Liturgy
O Loving and Embodied God,
may we embrace with childlike
spirits and softened hearts your
sacred truth of resurrection hope.
Our minds are steadied,
abiding in your revelation –
that the Final Word is
not death – but LIFE.
May this radical reality flow through us –
flow inwards to our centers-
flow outwards to each other.
May your hope move through us –
a constant stream of life,
transforming every part,
leaving nothing untouched.
In this path of hope we walk,
in the blink of life we are given –
in Christ, we bless those whose bodies are
cavernous and limp, each others’ and our own.
Awaken the parts within us
where death has deceived us.
By your power and compassion –
Restore life. Restore life in abundance!
We pray in the name of the Holy Triune,
amen.
(Crystal Franz)
Scripture Reading
We invite you to hear from the reading
of 1 Corinthians 15:12-15, 19-20.
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,
how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not
been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our
proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.
15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we
testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if
it is true that the dead are not raised.
19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people
most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead,
the first fruits of those who have died.
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.
Homily and Reflection
Homily Podcast – All Rise 02.13.2022
How have you been longing for transformation or groaning against injustice this week?
How does Jesus’ embodied life challenge you to see the image of God anew in creation, community, or in your own beloved body?
Benediction
All around us your creation croons.
When we can not move, you meet us
with your people, pressing palms to palms.
You live within us, transforming what decays.
To the parts within us that are
slowing to a stop – bring life.
To the parts within us that are
dim and dusty – bring life.
Swell our hearts with a hope
that grows from witnessing death conquered.
Show us hope in unexpected times and places.
In the natural world, in our community,
and in our broken hearts, show us hope.
To the parts within us that feel dull and
ordinary and disenchanted – bring life.
To the parts within us that fail,
that worry, that fear – bring life.
May this be our prayer this week,
our God of Life and Love, amen.
(Crystal Franz)
Go in peace, Vox family, and live the church.
May you find belonging and community this week.
[Photo by Jr Korpa]