Liturgy
Vox, God has an open invitation for all of us today.
God invites us to receive and embrace
the gift of our imperfect humanity.
Open your hearts, Vox.
Accept this invitation
to be just as you are.
Accept this invitation
to listen, learn, move and
be moved by our brothers and
sisters stories and experiences.
Accept this invitation
to love yourself and one another
tenderly, knowing we are all created
by the same boundless God.
With humble hearts let us we accept
the Father’s invitation to be in His nourishing presence,
the Son’s invitation of grace and forgiveness,
and the Holy Spirit’s invitation of faith everlasting.
Amen.
(Gabriella Charissa Cruz)
Scripture Reading
We invite you to hear from a reading in Isaiah 55:1-3.
1 Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your
labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what
is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.
The Good News of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.
Sermon and Reflection
Sermon Podcast 7.12.20 – Nourishing Love
How am I being invited to attend to my deeper desires?
Where do I sense invitation into God’s expansive presence today?
What is the nourishing love I’m being invited to sow now?
Benediction
Lift up your eyes to receive the benediction.
What do we do with the love of God?
Too often we are blind to it, though the sun,
earth, and our bodies are breathing proof.
Deaf to it when the ocean and the birds
never stop singing praise. We are senseless
and asleep to all that so easily delights in the
Lord’s love by being true to itself.
Instead, we see being through a lens tainted with
attachments and convenient truths. Be conscious.
Wake from the slumber of obligations and routines.
Confront the nightmare of your own pain and see
these for what they truly are; not obstacles but
invitations to give what burdens us to God
and be made light. Be released. Free.
Vox, you are always free to delight in God’s
promises of joy, mercy, and love. Blessed be
our God alive in us, all around, Three in One.
Amen.
(Gabriella Charissa Cruz)
Go in peace and live the church.
May you find safety and rest throughout the week.
[Photo by Justine Wolfe @ Flickr]