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The Sixth Sunday Of Ordinary Time ———————————————— Septuagesima Sunday—9 Weeks/70 Days Before Easter From the Gelasian Sacramentary (7th Century)
Jesus spoke a message of leveling. A Liturgy For Worship | ||||||||
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GATHERING WORDS God our Maker You call us here to worship You together: We come to a level place. To bear witness to Your creativity seen, heard and found in all who gather: Here in your level place. We are all Your children, bearing Your divine image, shaped by Your imagination and breath: Being your level place. You have gifted us with the beauty of difference the blessing of diversity the pleasure of individuality and the bond of love and peace: Your level place is just peace, always, all ways, forever. PRAYER FOR WORSHIP Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hidden: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your most Holy and Blessed Name; O God, who creates, redeems, and sustains all of creation. Amen. PRAYER FOR THE DAY Mighty, and everlasting God. As Your people come into your presence, We are thankful for your graciousness, your mercy, and your love. We continue to remember all those adversely affected by the COVID pandemic, We pray that your Holy Spirit will be present with them, To comfort and to heal; to sustain and be reconciled, one with another. We remember all those who are hurting, disadvantaged, and impacted by racial prejudice. We also remember all those who have suffered at the hands of injustice, May your Holy Spirit be present with them, To comfort and to heal; to bring justice and reconciliation, one with another. Faithful God, we commit this service into your hands, We pray for every participant and every listener, That you will empower them with your strength, That they might be courageous to say and do what is right and just, and that your good and glorious, magnificent, and righteous name might be praised, We pray in the name of your selfless One, Jesus the Christ. Amen. © Written by Mark Sturge READING FROM THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES Jeremiah 17:5-10 5 Thus says God Most High: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from God. 6 They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 Blessed are those who trust in the Holy One, whose trust is the God of Hosts. 8 They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.
PSALMODY Psalm 1 1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; 2 but their delight is in the law of God, and on God's law they meditate day and night. 3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for God watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
READING FROM THE GOSPELS Luke 6:12-17,20-26 12 Now during those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot . . . 17 Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Humanity. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
 To level is to make things equal. Leveling provides balance. When things are level there is no unfair advantage. Leveling is a means to justice. Using the sport's analogy, we level the playing field. In listening to the prophet Amos, it is to hang a plumb line to define social justice. To Jeremiah and the psalmist it is giving each and every tree the water it needs to grow and bear fruit. We are to be like those trees, each of us having what we need to live life fully where no one is excluded or left behind. Jesus speaks the beatitudes from Luke on a level plain. His words are a leveling. They mirror the words of the one who came to prepare the way, saying, "make straight the paths, level the hills and valleys." Mary, the mother of Jesus, sings a song of leveling in that text from Luke we call the Magnificat. In Jesus, God reveals the great reversal: an upside down world gets put back to right side up. The rich and the poor no longer live in contrast. There is no heirarchy. There is no economic stratification. Equality, equity, and the value of each human life is established. The reality that we were created in God's image is the basis for how we see others and ourselves. The fiber of morality in the people of God is their difference and diversity that is a representation of the God who has created all things. There can only be unity within that realm of shared collective when justice is at the heart of everything. Leveling is the revolutionary work of making every injustice just.  Ever present God, you called us to be in relationship with one another and promised to dwell wherever two or three are gathered. In our community, we are many different people; we come from many different places, have many different cultures. Open our hearts that we may be bold in finding the riches of inclusion and the treasures of diversity among us. We pray in faith. Amen.” —Rev'd Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. THE CANTICLE My soul proclaims your greatness, O God! My heart rejoices in you, my Savior, because you have showered your servant with blessing! From now to the end of time, all generations will know the great things you have done for me. Mighty One! Your name is holy! In every age, your compassion flows to those who reverence you! But all who seek to exalt themselves in arrogance will be leveled by your power. You have deposed the mighty from their seats of power, and have raised the lowly to high places. Those who suffer hunger, you have filled with good things. Those who are privileged, you have turned away empty-handed. You have come to the aid of your people, in fulfillment of the promise you made to our ancestors— when you spoke blessing to Sarah and Hagar and all their descendants, to the utmost generation! —The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) PRAYER IN SEEKING RECONCILIATION Merciful God, You made us in Your image, with minds to know You, with hearts to love you, with wills to serve You. But our knowledge is imperfect, our love inconstant and immature, and our obedience incomplete and self-serving. Help us today by day grow in Your likeness, which is so widely displayed in the diversity of creation. Help us to understand our own bias, prejudice and narrow mindedness. Help us to love our neighbour as we ourselves long to be loved. Help us to serve others with humility and gratitude. Do not hold our sin against us, but help us to repent of outdated and inappropriate world views. Help us to mature in our thinking, loving and serving. PRAYER FOR HEALiNG When we do not listen to the cries Give us ears to hear . . . When we do not recognise racism and injustice Give us eyes to see . . . When we do not speak truth to power Give us voices to declare . . . (Silence) your boundless and ever-present love. PRAYER OF INTERCESSION God our Maker, in whose image and likeness each of us has been created, with a human dignity worthy of respect. Listen to the cry that rises from every corner of this fragile earth, from our human family. To world leaders and decision makers, grant the wisdom to reach beyond boundary and border. May our common humanity drive policy and foster peaceful dialogue and constructive collaboration. To those who misuse their power or take power from others, through violent action or hateful speech. Grant mercy and grow in them a humble heart of compassion, peaceful dialogue and constructive collaboration. To the innocent ones robbed of dignity, possession, or shelter, to the victims of these forces who have had life taken from them, we entrust them in your everlasting arms, O God, that are wide enough to embrace all of Your creation. THE PRAYER OF JESUS Heavenly One—Father and Mother of us all: Holy and blessed is your true name. We pray for your reign of peace to come. We pray that your good will be done. Let heaven and earth become one. Give us this day the bread we need. Give it to those who have none. Let forgiveness flow like a river between us; from each one to each one. Lead us to holy innocence; beyond the evil of our days. Come swiftly Mother, Father, come. For yours is the Kin-Dom the power and the glory: Forever your name is All in One. Amen. —By Parker Palmer (altered) SENDING FORTH Guide us, O God, that we may be living beatitudes of blessing to others. | |||||||
WORSHIP IN INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE AND PROGRESSIVE THOUGHT
SUNDAY—February 13, 2022
WHY A BLOG?
As a clergyperson with a disability now retired, this is my humble attempt to provide a ministry that some will find helpful. I have always focused on be inclusive and have struggled with the church's tradition of referring to God and humankind with masculine names and pronouns. Since the 1970's, thanks to my dear sister-in-law, I have been aware of the discrimination of women and have worked in the parish and community for equal rights with an equity of access to the resources that add blessing to life. I hope this site is of meaning to those who read it and worship with me and others within it. Peace.