Saturday, December 7, 2024: Join us tomorrow for our Advent Liturgy created by Mary and Ed FitzGerald. We begin with a greeting at 2:15 followed by the celebration at 2:30. All are Welcome.
Please join us in person at Knox Presbyterian
1650 West Third Street in Santa Rosa California 95401
or on ZOOM
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Emmaus Liturgy December 8, 2024
Advent - A Time Of Stillness. Preparation. Waiting. Contemplation.
Bell Ringing
Mary: Last time we gathered we talked about the importance of ritual in our lives. Advent is a season full of tradition and ritual. Our liturgy tonight brings together readings, music and symbols to quiet our minds and hearts, so we might hear the voice of the Incarnation within us. We will begin with the lighting of our advent wreath.
Lighting of Our Advent Wreath
Ed: In the Name of the Three-in-One and One-in-Three.
All: Amen
Mary: Loving God, who sent into the world your Incarnate One as a Light which the darkness cannot overcome, invest our wreath, our Advent symbol, with the power of your love and light.
Ed (lights purple candle): With each of these candles that we light,
may we rekindle within ourselves the desire
to prepare a way for the birth of Christ within us.
Mary (lights the second purple candle): With each new candle that we light, may the flame of Christ’s coming grow ever brighter, until the Feast of the Nativity brings with it a fresh and ever-green coming of the Lord of Light into each of our hearts and into our whole world.
Music: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel!
O come thou Wisdom from on high,
who orders all things mightily.
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel!
First Reading: John of the Cross
If you want, the virgin will come walking down the road pregnant with the holy, and say “I need shelter for the night, please take me inside your heart, My time is so close”.
Then, under the roof of your soul, you will witness the sublime intimacy, the divine, the Christ, taking birth forever, as she grasps your hand for help, for each of us is the midwife of God, each of us.
Yes, there, under the dome of your being does Creation come into existence, through your womb, dear pilgrim, the sacred womb in your soul, as God
grasps our arms for help; for each of us is His beloved servant, never far.
If you want, the Virgin WILL come walking down the street pregnant with light, and singing! All: Be still and know I am God
Second Reading: Meister Eckhart, O.P.
What good is it to me,
if this eternal birth of the Divine Son takes place unceasingly
but does not take place within me?
And what good is it to me,
if Mary is full of grace and if I am not also full of grace?
What good is it to me,
for the creator to give birth to the Son, if I do not also give birth to Him,
in my time, and my culture?
This, then, is the fullness of time:
When the Son of God is begotten in us
All: Be still and know I am God
Third Reading: Karl Rahner
A light is beginning to dawn in me.
I am beginning to understand something I have known for a long time:
You, O God, are still in the process of coming.
ALL: Be still and know I am God
Gospel: Mark 4:39
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them, just as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” And they were filled with awe.
Response: Be still and know I am God
Shared Homily
Ed: Needless to say, we live in an increasingly frenetic world. There’s the whole host of activities and responsibilities which prevent us from being still. When was the last time we scheduled or stopped simply to be still and know that God is God, learning and appreciating that she may indeed be found in stillness?
Mark tells us Jesus “rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Jesus, God the Son, has the power of stillness. When we take time to be still with Jesus, we know God, we know peace, we know calm, and our lives begin to slow down, which, to say the least, is not nothing. Rather, it is healing and life-restoring.
Mary: And when the Mystery of the love of God breaks through into my consciousness, do I run from it? Do I ask of it what it cannot answer? Or… am I still enough to respond from my deepest, truest self, and say something new, a “yes” that will change me forever?
Would it be true to say that the questions God asks us are always questions of being, rather than of knowing? And that simply recognizing those moments of announcing - stopping for a moment because something or someone wants our attention - can matter. Chances are, we will not see or hear an angel. But it will be clear that we are being asked to say either “yes” or “no”– to embrace or ignore what God has set before us.
Shared Homily:
“What good is it to me, for the creator to give birth to the Son,
if I do not also give birth to Him, in my time, and my culture?”
❖How are you birthing God in your life?
❖ What do you hold on to during these dark and difficult times?
❖ Who has been the “keeper of the flame” for you when darkness has overwhelmed you? ❖ How are you living in such a way that others are drawn to the fire of God’s love they see and feel in you?
❖ Where are you finding joy in your life?
Bringing Our Needs and Concerns to our table
What do we bring from within our hearts to hold up in the Light?
Eucharistic Prayer:
Ed: Emmanuel, holy God who is with us, may we lean into every moment of our days to redeem the time, to make the most of our every moment. May we prepare the visible Body of Christ, our community, to receive your eternal approach and your loving embrace. With our faces turned to you, we await your holy descent, and ask, Lord, that you hear our prayer, offered in humility:
Mary: That despite the roar of our days, our hearts might grow still.
Ed: That glimpsing the quiet Cove, we may seek you in that stillness.
Mary: That resting in your presence, our hearts might be prepared to hear you. Ed: That the angel of God might visit the chambers of our hearts.
Mary: That the angel of God might say to us, “Rejoice.”
Ed: That we might hear, and truly respond in joy.
Mary: That the angel of God might say to us, “Receive.”
Ed: That the servant of God might respond, “Let it be as you say.”
Mary: That our hearts might become fertile wombs in which new life begins. Ed: That we may apprehend the infant life within.
Mary: That we might embrace that infant life.
Ed: That we may walk with care to bring about new birth.
Mary: That we may witness the seed of God bearing Holy Fruit.
Blessing of bread and wine
Mary: As the season of Incarnation approaches, as we prepare to receive Life itself, may we taste and see how our own lives, the life of the world, and the very breath of the universe flow to us from the Holy One made Flesh. For we remember the night Jesus was at the table with his friends, and he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his friends saying:
All: “This is my body broken for you”
Ed: As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine. Again he gave thanks, and giving it to his friends said:
All:
“This cup is the New Covenant of my lifeblood shed for you and for all. And as often as you do this, do this in remembrance of me.”
For it is through Him, with Him, in Him
in the Unity of the Holy Spirit
all glory and honor is yours
forever and ever. Amen
Mary: Together, we offer to you O God, the prayer your beloved son and our brother, Jesus, gave us:
All:
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.
For yours is the power and the glory and the mercy:
Forever your name is All in One.
Kiss of Peace - Mary: Let us now offer one another a blessing of peace. Eucharist - Ed:
Our God, whom the universe cannot contain, is present to us in this bread. He who redeems us and calls us by name, now meets us in this cup. So, come, take this bread, drink this wine,
In them, God comes to us, so that we may come to God.
Lighting of candles
Music: Jesus Christ, Inner Light - please sing along
Jesus Christ, inner light, let not our own darkness conquer us. Jesus Christ, inner light, enable us to welcome your love.
Sharing of bread and wine
Closing Music: Song of Waiting
Quiet our hearts, as we await the Lord
The hope of our hearts, the hope of our hearts
Quiet our hearts, as we await the king
The hope of our hearts, Emmanuel.
Alleluia, Alleluia, we await the coming of the Lord
Alleluia, Alleluia, we await the coming of Emmanuel.
Joyful our hearts for we have heard
The promise of God, the promise of God,
Joyful our hearts for we have heard
The promise of God, Emmanuel.
Alleluia, Alleluia, we await the coming of the Lord Alleluia, Alleluia, we await the coming of Emmanuel.
Thankful our hearts for we have seen
The light of our God, the light of our God, The darkness of the night is clearing for us, His reign shall come, Emmanuel.
Alleluia, Alleluia, we await the coming of the Lord Alleluia, Alleluia, we await the coming of Emmanuel.
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