Liturgy

As we enter into this time and space,
let’s invite our bodies and minds to settle in.
Let’s feel our feet grounding,
and our breath inviting life.

Welcome here what is present now.
Gather your brokenness, gather your longing,
and welcome what is present now.
Come, healer of the body.

See where darkness yields to light.
See where light is shaded
by leaves that wave on the tree.
Come, healer of the spirit.

Let’s let the heavens hear our cries of joy and pain.
Let’s let the heavens hear our laughter and our sighs.
Come, healer of the mind.

We gather in our divine humanity,
united in the love of God
who knows our very hearts,
Amen.

(Inspired by the Leonard Cohen song “Come Healing”)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from the reading of Colossians 2:6-7, 16-19.

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord,
continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and
established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or
of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow
of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement
and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without
cause by a human way of thinking,

19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body,
nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews,
grows with a growth that is from God.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
The Good News of Christ. Praise be to you, O Christ!

The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

Sermon and Reflection

Sermon Podcast 7.28.19 – Growing In Substance

How can you allow gratitude to overflow in your life?

In what ways can you engage the dying process in order to experience life?

In what ways is our practice of freedom moving us towards Christ?

Benediction

Go now with these words.

May you find yourself present
with what’s already there, and find
ways to welcome it, to learn from it.

Where you have begun healing,
may you become restored.
Where you have found healing,
may your gratitude rise to God.

Trust yourself to gather up what you need close,
and to toss away what no longer serves you.
May you be guided and blessed
as you learn the difference.

May you shine with the love of God.
In the name of our holy God,
three in One,
Amen.

(Sarah Berson)

Go in peace and live the church.
See you throughout the week.

[Photo by Stephen Trinder @ Flickr]