So, we had our last Disciple (3) meeting Saturday. It was a big deal, kind of a review and commissioning. One of the things we did was a little... performance, I guess, is the right word. We had a script we stood up and read from (unrehearsed), so it was kind of a way of reinforcing our theme of the year, reviewing the message we had been contemplating.
I'm going to take the liberty of typing it all in here, now. :)
We stood in a circle, at the different points of the compass, facing inward.
"One" is a prophet, or a prophetic figure. It's a 5-person performance. This one should probably have stood in the middle, but we didn't, in our case.
When the script says "(Turn away)," we each turned and faced away from the center (away from each other).
ONE: Awake, my people, pay attention.
The Holy One has a point of contention:
At the marketplace they measure with false weights.
They sell the needy for a pair of shoes.
They indulge their appetites,
ignoring the hungry at the door,
deaf to the cry of the poor.
They have ears but do not hear.
ALL: Everything's fine. Peace. Peace.
ONE: The houses are splendid, the monuments secure.
They revel in their success, saying,
"By our own hands we built this!"
"The Temple will never be destroyed!"
They have hearts to discern but do not perceive.
ALL: Everything's fine. Peace. Peace.
ONE: They silence the prophets whose voices trouble the peace.
They cling to the law that gives them security
or to the special knowledge that makes them elite.
They have eyes but do not see.
ALL: Everything's fine. Peace. Peace.
ONE: They bow at the altars of their gods.
They indulge in ecstasies without responsibilities
and sensation without sensibility.
They have veiled their faces from faithfulness.
ALL: Everything's fine. Peace, peace.
NORTH: We are rich!
EAST: We are strong!
SOUTH: We are right!
WEST: We're having fun!
NORTH: But isn't it strange
how you just can't trust anyone anymore?
No one's word is good. Everyone is out for themselves. (Turns away.)
EAST: Why are the cities crumbling?
And why are there so many poor? (Turns away.)
SOUTH: What about all the violence? And fragmented families? (Turns away.)
WEST: Life is empty, meaningless.
Nothing we do really satisfies.
It takes bigger thrills to excite us, more drama to entertain us.
We're not even sure who we are anymore. (Turns away.)
ALL: Everything is not fine.
We are cut off from one another.
We are distant from ourselves.
We are alienated from earth.
We are exiled from God.
NORTH: Our sin is greed.
EAST: Our sin is pride.
SOUTH: Our sin is arrogance.
WEST: Our sin is dissipation.
ALL: It is idolatry -- worshiping the creature, not the Creator.
NORTH: We have killed Truth and sacrificed Integrity.
EAST: We have crucified Compassion and written off Patience.
SOUTH: We have ravaged Respect and restricted Vision.
WEST: We have buried Faithfulness and trivialized Love.
ALL: We have sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind.
There is no peace. No life, no hope.
No holiness, no wholeness. Only dead and scattered bones.
(Silence)
ONE: Come from the four winds, O Breath.
Breathe upon these that they may live.
ALL: Rise upon us, O Gracious One,
with healing in your wings.
ONE: Turn to me, and I will welcome you home
-- as a mother the child of her womb --
I will not forget you!
-- as a father the long-lost young --
I will not reject you!
-- as a spouse the beloved one --
I will not forsake you! Turn to me. (All turn back to the center.)
And you will live!
And my children shall come home
from the north and from the south,
from the east and from the west,
bringing gifts and treasures with them.
The Holy One was buried but is risen!
Was dead but is alive!
ALL (to North): Come to the banquet!
We have need of you.
May your ears hear the cries of creation,
your minds plan justice,
dispense generous mercy.
May you hear the truth and live with integrity.
ONE: Your chief administrator shall be called Righteousness.
ALL (to East): Come to the banquet!
We have need of you.
May your hearts discern the call to action,
attentive to the needs of all,
your hands work with tender strength
and build with patient perseverance.
And may you walk with humble hearts before God.
ONE: Your strong walls shall be called Salvation.
ALL (to South): Come to the banquet!
We have need of you.
May your speech guide with graciousness
and imaginations inspire to hopefulness.
May your eyes see the Vision and make it plain.
ONE: Your overseer shall be called Peace.
ALL (to West): Come to the banquet!
We have need of you.
May your unveiled face shine with human kindness and divine care,
and the fullness of your attentive presence
grace us with the hospitality of humor and dignity
and deep meaning.
May your unveiled face shine with faithful love.
ONE: Your gates shall be called Praise.
ALL: And people will come from east and west,
north and south, and eat with all the saints
at the heavenly banquet.
ONE: The dividing wall of hostility is broken down.
You who were far off are brought near.
ALL: We are all one in Christ Jesus
who unites us as one household of faith and freedom--
one body, one blood, one family.
ONE: Go into the world, then, beloved of God,
remembering who you are.
NORTH: with ears to hear,
EAST: hearts to discern,
SOUTH: eyes to see,
WEST: unveiled faces.
ONE: And may your words and deeds,
being and doing, loving and serving,
be a witness to the presence of the resurrected Christ,
the unbounded grace of God,
and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit.
ALL: Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment