk of extinction if we dont move beyond the myth of redemptive violence. Lets extend our hands over one another for a final blessing: May you have the power to live life fully. But they will not be tears cried in vain. 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. 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. % Dont try to see yourself as a character in the story. Easter or New-life event. Anna explained that unless, I was prepared to be born again, under the tutelage of her pastor, I would need to find someplace else to live. Add to Bin. Entering the synagogue on the Sabbath, as was his habit, Jesus stood up to do the reading. delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made us a new people. As we toasted ourselves by the fire, my mind wandered back to the Cremation of Sam McGee and I wondered, if Id ever learn what strange things are done beneath the mid-night sun. CHRIST was sent to die for you!. Let us confess our sins. May we remember to give out the grace and forgiveness that you have freely given us, The SPIRIT of DIVINITY is within us! Psalm 25:1-10. It does not surprise me that Paul may have framed Jesus death in the context of both Pauls own Jewish sacrificial theologies and Romes violent philosophies. Anna knew that Jesus was sent by God as a sacrifice for human sin, to pay the price for our evil ways. Used thoughtfully and intentionally, the written prayer of liturgy opens doors to an ageless and universal collective spirituality - even when the liturgy is used by an individual alone. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Jesus. Excuse me if I sound a little too indignant but jockeying for a seat during a global pandemic is more than a little tone deaf, when according to the United Nations, yet another 150 million or so people will be plunged into poverty this year, swelling the ranks of the global poor to over one and a half-billion people, over half of which are children. I went headfirst into the ocean, and I sank like a stone. Growing up I had a very clear advantage as I developed my wrestling skills. if ( thisact == "contact" ) { 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. The Bread of Life and the Cup of the Covenant: Gifts to unite the Body of Christ. We are sent out with these words For he is risen, and nothing separates us from Gods love! Metanoia is an invitation to think new thoughts. You created the universe and all living things. My words are not up to the task of describing CHRIST weeping in this way. 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. You can catch glimpses of this LOVE resisting the violence of domination systems, in every champion of the environment, every compassionate advocate for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. 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. Do we have the courage to serve? We are free to seek, to know, and to become this LOVE in which we live, and move, and have our being. Did Jesus really believe that people ought to forsake everything they have in order to find the one thing they have lost? 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. And God called thefirmamentHeaven.. Thanks be to ALL that is HOLY! Glory be to you, Lord Jesus. Phos hilaron - a Song of the Light Verses from Psalm 141 Verses from Psalm 104. They were both more than a little relieved to have Grandmas calming presence. /* When the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, he unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of our God is upon me: because the Most High has anointed me to bring Good News to those who are poor. Im in real danger of losing my ability to follow Jesus on what appears to all the world to be the foolish path of non-violent resistance to empire. However, Pete goes on, there are moments when I affirm that resurrection, few and far between as they are. Thank you. Then Grandma rubbed little Crystals back, held her close and gently, but firmly said: Let it go, child. window.location.replace('https://progressivechristianity.org/paupress/?rel=contact&pau_form=contact_form'); 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. who was compassionate and stood up for justice. We covenant to love as Jesus the Christ loved us- loving our neighbors as ourselves. We are free from the captivity of a way of thinking which insists that we believe what our own experience confirms is no way to live in the very reality our ancestors were struggling to fathom. Only a foolWould find. So, Im trusting that it doesnt much matter whether or not you or I or anyone believes or doesnt believe in the physical resuscitation of Jesus corpse. McCourt asks: Who says its an egg?, Of course, its an egg. Easter Day: All Things Are Made New: a service of light with Holy Communion. Christ's peace is ours forever! Heaven is ours to create out of the hells we have made. Repent: Metanoia: to think new thoughts. Give us the gifts of this holy communion , [This triple blessing and sending/commissioning may be delivered by three different voices.]. Living the Questions is happy to join other Michael Morwood fans in welcoming the arrival of Michael's newest book, Prayers for Progressive Christians. Leader: Brothers and sisters in Christ, the gospels tell us that on the first day of the week, the same day on which our Lord rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples and was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. Inflammatory rhetoric is a method of speaking designed to capture the attention of those upon whom it is inflicted. Apparently, my body language suggested that I was filled not with the SPIRIT but with Satan himself. All your creatures testify to your mighty deeds! 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. I remember flying out of there in a hot rage. In the eating of this bread, as Christs body, and in the sharing of this cup, as Christs blood, It is long past time for us to move beyond arguments about a physical resuscitation of Jesus body. When we focus upon the life of Jesus of Nazareth rather than the death of Jesus, we can begin to hear some of the things that Jesus was passionate about.

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