SPEAKER_03: Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_03: Blessed be God's family now and forever.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_03: Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.
SPEAKER_03: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name through Christ our Lord.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: The Lord be with you.
SPEAKER_03: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_03: O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain, grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_04: Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.
SPEAKER_04: But Elisha said, As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.
SPEAKER_04: So they went down to Bethel.
SPEAKER_04: The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?
SPEAKER_04: And he said, Yes, I know.
SPEAKER_04: Keep silent.
SPEAKER_04: Elisha said to him, Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.
SPEAKER_04: But he said, As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.
SPEAKER_04: So they came to Jericho.
SPEAKER_04: The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?
SPEAKER_04: And he answered, Yes, I know.
SPEAKER_04: Be silent.
SPEAKER_04: Then Elijah said to him, Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jordan, to the Jordan.
SPEAKER_04: But he said, As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.
SPEAKER_04: So the two of them went on.
SPEAKER_04: Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance, and stood at some distance from them as they both were standing by the Jordan.
SPEAKER_04: Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, struck the water, and the water was parted to one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
SPEAKER_04: When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, Tell me, what I may do for you before I'm taken from you.
SPEAKER_04: Elisha said, Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.
SPEAKER_04: He responded, You have asked a hard thing, yet if you see me as I'm being taken from you, it will be granted you.
SPEAKER_04: If not, it will not.
SPEAKER_04: As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.
SPEAKER_04: Elisha kept watching and crying out, Father, Father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen.
SPEAKER_04: But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
SPEAKER_04: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people.
SPEAKER_04: Gather before me my loyal followers.
SPEAKER_04: Let the heavens declare the righteousness of God's cause.
SPEAKER_01: Reading from Second Corinthians, even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
SPEAKER_01: In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
SPEAKER_01: For we do not proclaim ourselves, we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake.
SPEAKER_01: For it is the God who said, Let light shine out of the darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people.
SPEAKER_03: And then Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.
SPEAKER_03: Let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
SPEAKER_03: He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
SPEAKER_03: And then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice.
SPEAKER_03: Listen to him.
SPEAKER_03: Suddenly, when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
SPEAKER_03: The Gospel of the Lord.
SPEAKER_03: Please be seated.
SPEAKER_03: So always before Lent, the Sunday right before Ash Wednesday, we have this story of the transfiguration, which the disciples have this vision of who Jesus really is.
SPEAKER_03: And I guess what I've heard throughout the years is that this is supposed to be a vision of Jesus' glory that's supposed to get us through Lent because we're getting ready to go on this 40-day fast, essentially.
SPEAKER_03: But I want to suggest to you the reason this is not all that persuasive to me is that the disciples don't get it.
SPEAKER_03: I mean, right after this story, they go down the mountain and there's a boy who's got an unclean spirit, and the disciples can't help him.
SPEAKER_03: Beyond that, I have to admit, like a picture of um of glory, quite honestly, has never really quite helped me when I was giving up something that I didn't want to give up anyway.
SPEAKER_03: So I'd like you to consider this a little bit uh different than law and prophets.
SPEAKER_03: And I'd also like you to consider with me how transfiguration can work a couple of ways.
SPEAKER_03: Um the first Episcopal church I ever belonged to, I was working actually at a Methodist church, and I was going to the early service in the Episcopal Church so that I could have my own sense of spiritual renewal.
SPEAKER_03: And um, I remember this still, like I heard it yesterday, even though it's probably been 16 years ago.
SPEAKER_03: One of the first sermons I ever heard was about the transfiguration.
SPEAKER_03: And it was about, quite honestly, our ability to transfigure people for better and for worse.
SPEAKER_03: This was in Atlanta, Georgia, and um the High Museum of Art had a display that was inspired by the Innocence Project.
SPEAKER_03: That is, um, they used DNA evidence in general to get people off of death row for crimes that they didn't commit.
SPEAKER_03: And in the High Museum, there was a photo of the person who was accused for the crime, exonerated by DNA evidence, and then a photo of the person who committed the crime who had been found.
SPEAKER_03: And the people looked nothing like each other.
SPEAKER_03: The falsely accused had been put behind bars by eyewitness testimony, and the people looked nothing alike except they were black.
SPEAKER_03: That's transfiguration for the worse.
SPEAKER_03: When we can look at another person and transfigure them to look like what we're afraid of.
SPEAKER_03: Or when we can look at somebody who has a different, even religious or political opinion, and we can transfigure them to no longer be our brother or our sister, but to be our enemy.
SPEAKER_03: And I want to suggest to you that this happens way more often than we'd like to admit, and sometimes it even happens with people saying God wants us to do this.
