Liturgy

As we gather from our week,
we hold true to your promise that
when two or three – or two hundred –
of us gather, you are there.
Be among us and within us.

Yet we admit that we do not always act
as one body, and we let interpretations
come before community.

Show us another way to live as the church.
Teach us how to work through our differences
and, together, discover your truth.

We created insular, homogenous groups
that hold up corrupt, earthly power structures.
We have kicked some people out,
while never letting others in.

Forgive us for marginalizing
those who are not like us.
Teach us how to welcome
back those we have outcasted.

Show us the ways of your divine kingdom,
where power is turned on its head, and the
least of these become the most cherished.

We pray in the name of
God, the Creator,
Christ, the Risen One,
and the Holy Spirit, the Breath of Life.
Amen.

(Gina Bastone-Treviño)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from the Gospel of Mark 9:38-50.

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out
demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because
he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him;
for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able
soon afterward to speak evil of me.

40 Whoever is not against us is for us. 41 For truly I tell you,
whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you
bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

42 “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones
who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone
were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.

43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you
to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the
unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble,
cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two
feet and to be thrown into hell.

47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better
for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have
two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm never
dies, and the fire is never quenched.

49 “For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good;
but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?
Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!

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

Homily and Reflection

Homily Podcast – We Are Not Other 09.19.2021

Reflect on a time when you felt “othered” and a time when you “othered” someone else. What feelings come to the surface for each?

Recall a moment that contributed to masking over the child-like nature of your True Self? How might you see your innocence and release its burden on you?

Benediction

We serve a God who loves so much,
that they refused to let us float adrift.
Christ died to reconcile us to himself,
to bring us back to the God that formed
us with divine breath and divine image.

May we see the face of God
in the eyes of everyone we meet.
May we unlearn the words of separation.

May we see each other not as demographics
and check boxes, but as beloved children of God.
May we remember the truth that once was spoken,
to love another person is to see the face of God.

Go forth this week and bask in the light of God’s true glory,
may you recognize God’s face shining upon you in each and
every person you encounter. Go now, to love and serve the Lord.

In the name
of the Father,
of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit,
amen.

Go in peace, and live the church.
May you find belonging and community this week.

(Lyrics to Les Miserables by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel [original French lyrics], and Herbert Kretzmer)

Go in peace, and live the church.
May you find belonging and community this week.

[Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel]