MICAH 6.8: 04/13/22

HOLY WEEK—MAUNDY THURSDAY

		Holy Week Day 4 Maundy Thursday, 04/13/2022 Jesus Gives The Mandate To Love A Liturgy For Worship and Mediation
		Opening Words Blessed is the One who comes in God's Most Holy Name. Hosanna in the highest! Prayer For Holy Week Almighty God, Redeeming One, We come once again to this week of your Passion. We come remembering thse last days of Jesus' human life. We come seeking to be restored and reconciled to you and one another. May our worship be an experience where in praise and thanksgiving we find ourselves closer drawn to you. And, in your imminent presence of your compassion and mercy, may we be renewed to follow in the way of Jesus, sharing the path of justice and peace. Song : *"Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face To Face"* (Click Here For Music) —Horatius Bonar, 1808-1889 Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face; here would I touch and handle things unseen; here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace, and all my weariness upon thee lean. This is the hour of banquet and of song; this is the heavenly table spread for me; here let me feast, and feasting, still prolong the hallowed hour of fellowship with thee. Here would I feed upon the bread of God, here drink with thee the royal wine of heaven; here would I lay aside each earthly load, here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven. Too soon we rise; the symbols disappear; the feast, though not the love, is past and gone. The bread and wine remove; but thou art here, nearer than ever, still my shield and sun. Feast after feast thus comes and passes by; yet, passing, points to the glad feast above, giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy, the Lamb's great bridal feast of bliss and love. Prayer God of the covenant, new and primary as we celebrate the beginning of the paschal feast, we come to your table, O God in whom we have salvation, life, and resurrection. Renew the power of this mystery in our service to one another and to you, so that with Christ we may pass from this life to the glory of your Kin-Dom. Amen. Readings *Exodus 12:1-4, 5-10, 11-14* The Holy One, Gpd Most High, said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of God, the I AM. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the God, the I AM. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to God; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. *Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19* I love God Most High, because God has heard my voice and my supplications. Because God inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on God as long as I live. What shall I return to the God of Hosts for all God's bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of God Most High, I will pay my vows to the God of Hosts in the presence of all the people. Precious in the sight of God is the death of God's faithful ones. O God, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the your Name, O God Most High. I will pay my vows to God in the presence of all the people, in the courts of the house of the God of Hosts, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the God of Israel! *1 Corinthians 11:23-26* For I received from God what I also handed on to you, that the Jesus—on the night when he was betrayed— took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Christ's death until the Anointed One comes. *John 13:1-17, 31b-35* Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to God Most High. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Master, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean." After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Master—and you are right, for that is what I AM. So if I, your Master and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Humankind has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Prayer For the Day Eternal God, in the sharing of a meal your Chosen, Beloved and Anointed One, established a new covenant for all people, and in the washing of feet we were shown the dignity of service. Grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit these signs of our life in faith may speak again to our hearts, feed our spirits, and refresh our bodies. Amen. Prayer Of Intercession Let us offer our prayers for the needs of the church and the world to God who has given us new life in Christ's passage through death. *O God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.* Redeeming God, you have created and redeemed us to be your people. Continue to guide and sustain your Church, now and in the days ahead, that your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. *O God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.* By the blood of the covenant and the waters of baptism, O God, you cleansed us from sin and made us one in Christ. Receive these prayers that, by the power of your Spirit, we may love our brothers and sisters even as Christ has loved us. Amen. Prayer of Jesus Our Parent, who is among us, blessed be your Creation. May your reign be a reality here on earth. May we become more interested in building your Kin-Dom here and now than in waiting for it to come down from above. Let us share our bread with those who hunger. Let us learn to forgive as well as to receive forgiveness. Help us through the time of temptation, delivering us from all evil. For ours are the eternal blessings that you pour upon the earth. Amen. —Copyright © by J. Manny Santiago, 1999. From the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. Used with permission. Going Forth Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. Let us go forth to love. Song *"One Bread, One Body"* (Click Here For Music) —John B. Foley; Artists: Jonn Michael Talbot Lyrics Are Protected Under Copyright © Law

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THEME

In a world where violence seems to rule, we commit, O God, to small random acts of peace making. Where people are oppressed because they look, act, speak, think or love differently we will affirm their freedom. Where people are exploited because they lack the strength or resources to refuse, we will seek to create alternatives. Where people are controlled through threat and fear, we will offer safety and hope. Where people believe their violence and power give them the right and ability to act as they please we will call them to account. Wherever violence is done to another, through physical force, manipulation of truth, or the subtle workings of power, we will opt out, we will speak out, and we will stand out in opposition, through small, random acts of peace making.

ABOUT ME

As a clergyperson I am an ordained elder (i.e., presbyter, priest, pastor) in the United Methodist Church, now retired as of 07/01/2020. My ministry of preaching began in 1978 as a certified lay speaker. I continued my education, following 3 years of course work at Penn State University in 1972-1975, completing my BA in both Psychology and Religion in 1985 (with honors) at Lebanon Valley College (Annville, PA). I then began my seminary studies at Duke University Divinity School (Durham NC), transferring after my second year to The Theological School, Drew University (Madison NJ) where I graduated magna cum laude with a MDiv degree in 1990. All the while serving churches as a Licensed Local Student Pastor, my first appointment beginning in April 1982. Ordained as a Deacon in 1989 and an Elder in 1991, I have served congregations in rural, small town, and suburban communities. My ministry has always focused on personal and community spiritual growth and wellness, ecumenical relations, the art of preaching, liturgical and sacramental theology and praxis, systems theory and conflict management, and ministry with persons of disability. I am a member of the Psi Chi academic honors fraternity. I am married to a wonderful woman, Mary, who is an ordained pastor in The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) since 1981, and has served congregations in that denomination, the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), and the United Church of Christ through their covenant relation program. She also has provided pulpit supply in the United Methodist Church. We and our four fur-kids—Dollie Jayne, Bichon and Maggie Lynne, Shih Tzu—[sadly, Mollie Mae crossed the rainbow bridge in October 2020, and Webster Andrew follow in April 2022] enjoy life being involved in various spiritual and community endeavors. I am an advocate for people with disabilities and focus my current study on God and Disability, along with, a Theology From A Context Of Disability. I am also an advocate for equal rights, feminism, womanism, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQAI+ inclusion. As a pacifist, I have always tried to live following in the pathway of Jesus, seeking just peace and economic reform. In a world of billionaires there is no excuse for poverty. In community as it is understood according to the biblical mandate, there must be equal access to all resources and benefits of life. My hobbies include Model Railroading, Reading, Writing, Photography and Music. I share this blog with the hope that something here will inspire the liturgy and worship that you share with your community or in your own journey.

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.