Introduction
Saint
Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home, this earth, is like a sister
with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to
embrace us.[1]
Our most
sacred act is a sharing of the earth from a Creator who is Soil, Wind,
Underground Stream, and Fire. And our
mythology tells us that we, humans, were created from fertile soil[2] (adamah) and holy breath (ruach).
In the book
of Job, God reminds Job in his long-suffering that he is not the center of all
things. God reminds him that he is small
and part of something very large and beautiful and that should be enough.
We become
most human when we don’t put ourselves at the center of everything.[3]
The Story of God
One:
God is the fiery life of Divine Essence.
God is aflame beyond the beauty of the meadows. God gleams in the waters and burns in the
sun, the moon, and the stars.[4]
All: All
living creatures are sparks from the radiation of God's brilliance, and these
sparks emerge from God like the rays of the sun.
One: But if God did not give off those sparks, how
would the divine glory become fully visible?
All: For there is no creature without some kind
of radiance - whether it be greenness, seeds, buds, or another kind of beauty.[5]
One: I, the highest and fiery power, have kindled
every spark of life. I, the fiery life
of divine essence, am aflame beyond the beauty of the meadows, I gleam in the
waters, and I burn in the sun, moon, and stars. With every breeze, as with
invisible life that contains everything, I awaken everything to life.
All:
The air lives by turning green
and being in bloom. The waters flow as if they were alive. The sun lives in its
light, and the moon is enkindled, after its disappearance, once again by the
light of the sun so that the moon is again revived.
One: And thus I remain hidden in every kind of
reality as a fiery power. Everything
burns because of me in the way our breath constantly moves us, like the
wind-tossed flame in a fire.[6]
Invitation
One:
Let us gather around the table to
remember our spiritual roots in Christ and to tap into the strong sap of the
Holy Spirit. We have been waiting, O
God, for this meal as we wait for so much.
All: We come to the joyful feast hungry for
blessing and thirsting for peace—peace across our planet in our homes, in our
churches, and in our hearts. Struggling
to be patient, we wait. But
we know. Hope doesn’t come from
calculating whether the good news is winning out over the bad. It’s simply a choice to take action.[7]
Communion Prayer of Challenge and
Consecration
One: Author of creation, we are a mere piece in
nature’s puzzle, but we act as if it is ours for the taking. If we listen, we can hear your creation
groaning in agony and crisis. If we
look, we can see the dire effects of our carbon addictions and deforestation. If
we search, we can find heaps of our toxic waste being dumped among the world’s
poor. Through our sins, daily and
systemic, we estrange ourselves from you and the rest of creation.
All: O God of all kindness, your gracious gifts
demand a responsibility that we all too often neglect. We confess that we have held you at a
distance, resisting and ignoring your will in our lives. We have denied your goodness in each other,
in ourselves, and in this world you have created. We use
your beautiful world for our selfish gain and forget to see you in it. We throw creation away day after day. We repent of the evils and oppression we
participate in, knowingly, half-knowingly, and unknowingly. Holy
One, forgive us.[8]
One:
So with unimaginable threats to God’s good earth on the horizon, we
celebrate what hope looks like—to do the unreasonable thing, the courageous
thing. With countless lives on the line,
in the sharing of these basic elements in neighborliness, this is what love
looks like.[9]
All: We must hear the cry of the earth and the cry
of the poor.[10]
One:
Gracious God, forgive, restore, and strengthen us through Jesus
Christ.
All: Guide us by your creative Spirit into more
faithful lives of grace, solidarity, and commitment to love and justice. Let us live our vocation to be protector of
your handiwork.[11] Amen.
The Elements
Our most
sacred meal is a sharing of the earth--bread, a mixture of earth, seed,
sunlight, water, and the kneading of human hands. In the sharing of the earth, may we know
ourselves to be a part of something very large and beautiful.
(Distribution of the bread)
Take and
eat. May the earth once again feed and
nurture you.
Our most
sacred meal is a sharing of the soil--grape, a mixture of soil, vine, sunlight,
necessary pruning, and the right amount of pressure and time. In the sharing of this soil, may we know
ourselves to be a part of something very large and beautiful.
(Distribution of the grape)
Take and
drink. May the soil once again quench
our thirst for justice and righteousness.
From this
holy meal, we remember that the earth is our bones, the body, that gives form
and content to our breathing, our walking, our dancing, and our celebration.
*Prayer of Thanksgiving
This bread we have eaten comes from
the earth. The wine we have tasted comes
from the soil. Thank you, God, for
sharing it all. Help us to lend our
voice in caring for Earth. Help us to
see the birds of the air, the fish of the water, the plants and animals that
live with us as part of our communion in your love. In Christ’s name, we ask
it. Amen.[12]
*Passing of the Peace
Hear these
words, a 2000 year old quote from a Jewish rabbi,
The
day is short,
the
task is abundant,
the
laborers are lazy,
the
wages are great,
and
the Master of the house is insistent.
It
is not up to you to finish the task, but neither are you free to desist from
it.[13]
And we will only finish this task through our
spiritual practices of neighborliness and community. Let us begin to practice by passing the peace
of Christ to one another. Amen.
[1]
From the Papal Encyclical
[2]
Ellen Davis
[3]
Bill McKibben
[4]
Hildegard of Bingen
[5]
Hildegard of Bingen (4.11)
[6]
Hildegard of Bingen (Vision 1:2)
[7]
Anna Lappe’
[8]
Rev. Dr. Rochelle Stackhouse
[9]
Tim DeChristopher
[10]
Papal Encyclical
[11]
Ibid.
[12]
Rev. Richard Bott
[13]
Bill McKibben
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