Christ the Shepherd King Sunday Laurie Olson Liturgy by Florence Davis November 22, 2014 Announcements Opening Song #497 Shepherd Me, O God Call to Worship Looking for the king Christ lives in the prisoner. Whenever we see the captive and the lost, we see Christ. Serving in the palace Christ lives in the homeless. Whenever we touch the last and the least, we touch Christ. Listening for the powerful Christ lives in the vulnerable. Whenever we hear the frail and the lonely, We hear Christ. First Reading Ezek 34:11-12, 15-17. Indeed, God said this: I myself will care for my sheep and watch over them. As the shepherd looks after his flock when he finds them scattered, so will I watch over my sheep and gather them from all the places where they were scattered in a time of cloud and fog. I myself will tend my sheep and let them rest, says God. I will search for the lost and lead back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak but the fat and strong will be eliminated. I will shepherd my flock with justice. The word of God. Thanks be to God. Responsorial Psalm Ps.23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose. Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name's sake. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come. Second Reading Imagining Christ by Kathleen Norris As we approach the season of Advent, we find Ezekiel being outrageous in true prophetic style. As often happens when prophets speak, closely following on the heels of the good promises comes what we perceive as bad. This talk of judging, of sorting out the sheep, sounds negative and even dangerous. It s not healthy to think in terms of "us" and "them," Yet this touches on what makes Ezekiel a prophet to begin with; he forces us to question whether our discomfort over God s judgment comes not so much from fear of taking sides, or of being found on the wrong side, but from feeling affronted. Isn t it our prerogative to label and condemn? We certainly act as if this is the case.. Before we agree to listen to someone, we want to know if he or
she is liberal or conservative; Democrat or Republican; gay or straight, hot or, God-forbid, not. Ezekiel calls us on our folly. Judgment belongs to God, and God s concerns are not our own. When God begins the sorting of the flock, it is not to divide the good from the bad or administer litmus tests of faith or political conviction. God is seeing what we have refused to see, seeking out the weak who have been butted around on their way to the feed trough. God pities those who have been wounded by the selfish actions of others. This is the good news that any prophet worth the title conveys to us. Matthew tells us that if we truly believe that Christ is among us, we are to act as if Christ is in other people, even the stranger whom we believe we have reason to fear, the prisoner whose acts we find reprehensible, the sick we would rather condemn because we are convinced their lifestyle contributed to their illness, the hungry who should have been able to fend for themselves. The exercise of our imaginations is vital if we are to find Christ in others. But it is also necessary t to reject the temptation to sloth which gives us the ability to look at a starving child with a swollen stomach and say, Well, it s not my kid. That s the capacity of the human spirit, to look out on the world and everything God made and say, I don t care. We may respond defensively, I m a good person, and I do care. But how does this hold up to Ezekiel s warnings and to the Son of Man who comes in glory? "When was it that we saw you, Lord?" we ask, dumbfounded. The beauty of the question is that it is asked by both the righteous, who are unaware of the good they have done, and by the accursed, who are unaware that they ve done anything wrong. And this is the heart of the matter. The human imagination, battered and torn by our fears and limitations, comes from a God who asks us to see ourselves and our world in a new way. How we choose to return this remarkable gift to God is entirely up to us Gospel Acclamation Gospel Reading Matthew 25: 31-46 God be with you. And also with you A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew. Glory to you, O God When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, Come, you that are blessed by my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you? And the king will answer them, Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. Then he will say to those at his left hand, You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer, Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you? Then he will answer them, Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church. Glory and Praise. Silent Reflection & Dialogue Intercessions Let us pray to God for all those who need our compassion and care, for all those who commit themselves to the poorest, and for those who are afraid to become involved. For all government leaders, including our newly elected Congress, that they will work toward a fair distribution of wealth in this country, we pray: O God, hear our prayer. For all people driven from their homes by war or civil strife, for all people living in foreign lands, that people may be hospitable to them, we pray: O God, hear our prayer. For all those who hunger for food, who thirst for justice, who crave human dignity, that your voice will be heard in their cries, we pray: O God, hear our prayer.