SPEAKER_03: It's almost like sometimes we have these moments where we get blinded by the light and can't see our brother or sister standing right next to us, especially in a disagreement.
SPEAKER_03: And maybe you didn't share this thought with me, but I will tell you, this political season, particularly, I was reminded again about how often God's name gets put behind our politics of hatred.
SPEAKER_03: And no wonder that people are disenfranchised with church in America because it's disgusting.
SPEAKER_03: We can continue to transfigure one another like that.
SPEAKER_03: But I think we're hearing this story right before Lent because, quite honestly, God would like to change the way we transfigure one another.
SPEAKER_03: And we need to fast from that kind of transfiguration so that we can feast on being transformed.
SPEAKER_03: There's something really interesting that happens in this story that most folks leave out, to be honest.
SPEAKER_03: And I don't know, somehow my ears got pricked to it a couple of years ago, and maybe you've heard me say this before, but it's not just that Moses and Elijah show up, they're having a conversation with Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: The problem is the disciples don't listen to it.
SPEAKER_03: We know they don't listen because they don't write down what they were saying, and there's a voice from heaven that says, Don't just look, listen.
SPEAKER_03: This is my son, whom I love.
SPEAKER_03: Listen to him.
SPEAKER_03: And the disciples are so caught up with what they see that they fail to listen.
SPEAKER_03: Now I don't know what they were talking about.
SPEAKER_03: It could just be Jesus was high-fiving them and saying, Hey, you made it to the Sunday school flannel board.
SPEAKER_03: Good job, Moses.
SPEAKER_03: You made it to the Sunday school flannel board.
SPEAKER_03: Good job, Elijah.
SPEAKER_03: But I have to be honest, because I've read the Bible.
SPEAKER_03: I wonder if Jesus wasn't calling them both to the carpet.
SPEAKER_03: Hey, Moses.
SPEAKER_03: I mean, you really think that God would like a child killed because they disagreed with their parents?
SPEAKER_03: You passed that down as the way we should treat rebellious children?
SPEAKER_03: We should kill them?
SPEAKER_03: I mean, Moses, you did some good stuff, but really?
SPEAKER_03: I mean, you rebelled against your own parents, Moses.
SPEAKER_03: He did, by the way.
SPEAKER_03: He grew up raised by Pharaoh's sister.
SPEAKER_03: Elijah, I mean, you know, you did some good stuff, but um, you also killed some prophets of Baal with your own hand?
SPEAKER_03: I mean, is that really who you want to be?
SPEAKER_03: We can hear this story about Elijah and think that the chariot from heaven comes and brings him down to reward him because he's such a success.
SPEAKER_03: But you know, you can also read the story that Elijah was mucking it up and God said, time to call you home.
SPEAKER_03: I mean it.
SPEAKER_03: Read the story.
SPEAKER_03: These guys aren't perfect.
SPEAKER_03: And what if it's not just the law and the prophets?
SPEAKER_03: What if Jesus is inviting us to have a conversation with the law and the prophets ourselves?
SPEAKER_03: What if Jesus is asking us to consider that sometimes, quite honestly, instead of us opening the Bible and hearing the ways God could lead us into life, we use the Bible to justify our poor behavior.
SPEAKER_03: Or we use scriptures to say, see, look, this is how you should treat people who have the wrong political opinion, so it's okay that I hate you and God hates you too.
SPEAKER_03: I do think that's faithful living.
SPEAKER_03: I don't think so.
SPEAKER_03: And I wonder if Jesus isn't asking us ahead of Lent to think about having a conversation with the scriptures that leads us to life instead of I submit to the surface reading.
SPEAKER_03: I submit to doing whatever it says.
SPEAKER_03: I don't know if this is interesting for you or not, but I was taught in Sunday school, like when you hear the Abraham and Isaac story, that if God tells you to kill your child, that's what you should do.
SPEAKER_03: But the rabbis have always said, Abraham, why are you not arguing on behalf of your own child?
SPEAKER_03: Our Jewish brothers and sisters understand that there's a faithful response that can say, no, that's not life-giving.
SPEAKER_03: They empower that response.
SPEAKER_03: And I wonder if this story isn't inviting us to have a conversation, quite honestly, with the law and the prophets that we've memorized and say, where is life to be brought?
SPEAKER_03: And I want to suggest, quite honestly, that Moses and Elijah don't just represent the law and the prophets.
SPEAKER_03: Moses represents tradition.
SPEAKER_03: And Elisha for me represents charismatic religion.
SPEAKER_03: That doesn't always look like patience and kindness and gentleness and self-control, which we hear are the fruits of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes I think tradition and charisma can veil the gospel, like Paul talks about.
