Progressive Christians are constantly challenged to claim the title of Christian in the sense of being a follower of Jesus' teachings while letting go of most of the dogma that has been developed over the centuries by the human institution that is church. Let us repent, metanoia Let us think new thoughts. Easter Day: All Things Are Made New: a service of light with Holy Communion. We believe that death is not the end, but rather a transformation into new possibilities. Michelle L. Torigian. Just as Jesus empowered the people he encountered to believe in themselves, we want you to walk away with an awareness not of how ordinary you are not of how unworthy you are but an awareness of your greatness and lovability. According to Paul, the earthly body; the physical body must die in order for the heavenly or the spiritual body to be born. My own desire to resist the urge to respond to violence with violence weakens with every report of the injustices perpetrated as innocent lives are lost. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. But like the indignant disciples of old, do we actually see the role we are playing in this race to escape the limitations of our one and only planet? A natural body is sown, and a spiritual body is raised up. The spiritual resurrection which Paul describes gave birth to Christianity, within the Jewish context. Imagine if you will, trying to understand the life of Martin Luther King, or Mahatma Gandhi simply by focusing upon their death. Crystals mother called for re-enforcements. God the Holy Spirit, who lled the disciples with the life of the risen Lord, empower you and ll you with Christ's peace. For: Only a fool. Well, as time passed, the situation became more and more serious. There was work to do. In the past few weeks, Ive been thinking a great deal about the systems of domination and the pain inflicted by the unjust empires of our world. (I have searched for the source of this story, withoutsuccess. Generations beyond any cameras reach, each with their own pain. United States Anyway, we did what any self-respecting kid would have done in our position. Let it be so among us. My brother didnt stand a chance. Nor can I believe that Jesus saw YAHWEH, the GREAT I AM as a fool. Ice and water below me, the Sun shining before me, and behind me the Moon rising, all holding me in the embrace of a Cosmos the likes of which exceeds the farthest horizon of my ability to comprehend. We know that humans have been evolving over millennia. Gig Harbor, WA 98335 Forgive us, Merciful One. We remember on the night when Jesus and the disciples Pinging is currently not allowed. Written by Rev. Some walking away to become refugees, joining the endless flow of the displaced. So, it should not surprise us that our ancestors in the faith, projected onto the DIVINITY the kind of personality which resonates in a culture where violence is seen as the answer to chaos. As for seeing the face of CHRIST in our enemies, let us try. You sent Jesus, your Son, to walk in the way of Lifethat we might follow. Pain and suffering perpetrated by our species vain conviction that violence is the way to peace. Your coming we await with hope. Let us confess our sins. Yes, I have my doubts about the possibility of SHALOM, especially now as we peer into the abyss which are the horrors of Ukraine, Syria, Myanmar, and countless other places where injustice has bred violence the likes of which seems unstoppable. Christ's peace is ours forever! So glad to hear that this liturgy is meaningful for you. Furthermore, I suspect that you do to. Jesus way did not include taking up the sword to achieve peace. THEME The Rapturous Awakening The Irrepressible God The Ever-present Mystery, From Good Fridays gruesome darkness. May the Spirit open our souls in order for us to see humanity, God and creation through the eyes of Jesus. *The ThanksgivingLeader: Lift up your hearts. You and I are the wealthiest followers of Jesus who have ever walked the Earth. Disco dancing is one thing, but being slain in the SPIRIT, well lets just say, Theres a reason Im a Lutheran pastor. He had the extraordinary capacity to recognize the Divinity in all human beings. *Leader: Congregation of Jesus Christ, since the Lord has blessed us with his Word (and Holy Supper), let us praise his name with thanksgiving. It does sadden me that succeeding generations have projected their own violent proclivities onto the DEITY and offered up various atonement theories which rely on the DEITY embracing our primitive reliance upon violence. SPRING - EASTER The Dance Of Transformation. Easter people, come now to the table with Christ! Perhaps photographers of old avoided them, maybe people back then were better had holding those tears back. Enjoy! Through a simple meal of grain and grape, we, your children, unite. Its not all about you. Try as I might, I could never convince either of them that I was saved by grace. All week long, I have been emersed in the anonymous gospel-storyteller we know as Lukes account of Jesus first sermon, in which Jesus declares that he has been anointed to bring Good News, and it wasnt until my own frozen epiphany set me to dancing on ice that I actually noticed that part of the Good News of which Jesus speaks involves the proclamation of liberty to those held captive! Listen to the way the anonymous gospel-storyteller recounts Jesus words: Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and his reputation spread throughout the region. Only a fool Would rather be relentlessly looking for one small, lone coin when nine, known and countable, are all that are really needed. But we do know that whatever happened it transformed a people hiding from the endless violence into courageous followers of a Way of Being in the world which death could not destroy. Crystal was very upset and still very stuck. I can certainly identify with the disciples in the story who became angry with the sons of Zebedee for jockeying for seats alongside Jesus in the next world, when the forces of Empire in this world continue to suck the life out of the poor. Amen. delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made us a new people. That beautiful, glorious embodiment of CHRIST is singing these words: Ukraine is not yet dead, nor its glory and freedom, She has courageously begun the difficult, painstaking, slow work which lies before her. Well, with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek let me blame it on a dog. Then Grandma rubbed little Crystals back, held her close and gently, but firmly said: Let it go, child. Welcome to Contemporary Liturgy website. So, this morning Id like us to take our focus off Jesus death and all we may have heard, or learned about why Jesus died so that we can see what it was about Jesus life that endeared him to his followers. No wonder Jesus took Peter, John, and James up there to pray. I do deny the resurrection and Im guessing that you do too! All your creatures testify to your mighty deeds! Crystal sobbed. Just like Thomas, who had the good sense to doubt the resurrection, most of us have been conditioned to look for the physical resuscitation of a corpse; a bonified, pardon the pun, a bonified, actual physical body, complete with wounds and all. At this Easter gathering, we take bread, as Jesus took bread, and we remember, as Jesus remembered, the constant presence of the spirit of life and love. }); Join thousands of others like you who are contributing their voice to Progressive Christianity and list your church, organization or yourself in our global directory. Sure, it would be nice to just sit here in the relative comfort and safety of all that violence has built and maintained for us. Amen. It was as if my body was teaming up with my mind to convince my spirit to abandon this peculiar excursion. It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give you our thanks and praise, O God! Paul insists that there are natural bodies, which he equates with earthly bodies what we would call physical bodies and there are spiritual bodies which Paul equates with heavenly bodies. In the same way the cup, after supper (here the minister shall pour the wine and lift up the cup) saying, "This cup is a new covenant of my blood. Let us pray for an abundance of health, for prosperity, and for joy. The liturgy was adapted by Dr. Bert Polman from a form prepared by the Liturgical Committee of the Christian Reformed Church for use during an Easter Service; this liturgy can be used for all Sundays in Eastertide. The writings of the Apostle Paul contain the earliest writings that we have on the subject of the Resurrection. There is one more face of CHRIST which I would like you to see. We lose our capacity for peace and joy, we struggle to show compassion and to connect with others, and we may find ourselves slipping into toxic and destructive attitudes and habits. Imagine trying to understand who Dr. King was and focusing your attention upon his assassination. What can Jesus teach us? Pauls description of resurrection does not conflict with our 21stcentury inability to accept the suspension of the natural order of the Cosmos. First of all, I hadnt been born again, and then there was the dancing, and as for my serving beer to the crowd at the Legion, well, my roommates were concerned. Is the anonymous gospel-storyteller really saying that Jesus taught his followers to risk everything they have in order to find the one thing they have lost? } Faced with the task of communicating the gospel, the early followers of the risen Christ, began to articulate experiences of the risen Christ in ways that the Greek influenced Roman Empire could understand giving rise (pardon the pun), giving rise to the question of a physical resurrection. I affirm the resurrection when I stand up for those who are forced to live on their knees,I affirm the resurrection when I speak for those who have had their tongues torn out,I affirm the resurrection, when I cry for those who have no more tears left to shed. Why did they repeat these stories over and over again? However, Pete goes on, there are moments when I affirm that resurrection, few and far between as they are. Introit "The Strive Is O'er"(Voices United (VU) 159) "Christ Is Risen from the Dead"(VU 167) "Now Christ Is Risen"(VU 172) "Halle, halle, halle" (VU 958) Call to Worship. Do this in remembrance of me. They were concerned for my mortal soul. jQuery(document).ready(function(){ But they will not be tears cried in vain. Let us metanoia Let us think new thoughts about who Jesus was and why Jesus died. Perfect! Alleluia! Nov 10, 2022 | Christmas, Featured 1, Mini-Movies, Seasonal, Videos. When we set aside the institutional narrative of atonement that the church has relied upon to interpret the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the idol that masquerades as god, the idol whose contours are reinforced in our worship services, by our hymns, prayers, creeds, choice of scriptures, and rituals, this idol begins to crumble. The Book of Common Prayer of 1662 (BCP) continues as a benchmark. And God called thefirmamentHeaven.. */ But as for our question about an actual physical body, Paul insists that this is simply a stupid question. Today is the 35th annual International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. People: We praise you, Lord, for these gifts of bread and wine. jQuery(document).on('change', '#submission-action', function(){ At this point, we would do well to remember that CHRIST is not Jesus last name. I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures;that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures;that he appeared to Peter and then to all twelve apostles. (1 Corinthians 15:1-6), Anna carefully underlined in red the phrase: Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures. We are an Easter people! It was a very quiet little voice deep down inside of me, at least I think it was inside of me. The apartment manager got out some WD40. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.". In both Ukraine and in Russia a wounded CHRIST is struggling to rise from death. It is right to give our thanks and praise. A star exploding or a leaf falling: both offer new possibilities and will live on in ways unknown to stars and leaves. window.location.replace('https://progressivechristianity.org/paupress/?rel=contact&pau_form=contact_form'); Excuse me if I sound a little too indignant but jockeying for a seat during a global pandemic is more than a little tone deaf, when according to the United Nations, yet another 150 million or so people will be plunged into poverty this year, swelling the ranks of the global poor to over one and a half-billion people, over half of which are children. The Cosmos are the wealthiest followers of Jesus and for joy and creation through the eyes of Jesus tears... 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