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The Invitation to the
Table
I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty
and you gave me drink.
I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU WELCOMED ME, I WAS
NAKED AND YOU CLOTHED ME.
I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison
and you came to me.
HERE IS THE BREAD OF LIFE, LET ALL WHO HUNGER
COME AND EAT.
Here is the fruit of the vine, pressed and
poured out for us. Let all who thirst come and drink.
WE COME TO THIS SACRED TABLE TO BREAK BREAD,
TO MAKE PEACE, TO BE HEALED AND MADE WHOLE WITH OURSELVES --
AND ONE WITH GOD.
We come not because we are fulfilled, but
because in our emptiness we stand in need of God's mercy and assurance.
WE COME NOT TO EXPRESS AN OPINION BUT
TO SEEK A PRESENCE AND TO PRAY FOR A SPIRIT. MAY WE NEVER
PRAISE GOD WITH OUR MOUTHS WHILE DENYING BY OUR ACTIONS THE LOVE
THAT IS OUR COMMON SPEECH.
Come to this table, then, sisters and brothers,
as you are. Partake and share.
THIS TABLE IS PREPARED FOR YOU AND ME
THAT WE MIGHT AGAIN KNOW THAT GOD HAS COME TO US, SHARED OUR
COMMON LOT AND INVITED US TO JOIN THE PEOPLE OF GOD'S NEW
AGE. WE ARE WORTHY. WE ARE WELCOMED. ALL ARE WELCOMED!
Robert Eller-Issac & UCC Book
of Worship
The Preparation of the
Bread and Cup
The Lord be with you.
AND ALSO WITH
YOU.
Lift up your hearts!
WE LIFT THEM UP TO THE LORD.
Let
us give thanks to the Lord our God.
IT IS RIGHT TO GIVE THANKS AND
PRAISE!
In the beginning, Your spirit moved over the
face of the earth, giving birth to the fullness of creation, earth and sky,
mountain and river, tall grain and good fruit, all creatures great and
small.
YOU FASHIONED US FROM THE EARTH AS A POTTER
MOLDS HIS CLAY. YOU GAVE US PARADISE AND WHEN WE WALKED AWAY, YOU PURSUED
US, WITH YOUR PROPHETS AND TEACHERS THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL. WHEN
WE WERE ENSLAVED OR ENSLAVED OURSELVES, YOU BROKE FREE OUR FETTERS, YOU LED US
OUT OF BONDAGE. WHEN WE HUNGERED IN OUR JOURNEY, YOU FED US MANNA IN THE
WILDERNESS, A PORTION SUFFICIENT FOR GENERATIONS TO FOLLOW, OF WHICH WE PARTAKE
IN TODAY.
You sealed a covenant to bind us together.
You commanded the people to feed the poor, to welcome the stranger, to care for
the widow and orphan. You came to us as Elijah the prophet to herald the
coming of the Messiah. Elijah came as a stranger who hungered for
bread.
IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME, GOD SENT THE ONE
WHOM WE CALL JESUS. SON OF MARY AND SON OF JOSEPH: ALSO CALLED SON OF
GOD. A CARPENTER BY TRADE, HE WAS BAPTIZED IN HIS ADULT YEARS AT THE RIVER
JORDAN BY THE ONE NAMED JOHN.
The spirit of the Lord came upon Jesus because
he was chosen by God to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberation to
the captives, recovery of sight to the blind; to set free the oppressed and to
announce a year of favor of the Lord.
JESUS TAUGHT IN THE SYNAGOGUE. HE
PREACHED TO THE PEOPLE. HE PROCLAIMED THE COMING OF GOD'S REIGN.
JESUS HEALED THE SICK. JESUS FED THE HUNGRY AND SHARED TABLE FELLOWSHIP
WITH PROSTITUTES AND TAX COLLECTORS AND OTHER OUTCASTS: A GROUP OF WOMEN
FOLLOWED HIM. JESUS CONFRONTED EVIL AND WAS ARRESTED FOR TREASON BY THE
ROMAN OCCUPIERS. HE WAS BEATEN, HUMILIATED, RECEIVED A MOCKERY OF A TRIAL
AND WAS EXECUTED BY CRUCIFIXION ON A CROSS.
We acknowledge our trust in a God who so loved
Jesus, that God raised Jesus from the dead. We wait in joyful hope for his
return and for the fullness of the reign of righteousness which Jesus
proclaimed. Strengthened by Jesus' mission and message, united with Christ
in his suffering and death, and trusting in the power of God to triumph over all
evil, we proclaim the mystery of our faith:
Refrain: Marty Haugen
We remember how you loved us to your
death,
and still we celebrate, for you are with us here;
And we believe
that we will see you when you come,
in your glory, Lord,
we
remember,
we celebrate,
we believe.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us, we pray, that the
bread which we break and the cup which we bless may be for us the communion of
the body and blood of Christ. Grant that, being joined together in Christ,
we may be the gift of Christ for one another, light for the darkness of this
world, manna in the wilderness, bread for the journey of our lives.
AND AS THIS GRAIN HAS BEEN GATHERED FROM MANY
FIELDS INTO ONE BREAD AND THIS FRUIT FROM MANY HILLS INTO ONE CUP, GRANT, O
LORD, THAT ALL YOUR PEOPLE MAY SOON BE GATHERED AS ONE FROM THE ENDS OF THE
EARTH.
The Breaking of the
Bread
The Thanksgiving
Prayer
And so we remember, this Jesus, born homeless,
in a stable, a poor peasant and itinerant preacher who proclaimed God's reign,
who raised up the poor and outcast and who suffered and was executed by being
nailed to a cross. By whose great love, God raised up on the third
day.
WE WORK TODAY IN PREPARATION FOR HIS RETURN,
WHEN WE WILL GREET CHRIST FACE TO FACE, WHEN JUSTICE WILL FLOW LIKE WATER FROM
THE MOUNTAIN; WHEN NO ONE WILL GO HUNGRY, WHEN ALL PEOPLE WILL BE GATHERED
AROUND THE TABLE AND GOD'S HOUSE MADE FULL. UNTIL THAT DAY, GIVE US GRACE,
LORD, THAT IN EVERYTHING WE YIELD OURSELVES, OUR WILL AND OUR WORK AS A THANKS
OFFERING TO YOU.
The minister raises the prayers of the people
now, followed by the Lord's Prayer:
OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE
THY NAME. THY KINGDOM COME. THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE
OUR DEBTORS. AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL: FOR
THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOREVER AND EVER.
AMEN.
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