SPEAKER_03: And maybe this Lent could be about pulling the veil back a little bit.
SPEAKER_03: Now, tradition is going to say, give up something that you enjoy so you can prove to God how much you love God by being miserable.
SPEAKER_03: And that's crazy.
SPEAKER_03: Please don't do that.
SPEAKER_03: No, Lent is about saying, I mean, I want to suggest to you, Lent is really about making some trades.
SPEAKER_03: It's about trading habits that are gonna go nowhere for you or anybody else, for things that go somewhere for you and somebody else.
SPEAKER_03: And maybe the thing we need to give up for Lent, quite honestly, is self-righteousness or trying to prove to God how much we're grateful for the love God gives us, whether we're grateful for it or not.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe what we could do for Lent is try to actually just enjoy God's favor and goodness.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe something we could do for Lent is fast from self-defeating thoughts so that we could feast on loving God and one another.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe for Lent we're being asked to fast from transfiguring other people to look like our enemies so that instead we could transfigure people, especially when we disagree, to looking like our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
SPEAKER_03: That has nothing to do with chocolate or wine, but it has to do with life.
SPEAKER_03: It has to do with life.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe we're asked to fast from having extreme faith like Elijah does, so that we can feast on being extremely faithful, like day in and day out.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe God does not want you to smuggle Bibles into Saudi Arabia.
SPEAKER_03: I don't think God wants you to do that, by the way.
SPEAKER_03: Although that might be extreme faith, I'm not convinced it's extremely faithful.
SPEAKER_03: Being extremely faithful is about being diligent in the smallest things.
SPEAKER_03: The smallest things.
SPEAKER_03: Or they're saying something that they're afraid of, they're frustrated with.
SPEAKER_03: It would transfigure somebody from being your enemy to being vulnerable.
SPEAKER_03: The world needs more of that.
SPEAKER_03: You don't have to give something up for that.
SPEAKER_03: But the truth is, I think we're being invited because of this image, because of Jesus shining and going forward in glory.
SPEAKER_03: Really being invited not to give up something we're in we enjoy.
SPEAKER_03: We're being invited to put down baggage that we're carrying.
SPEAKER_03: I wonder what baggage you could put down, and I don't just mean for the next 47 days, I mean for the rest of your life.
SPEAKER_03: And honestly, the baggage may not be that you're a selfish person.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe the baggage is you're worried about some parenting decision you made a bunch of years back.
SPEAKER_03: Or maybe you're just worried that you're broken and you can't be fixed.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you're worried that if you don't do enough, people won't like you.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe something happened to you a long time ago that you didn't earn and deserve.
SPEAKER_03: And you still carry the residue of that.
SPEAKER_03: I think this is our chance to say, God, you don't want me to be defined by my past.
SPEAKER_03: You've got a future for me.
SPEAKER_03: One of my former therapists told me this 90-10 rule, and this to me I think is what a holy Lent looks like.
SPEAKER_03: The 90-10 rule is that at the moment we can be really bothered with somebody, and 90% of that comes from something that happened in our past.
SPEAKER_03: And it's really only 10% about what's going on right now.
SPEAKER_03: I wonder if at the end of Lent, I mean, really, if it's a holy Lent, we could at least be 80-20, you know?
SPEAKER_03: Or 70-30.
SPEAKER_03: When if we were really bold, like 60 40.
SPEAKER_03: I wonder if Lent isn't this chance to say, hey, it may not even be that I'm doing something morally wrong, but if I could lay down some of the bad That I'm carrying, whether I earned or deserved it or not, I would have a holier life.
SPEAKER_03: And this is why, don't you see on Wednesday, we're going to come and get these ashes, if you'd like to, because we recognize that feelings are true in the sense that we really feel them, but they're not always real.
SPEAKER_03: They're not always true with the capital T just because we have them.
SPEAKER_03: That some of the things we do, quite honestly, are just regular things, and some of them lead to life, and some of them won't outlast us.
SPEAKER_03: And so we're going to put ashes on our head as a reminder that many of the things that we do are going to die with us.
SPEAKER_03: Like pettiness and selfishness, fight and flight responses.
SPEAKER_03: But faith, hope, and love will outlive us.
SPEAKER_03: Faith, hope, and love are like the visible light that expands the universe infinitely.
SPEAKER_03: And yes, we are going to die, and that's not so bad, quite honestly.
SPEAKER_03: We have an opportunity to do things that will outlast us and that will push the horizons of the universe, and I mean in positive ways, further outside.
SPEAKER_03: And Lynch is not about choosing misery, it's about choosing life.