For all who are imprisoned because of their convictions, for all who are persecuted; for all who are prisoners because of their hatred, greed, or their failings, that they may be freed, we pray: O God, hear our prayer. For all those who work for the poor, the sick, the elderly, the marginalized, and dispossessed, that they may take heart from the words of Jesus, we pray: O God, hear our prayer. For all of us gathered here tonight, that the words, Whatsoever you do to the least of my sisters and brothers, you do to me, may influence all our dealings with others, we pray: O God, hear our prayer. For all of the thoughts in our hearts, spoken or unspoken (prayers here), we pray: O God, hear our prayer. The voices that cry out to us, the eyes that plead with us, may we recognize Jesus in them and love him in them. Be near to us, now and forever. Amen. Gathering at the Table From the beginning, life has been shaped by despair, struggle and triumph. Oppressive forces have repeatedly tried to destroy the hope of the marginalized and vulnerable. The forces of wealth, and privilege, armies and theology, have beaten down upon the poor. Yet hope has never been extinguished. When all seems lost, the embers stir back into life and the light of justice ignites again. For this we give God deep; and heartfelt thanks. Shortly before Jesus died, he gathered around him his closest friends women and men who had shared in his despair, struggles and triumphs. They met in a small upstairs room. The forces of power and self-interest were closing in. All their hopes were about to be put to death on a cross In this moment, Jesus took bread and wine and likened it to his own life broken and poured out for others. In so doing, he invited them and us to share in the brokenness of our world and in the healing of our world through self-giving love. In bread broken and wine poured, He initiated a new community, an upside-down community which believes that loving is more important than winning, doing what is right is more important than doing what is safe, and setting people free is more important than trying to control their lives. It is a community marked by justice, love and hope. And so we remember the night before he died, Jesus took bread, blessed it and gave it to his friends, saying, Take eat, this is my body, given for you. Do this to remember me.
After supper he took the cup filled with wine and said, Drink this all of you for this is my blood that gives new life. Drink this to remember me. With this bread and wine we remember the call of God. (St. Matthew in the City-2010) We pray as Jesus taught us: Heavenly Father, heavenly Mother, Holy and blessed is your true name. We pray for your reign of peace to come. We pray that your good will be done. Let heaven and earth become one. Give us this day the bread we need. Give it to those who have none. Let forgiveness flow like a river between us, from each one to each one. Lead us to holy innocence beyond the evil of our days Come swiftly Mother, Father, come. For yours is the power and the glory and the mercy: Forever your name is All in One. Sharing the Bread and Cup # 491 You are Mine Silent Reflection Meditation The 16 th of November marked the 25 th anniversary of the killing of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter at the University of Central America in El Salvador. The following reading is from Companions of Jesus: The Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador, by Fr. Jon Sobrino who was also a member of that Jesuit community, So what really remains from the martyrdom of these six Jesuits? I believe and hope their spirit remains, that they rise again, like Archbishop Romero, in the Salvadoran people, that they continue to be a light in this dark tunnel and hope in this country of endless misfortunes. All martyrs rise again in history, each in their own way. The martyred Jesuits too will live on in the Salvadoran people. I do not know how. But I hope the Salvadoran people would remember them as eyewitnesses to the truth, so that they go on believing that the truth is possible in their country. I hope they remember them as witnesses to justice so that the Salvadoran people retain courage to believe that it is possible to change the country. I hope they remember them as faithful witnesses to the God of life so that Salvadorans go on seeing God as their defender. I hope that they remember them as Jesuits who tried to undergo a difficult conversion and paid the price for defending faith and justice. This is what I hope these Jesuits leave the Salvadoran
people and that in this legacy they go on living as an encouragement and inspiration. Closing Prayer & Blessing Mural by Miguel Antonio Bonilla It is not enough to acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and King. Our mission in life is to make his kingdom a reality among us and to bring it to those around us by our words and deeds. Therefore may the Christ who serves with wounded hands stretch out our hands to serve. May the Christ who walks on wounded feet walk with each one of us on the road. May the Christ who loves with a wounded heart open our hearts to love. When we leave this place this evening, may we see the face of Christ in everyone we meet, and may everyone we meet see the face of Christ in us. Amen. May God bless us and keep us. May God s face shine upon us. May God be gracious to us and grant to us, and to all our broken world, peace. May the blessing of God, the Creator, the Redeemer and the Holy Spirit, come upon us and remain with us forever. Amen. Closing Hymn: #635 Blessed are They Sharing the Peace