Tag Archives: Jesus

Who Is Jesus? A Liturgy

07 Wednesday Sep 2022

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Call to Worship (Based on John 1)
One: In the beginning was the Word.
Many: The Word was with God and the Word was God.
One: The Word abided in the beginning with God.
Many: Through the Word, all things came into being.
One: Life and light came into being with the Word.
Many: This Life and Light shone in the shadows.
One: In celebrating the Word, the Christ, we see the Divine Light.
Many: Let us celebrate the Word, the Christ, as we bask in Divine Light.

Invocation
Illuminating God, Divine Light who entered our world as a human, we celebrate your son, Jesus the Christ.  Through his nurturing presence, our neighbors have seen you clearer. Through Jesus’ radical love, we have learned to boldly care for one another.  Through his death and resurrection, we have seen new life ahead of us.  Stretch our souls as we challenge ourselves to be like Jesus each day.  Amen.

Prayer of Reconciliation and Reflection
Holy God, Harmonizing Healer,

We say we embrace the walk of Jesus, but we trek another way.  We say we live in a world of resurrection, but we shun the possibility of new life.  We close ourselves from the grace that Christ afforded us, and we refuse to share mercy with our neighbors.  Allow the way of Jesus the Christ to be our way.  Create in us the compassion of the Christ as we go about our daily lives.  Amen.

The Great Healer, Jesus the Christ, fills our hearts with hope and love.  May we celebrate Divine Grace on our messy and magnificent journeys, knowing that, through the love, life, and light of Jesus, we see the blessings of God’s mercy.

Reflection on Giving
Like a flame spreading from one candle to the next, we, too, are encouraged to share the Light of Christ with our neighbors and church. Through our gifts of treasures, talents, and time, we follow the footsteps of Jesus the Christ.  May the Light of Christ be experienced by all through the gifts we give throughout this week.

Blessing of the Gifts
Gracious God, Divine Light of the World, with these offerings, may our neighbors experience your love.  With these gifts, may the world know your love and continue to pass your brilliant hope to all.  Amen.

Benediction
May the Road of Christ welcome your authentic beings.
May the Light of Christ illuminate your journeys.
May the Energy of Christ soothe your pensive minds.
May the Grace of Christ connect you greater with a neighbor.
May the Words of Christ invigorate your hearts.
May the Love of Christ send you into the world to spread Divine Kindness from corner to corner of this world.  Amen.

(c) 2022 Rev. Michelle L. Torigian. Permission to use and stream with attribution.

Under the Night Sky – A Christmas Poem

15 Wednesday Dec 2021

Posted by in Advent prayers, Liturgy, Poetry

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Under the night sky
We abide the beauty of God’s darkness.
Beyond midnight- where miracles fill the earth and magic fill the skies.
Where stars and planets twinkle, delighting both the greatest skeptics and believers.

Under the night sky
In the chilly winds of nighttime,
A young woman met her son,
And light came into her world.
This illumination spread beyond time and space,
Expanding beyond human limitations into our world.

Under the night sky
Humans saw the alignment of planets birthing an extraordinary light-
The greatest star declaring a birth.
And as human and divine aligned that night, the world shifted to a new realm.

(c)2021 Rev. Michelle L. Torigian. Permission to use in a worship service (including a streamed service) with attribution.

What It Was – A Christmas Poem

09 Thursday Dec 2021

Posted by in Advent prayers, Liturgy, Pop

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It wasn’t a night full of familiar carols
But a melody crafted from surrounded creation.

It wasn’t an eve fashioned with trees and tinsel
But a stable of simplicity adorned with hay and dirt.

It was a cow rejoicing with a smoothened moo
And a sheep baa-ing in jubilation.
A woman sobbing with relief and great joy
And words of love from her beloved.

Stillness and motion danced in the twilight
Allowing room for Divine Light to pierce reality’s realm
And ushering in a new era of warmth, love, and hope
On top of the chilly earth below.

(c) Rev. Michelle L. Torigian. Permission to use in a worship service (including a streamed service) with attribution.