SPEAKER_03: And here is Jesus inviting us into this conversation.
SPEAKER_03: What is life-giving for you about tradition and charisma and spiritual disciplines?
SPEAKER_03: Put it on.
SPEAKER_03: And what is not life-giving for you?
SPEAKER_03: Lay it down.
SPEAKER_03: Prayers for you, that this Lent, that this epiphany, no matter what practice you do or don't, quite honestly, you will see Jesus brighter, not only in your mind's eye, when you pray and when you go to church, but when you disagree with somebody in your family, when you disagree with what the senators did this week, that you will somehow be able to see the light of the transfigured Jesus in them instead of the darkness of your own fears.
SPEAKER_03: Please join me as we pray our faith in the words of the Nicene Creed.
SPEAKER_03: We believe in one God.
SPEAKER_02: We believe in the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: For all people in their daily life and work, for our families, friends, and neighbors, and for those who are alone, for this community, the nation and the world, for all who work for justice, freedom, and peace, for St.
SPEAKER_00: Thomas the Apostle's School, for those who teach and those who learn, that they may rejoice in the knowledge of your truth, for the just and proper use of your creation, for the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and depression, for all who are in danger, sorrow, or any kind of trouble, for those who minister to the sick, the friendless, and the needy, for the peace and unity of the Church of God, for all who proclaim the gospel and all who seek the truth, for all bishops, priests and deacons, for the priests in our community, Mike, Jim, Craig, Bill, and Lillian, for Andy, Hector, Jeff, and Kay, our bishops.
SPEAKER_00: In the diocesan cycle of prayer, St.
SPEAKER_00: John's, Austin, St.
SPEAKER_00: Julian of Norwich, Round Rock, and St.
SPEAKER_00: Luke's on the Lake, Austin, and for Michael, our presiding bishop, for all who serve God and his church.
SPEAKER_00: For the special needs and concerns of this congregation, for all who have commended themselves to our prayers, for our families, friends, and neighbors, especially Chris, Sean, Mark, Jerome, Janice, and those the congregation wishes to name at this time silently are allowed.
SPEAKER_00: Hear us, Lord, for your mercy is great.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of this life.
SPEAKER_00: We will exalt you, O God our King, and praise your name forever and ever.
SPEAKER_00: We pray for all who have died, especially Don, Rudy, Joe, and Wendy, that they may have a place in your eternal kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, let your loving kindness be upon them who put their trust in you.
SPEAKER_00: We pray to you also for the forgiveness of our sins.
SPEAKER_03: Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father, in your compassion forgive us our sins, known and unknown, things done and left undone, and so uphold us by your Spirit that we may live and serve you in newness of life to the honor and glory of your name through Jesus Christ our Lord.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: God forgives you, forgive all others, forgive yourself.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: The socially distanced peace of the Lord be always with you.
SPEAKER_03: Good morning and peace.
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for worshiping with us on the last Sunday of Epiphany.
SPEAKER_03: Just a few announcements to call to your attention.
SPEAKER_03: The first is Tuesday, of course, is Fat Tuesday.
SPEAKER_03: We will not be having a uh Jambalaya or uh Bayou Boyle, but you will start getting emails on Tuesday.
SPEAKER_03: Um one each day, Tuesday for all of Lent.
SPEAKER_03: It's possible that they're terrible.
SPEAKER_03: But if you unsubscribe, I can't resubscribe you.
SPEAKER_03: You have to resubscribe yourself.
SPEAKER_03: So just be mindful of that.
SPEAKER_03: There'll be 47 of these, and you may just want to hit delete, and that's okay.
SPEAKER_03: Um Wednesday, it's Ash Wednesday, and uh we have three opportunities here at St.
SPEAKER_03: Thomas.
SPEAKER_03: One is at 6:30 in the morning.
SPEAKER_03: That's my personal favorite, quite honestly, um, with a service of imposition of ashes and Eucharist, and we'll be on the road by 7.15.
SPEAKER_03: Um, the second is on the little driveway here off San Sebastian, we'll be having Ashes to go.
SPEAKER_03: That's a drive-through opportunity from 11:30 to 1.30.
SPEAKER_03: You don't have to RSVP for that.
SPEAKER_03: You can just drive through, and of course, friends and guests are always welcome.
SPEAKER_03: Um, and then the last one is Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.
SPEAKER_03: Um in here, and the church will have also imposition of ashes and holy eucharist.
SPEAKER_03: So that's this Wednesday.
SPEAKER_03: Um reminder that we're starting a Sunday morning Bible study that's going to be based on these emails you're getting, which are really just reflections on the book of Genesis, at least the first 25 chapters.
