Liturgy

Divine Creator
Breath of life
Because of You, and through You, and in You all things exist

All that we are All that we have Comes from You

This morning, may you assist us in turning our eyes inward Reveal to us mysteries we’ve hidden from ourselves
Make ready our hearts to be fertile ground for Your teaching

Empower us to break down the walls we’ve built inside ourselves
So that we may see with more clarity.
Let us not fear change, but boldly embrace Your hands
as they mold us to a place ever more closely toward Oneness with You.

We thank You for Your gifts: for joy, and love, and peace, and wisdom.
And we thank You that Your wisdom will create in us a more loving and grace-giving spirit.

In the name of You, upholder of all things, Your Son, the agent of change,
and Your Holy Spirit, the very evidence of You.

Amen

(Vox Prayer Team)

Scripture Reading

We invite you to hear from the Gospel according to John 2:13-19

13 The Jewish Passover was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, with the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jewish leaders then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

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 & Reflection

Homily Podcast: Letting Go of Harmful Power

• How are we revealing and disrupting oppressive systems?
• How are we connecting with and expressing our passions as a form of protest?
• How are we reimagining ways of decentralizing power and removing gatekeeping?

Benediction

Lord, from You comes all things All that we are
All that we have
Is Yours

In your eye, You hold Justice and Truth Your hand is a rock
A steadfast foundation pointing the way to Love and Equality,

Peace and Equity, Wisdom and Liberation.

We ask that you create in us a discernment
to see where in our own lives
we may be supporting systems that are not Love.
Reveal to us a clear path to positive change
Create in us a keen eye to see Your hand at work in the world

Show us areas in our own systems
where the balance is off
Where injustice may prevail
Then empower us to take that change
that we are cultivating in our own lives
And use it to create Love in the world around us.

Inspire in us a desire to step out
of complacency, or ignorance, or fear,
And create in us a boldness to stand for those who may not be able to stand on their own.

In the name of God who is love Christ who is peace
And the Spirit who liberates Amen

(Vox Prayer Team)

[Photo by Dhruv Vishwakarma]