Liturgy
A new year has started
Our routines have resumed.
Each day we wake up and work
We input data
We cook meals
We count the change
We patch the holes
We mow the yard
We plant the sod
We struggle
We sweat
Dirt finds its way under our fingernails
Sweat stings our eyes
Our backs ache
Our joints crack
Our minds exhausted
Remind us our work comes from You
Remind us of rest that follows
Remind us of the strength that builds
Of the skills that refine
Like the bird that eats of the fruit
that grew on the tree that was planted by the farmer.
May the fruit of our hands feed all who hunger.
Remind us of the bird.
In the name of God the sower
Christ the seed
And the Spirit our fruit
Amen
(Vox Prayer Team)
Scripture
We invite you to hear from the book of 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to
be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were gentiles you were enticed
and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to
understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus
be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, 5 and there are
varieties of services but the same Lord, 6 and there are varieties of
activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to
another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to
another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one
Spirit, 10 to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy,
to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues,
to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one
and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit
chooses.
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
Where do you find communities of mutuality in your life? Where are you looking for them or hoping to find them?
Where have I seen the beauty of community flourishing, and how can I participate more fully in that?
What role does vulnerability play in the strength of a community, and how am I invited to lean into it?
Benediction
Empowering Giver,
We thank you for the community you have surrounded us with.
The relationships that we get to cultivate
Reveal to us more of ourselves
Show us how we might be of service to those around us
So that we may be most useful in using our gifts and talents
To the best of our abilities
Take what we do and build upon it
Multiply those gifts
So that they might yield a good work
To those who may be in need
In the name of God, our Creator
Christ, the Carpenter
And the Spirit working with us.
Amen
(Vox Prayer Team)
[Photo by Steve Johnson]