Gathering Music

“Can Anything Anywhere Hinder God’s Love?”
Words: David Bjorlin, Music: Mark Miller

Call to Worship

Adrian Mendoza

(adapted from Katherine Hawker, Liturgy Outside)

Leader: The world can hard
Our losses real
Our grief tangible
Our fear palpable
All: Merciful God, quiet our rush to judgment.

Leader: The world can be heavy
Our anxiety clawing
Our confusion large
Our responsibility tenuous
All: Brooding God, slow our impulsive actions.

Leader: The world is mystery
Our faith rooting
Our hope kindling
Our love blossoming
All: Loving God, may we be quick in our understanding of your call.

Opening Song

“Love Divine All Loves Excelling” – Charles Wesley

1. Love divine, all loves excelling,
   joy of heaven, to earth come down;
   fix in us thy humble dwelling;
   all thy faithful mercies crown!
   Jesus, thou art all compassion,
   pure, unbounded love thou art;
   visit us with thy salvation;
   enter every trembling heart.
2. Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
   into every troubled breast!
   Let us all in thee inherit;
   let us find that second rest.
   Take away our bent to sinning;
   Alpha and Omega be;
   end of faith, as its beginning,
   set our hearts at liberty.
3. Come, Almighty to deliver,
   let us all thy life receive;
   suddenly return and never,
   nevermore thy temples leave.
   Thee we would be always blessing,
   serve thee as thy hosts above,
   pray and praise thee without ceasing,
   glory in thy perfect love.
4. Finish, then, thy new creation;
   pure and spotless let us be.
   Let us see thy great salvation
   perfectly restored in thee;
   changed from glory into glory,
   till in heaven we take our place,
   till we cast our crowns before thee,
   lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Prayer Poem

Lerato Pitso

“Unsentimental love” – M. Jade Kaiser, enfleshed

May the love I am learning to practice
not be so sentimental that it appears to lack direction.
This love is moving with purpose –
not toward a transcendent unity of rising above
nor a god of come-together.
But down into the depths of everything
where power, pain, and possibility push and pull us
toward or away from transformation.

May there be no confusion that what I mean to say and do
is love according to principles that set free.
Literally, learning to love in the direction of abolition.
And also, learning from love that unbinds
those deep-down parts that cling fearfully to what deadens and destroys.

May the love I am learning to practice
be tender, yes.
But also unafraid to bite.
May the sharp teeth of its determination
cut through every layer and legacy of
of all that has been done and undone in its name
and fiercely declare its truth.

Scripture Reading

Maeve Perrin

James 1:17-27
17Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the God of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18In fulfillment of God’s own purpose, God gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of God’s creatures.

19You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. 21Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. 22But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. 26If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, our Parent, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Leader: The Word of God for the people of God.
All: Thanks be to God.

Sermon

“Pure Religion”

Dean Edwin Aponte

Anthem

“You Are Holy” – Per Harling

Seminary Choir

Sacrament of Holy Communion

Dean Edwin Aponte
Communion Servers: Salia Paul Kamara, Sam Smith

Adapted from M. Jade Kaiser, enfleshed

Leader: The Holy One be with you.
All: And also with you.
Leader: Open your hearts to the One who is Love.
All: We open our hearts to you, O God.
Leader: Let us give thanks to God, who gathers us together.
All: To the One who welcomes us to the table, we give thanks and praise.

Leader: God, your invitation to come and feast in your presence is but a taste of the love you extend to us every day. By your very nature, you are always seeking us out – searching for ways to connect us and connect with us. You meet us in the most ordinary of places and you make them sacred. By your grace, we come to recognize the holiness that dwells in the world around us, in our neighbors, in our own internal depths.
Therefore we join our voices with your people on earth and all the company of the heavens, singing praise to you,

All: Holy, Holy, Holy One
God of justice and love
Heaven and earth are full of your wonder
Hosanna, among us

Leader: Blessed are you and blessed is your eternal table. You welcome all who thirst for justice and hunger to grow in love. You ask us to extend this same welcome to all our neighbors, but God, since our beginning, we have struggled.

And so in your love for us, you took on flesh in Jesus. Through his life, you pointed to your presence on the margins. You revealed the sacredness in all life. You showed us how to live together, even among forces of destruction.

Believing it could transform the world, Jesus proclaimed the Good News. He called for the captives to be set free. He spoke of the lowly being lifted up. He talked of redistributing wealth and eradicating the causes of poverty. His commitment to practicing love knew no bounds – not even the bounds of death.

On the night of his arrest, Jesus shared a meal with his companions.

He took bread, blessed it, broke it, gave it to his disciples and said:

“This is my body which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”

After the meal, he took the cup, blessed it, and shared it saying:
“This cup that is poured out is the new covenant.”

In remembrance of all you have done to save us,
we proclaim the mystery of our faith:

All: Christ was birthed among us.
Christ was killed among us.
Christ rises again among us.

Leader: Pour out your Spirit on these gifts, O God. Make these ordinary elements into the Sacred gift of your presence with us once again. May they awaken us anew to your everlasting invitation into a life of resurrection. Enliven us in our pursuit of a world where all needs are met, power is balanced, and the worth of every creature and creation is celebrated.

In collective longing for a taste of your Kindom on earth,
we join together in singing the prayer of Jesus:

Our God, In Heaven (Sung Lord’s Prayer)

Sharing of the Bread and Cup

Hymns during Communion

“Sing Alleluia to the Lord” – Linda Stassen

“Kwake Yesu Nasimama” – Kenyan hymn

Kwake Yesu nasimama,
ndiye mwamba ni salama.
Ndiye mwamba ni salama,
ndiye mwamba ni salama.

There’s no other place I can hide
till the storm that rages subsides.
My voice cries to God from the flood,
and I’m saved because of his blood.

Kwake Yesu nasimama,
ndiye mwamba ni salama.
Ndiye mwamba ni salama,
ndiye mwamba ni salama.

It is not the work of my hands
that has washed away all my sins.
I’m redeemed, and all of my days,
Jesus Christ will be my heart’s praise.

Kwake Yesu nasimama,
ndiye mwamba ni salama.
Ndiye mwamba ni salama,
ndiye mwamba ni salama.

When my days on this earth are done,
and I stand at God’s holy throne,
my heart will not have any fear;
in Christ’s righteousness I am here.

Kwake Yesu nasimama,
ndiye mwamba ni salama.
Ndiye mwamba ni salama,
ndiye mwamba ni salama.

Blessing

Dean Edwin Aponte

Sending Song

“All My Days” – Words: Laurie Zelman, Music: Mark Miller

You know my words, before they’re said.
You know my need and I am fed.
You give me life. You know my ways,
my strength, my path, for all my days,
my strength, my path, for all my days.

If I should fly beyond the dawn,
the [nighttime] will not overcome.
If I lie down in deepest night,
still you are there, my Lord, my light,
still you are there, my Lord, my light.

Our every thought, each word we say,
the whole of time, the present day,
are held within your mighty hand,
too wonderful to comprehend,
too wonderful to comprehend.

O mend my heart and free my voice.
From sin released, I will rejoice.
O search me, Lord, my spirit cries,
and let my song of praise arise,
and let my song of praise arise!