SPEAKER_03: Um Sunday mornings from 9 to 10.
SPEAKER_03: That's a Zoom meeting.
SPEAKER_03: And again, it's this is like a Linton Bible study we're going to do together based on some reflections that we look at all week.
SPEAKER_03: The other opportunity I want to raise to you is that beginning not this Wednesday, but the next Wednesday, we're going to have a Zoom conversation about how it is that we live into things like forgiveness and reconciliation.
SPEAKER_03: We're going to talk about the ways that both scripture and psychology talk about things like sin and repentance and shame and guilt.
SPEAKER_03: Again, the goal is not just that we change some habit, but that we're also able to lay down some baggage in a holy land.
SPEAKER_03: Um lastly, I just um want to remind you that March the 6th will be our next fresh food distribution, and it'll be right out here in the parking lot at 7 45 until about 10.
SPEAKER_03: Oh, I did forget to mention I am trying to meet with each of you.
SPEAKER_03: Um there's not a rush, but I would be grateful just to have time with you because it's been a crazy year, quite honestly.
SPEAKER_03: I'm really happy to say that I've had vaccine number one, um, which helps a little, but I'm happy to meet socially distanced outside to bring you to my home or to my office or to meet you where it's convenient, um, frankly, just to catch up.
SPEAKER_03: Um, so please take me up on that opportunity.
SPEAKER_03: Continue to walk in love as Christ first loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God.
SPEAKER_03: This is the table not of the church, but of God.
SPEAKER_03: It is to be ready for those who seek relationship with God.
SPEAKER_03: So come, make this journey.
SPEAKER_03: You who have much faith and you who have little, you who have been here often, and you who have not been in a long time or ever before, you who have tried to follow, and you who have lost your way.
SPEAKER_03: Come and make this journey not because I invite you, God invites.
SPEAKER_03: It is God's desire that we gather here.
SPEAKER_03: The Lord be with you.
SPEAKER_03: Lift up your hearts.
SPEAKER_03: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
SPEAKER_03: It is right and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
SPEAKER_03: Because in Jesus Christ our Lord, you have received us as your daughters and sons, made us citizens of your kingdom, and given us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.
SPEAKER_03: And therefore we praise you, joining our voices with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, who forever say this Hymn to proclaim the glory of your name.
SPEAKER_03: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosanna and the highest.
SPEAKER_03: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna and the highest.
SPEAKER_03: Holy and gracious Father, in your infinite love you made us from yourself.
SPEAKER_03: And when we'd fallen into sin and become subject to evil and death, you in your mercy sent Jesus Christ, your only and eternal Son, to share our human nature, to live and die as one of us, to reconcile us to you, the God and Father of all.
SPEAKER_03: He stretched out his arms upon the cross and offered himself in obedience to your will, a perfect sacrifice for the whole world.
SPEAKER_03: On the night he was handed over to suffering and death, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, and when he given thanks to you, he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said, Take, eat.
SPEAKER_03: This is my body which is given for you.
SPEAKER_03: Do this for the remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_03: After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, and when he given thanks, he gave it to them and said, Drink this, all of you.
SPEAKER_03: This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins.
SPEAKER_03: Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_03: Therefore, we proclaim the mystery of faith.
SPEAKER_03: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
SPEAKER_03: We celebrate the memorial of our redemption, O Father, in this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_03: Recalling his death, resurrection, and ascension, we offer to you these gifts.
SPEAKER_03: Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the body and blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of new and an ending life in Him.
SPEAKER_03: Sanctify us also that we may faithfully receive this holy sacrament and serve you in unity, in constancy, and in peace.
SPEAKER_03: And at the last day, bring us with all your saints into the joy of your eternal kingdom.
SPEAKER_03: All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ, by him and with him and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to pray.
SPEAKER_03: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
SPEAKER_03: Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
SPEAKER_03: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: Be known to us in the breaking of the bread.
SPEAKER_03: We who are many are one body, for we all share in the one bread.
SPEAKER_03: These are the gifts of God, and we are the people of God.
SPEAKER_03: I invite you to come forward to receive bread or a blessing by coming to the aisle closest to your right, coming down the front and returning on the far side to your seat.
SPEAKER_03: Before all creation, we acknowledge the mystery of this simple meal.
SPEAKER_03: Let it remind us of our common humanity and our commitment to love one another and all of creation.
SPEAKER_03: Through it may we be strengthened to service.
SPEAKER_03: In it may we find peace.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: Join the transfigured Jesus in conversing and living into the scriptures on behalf of the joy of the world.
SPEAKER_03: And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you this day and remain with you always.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.