When We Aren’t the “Good Guys”

26 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by in Current Events, Life, Pop, Social Justice

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C182ACBE-DC5B-459D-9F9A-0996E38FC29F

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” – Deuteronomy 10:17-19

 

“Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’” – Matthew 2:13-15

I remember through the seasons of The Walking Dead watching how Rick started as a person who wanted to stay as ethical as possible. As time passed and the situation wore on, Rick makes decisions in which his community unilaterally chooses to attack people in another group. While the others appeared more toxic, Rick and his followers forgot their system of ethics. To them, the end justified the means. Killing people out of a vague fear was a better decision than waiting to see what would happen next.

I feel that as Americans we have reached – or are at least nearing – this point once again. There have been times in the past which we have sunk this low. As Native Americans were slaughtered, slavery of people of color was encouraged, and people of Japanese ancestory were placed in internment camps, we were, without a doubt, the “bad guy.”

We acted out of fear and used privilege to invade our hearts. And now we watch refugees fleeing from dangerous parts of Latin America, and we refuse to have constructive conversations about this situation. When children are separated from their parents and kept in cages, we’ve reached an ethical valley. We’ve chosen to allow America to sink into the hole of injustice and fear once again.

We can’t just pretend that we are the “good guys” all of the time just because we are America. When we oppress aliens/sojourners/immigrants as well as widows/single moms and orphans/marginalized children, then we are absolutely not the “good guy.” I remember as children that we were taught that America was the best country and how fortunate to have been born here. As we got older, we heard history beyond the victor’s side. We’ve seen how America is the best country… but not for most Americans much of the time.

Back in the days of the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites always believed that God was on their side. But the prophets disagreed. As they left behind the widows, orphans, and aliens, God was not in favor of their actions.

So when unethical and marginalizing behaviors are being done in the name of America or the name of God, we must embrace a collective self-awareness that helps us to articulate that we have much room to change and grow. Just because we identify as American or Christian doesn’t automatically make us right when unhealthy actions are being done to others. If we wouldn’t treat Jesus this way, then why is it fine to treat others in the same manner?

Friends, it’s time for us to work together to end this reign of fear. It’s time for us to embrace the radical hospitality of Jesus. If we don’t, our country will keep regressing, and it’s spiritual flags will continue to become worn. By moving from exclusively nationalistic to inclusively patriotic, from fully autonomous to covenantal, and from fearful to embracing holy vulnerability, we will build the New Heaven and Earth God visions for our world.

 

A Service for the Vine and the Branches – Easter 5B

28 Saturday Apr 2018

Posted by in Church Life, Liturgy, Pop

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IMG_7971CALL TO WORSHIP
One: I am one.
Many: But all of us are connected.
One: Each of us offers unique gifts.
Many: Our gifts pooled together build the Body of Christ.
One: I am only a branch.
Many: But your branch is part of Christ’s vine.
One: Let us celebrate uniqueness and relationships.
Many: We are one, but together we create God’s kin-dom.

OPENING PRAYER (unison)
God of the individual parts and God of the whole, we celebrate our distinctive beliefs and efforts. At the same time, we celebrate the great covenant we have with all of your children. Open our eyes to see the ways our gifts create a better world. Amen.

CALL TO RECONCILIATION
One: Who is absent from our church? Who is absent from our communion tables? Who are the people we have excluded from our church family? Let us turn to God and each other with open arms and hearts.

PRAYER FOR RECONCILIATION (unison)
God of everyone, you are present in the lives of all your children. There is not one person who you do not love. You also ask us to love everyone, yet we feel that we must qualify who comes into our lives and our worship space. There are still people in our minds that we believe shouldn’t be a part of our congregation. Help us to see that they are also created in your image. Shape our hearts to welcome the unexpected visitor, stranger and enemy. Through you, we see that all people are your children. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF GRACE
One: God is God of all. No exceptions! Let us be an example of what Christ’s unconditional love looks like in our world. Amen!
All: Amen!

SCRIPTURE
John 15:1-11 & 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

INVITATION TO OFFERING
One: Through our combined efforts, we create a stronger church and community. In our gratitude, we share our treasure with the Body of Christ and beyond.

PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Eternal Source of Light and Love, we give thanks for the gifts you bestow upon us. We are grateful that you call us to use these gifts to build a just-filled world. May your spirit embolden us to use these gifts to bring more love into our communities. Amen.

BENEDICTION
One: Through the stirrings of the Holy Spirit, we go on separate paths,
But the winds of the Spirit bring us back together.
We are individuals, unique, but we are one in Christ.
May the love of God unite us today and throughout this week.
All: Amen!

The First to Go

26 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in Current Events, Pop, Pop Culture, Social Justice, Television

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battle-board-board-game-700971I was a student in my father’s honor’s Civics class during my freshman year of high school.  For some reason, I remember more from that class than many others.  The time period was late Cold War; often talked about was Glasnost – a concept of openness that (I’m sure) many wish was present in that land today.

It should have come to no surprise that he told our class that he would be one of the first rounded up in some authoritarian regimes.  As a teacher – and a teacher of government who encouraged critical thinking – a government which completely controlled the people would round educators like him up and either imprison them indefinitely or kill them immediately.

His dad (my grandfather) was the survivor of the Armenian Genocide in 1915.  The official day of recognition falls on the anniversary of Red Sunday in which many Armenian intellectuals were arrested.  Many later perished in prison.

From my previous research of the Armenian Genocide, I remember events at the beginning of the atrocities.  As I looked up this information today, I found a term in which I wasn’t familiar: decapitation strike.  Apparently, as a means of achieving instability and removing leadership, one party will round up leaders and intellectuals to decentralize power and avoid resistance.  In genocides of people, the oppressors will use opportunities like this to control the remainder of their opposition, remove their resourceful leaders who are the heart and head of the movement, and allow them to live in a state of fear.

As my dad said – those who provide knowledge (especially contradictory to the oppressors) or allow for freedom of thought are the first to go.

With the anniversary of the genocide happening the day prior to the release of second season episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale, I suppose I was thinking this when I was watching the season two, episode two. 

(SPOILER ALERT)

June/Offred is on the run.  Members of the underground movement trying to help her escape take her to The Boston Globe offices.  Obviously, the offices are empty, but as June walks around (and discovers where she is), she sees desks waiting for their workers with family photographs and Boston Red Sox gear.  Then she enters another area of the offices and sees a row of nooses dangling from the ceiling.  Nearby is a wall with a number of bullet holes.  Journalists and others who worked at the newspaper were killed in those very spots.

Because when the intellectuals and those who provide information are still alive as an authoritarian regime rises, they pose a threat.  And this is always something to keep in mind when we repeatedly hear “fake news” from our leaders about reputable news sources.  The powers-that-be are weakening the values of a healthy country – one that encourages freedom of thought and freedom of the press.

I think back to what my dad said thirty years ago, and something else comes to mind: I would now be part of that group.  When those of us who are leaders, knowledge-providers and proponents of critical thinking are in opposition the authoritarian regime in our land, we must realize that we, too, could be the ones imprisoned or killed.  Now, I don’t think this is going to happen here anytime soon – at least I hope not.  But we all must stay awake to the possibility that these things can happen anywhere at anytime.

They happened to the leaders of Armenia 103 years ago, including to another 45-year-old clergy member with the last name Torigian: Father Vaghinag Torigian.  He refused to give information to the oppressive powers, realizing that he would probably lose his life either way but knowing that he would if he didn’t comply.

Unless we learn from the past just like George Santayana said, atrocities will happen again.  But we must keep moving forward to work for justice – even in scary and threatening times.  This is what it means to “take up the cross.”  We must be willing to fully live into our values – even if our lives our threatened.  Jesus did.  He was willing to be authentic to his faith by not only sharing God’s love, but standing on the side of the people and against the powers-that-be.

Depending on what you think of Christianity and faith, some may see that Jesus was also one of the first to go of his new faith movement…

That’s what has happened when the Armenian Genocide started.  To some: justice is more valuable than life.  It’s our call to ensure that all people are treated fully human and that our agency remains intact.

Are we willing to go to the cross… or be shot… or hung for what we believe?

Into the Wilderness Once Again

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by in Health, Life, Pop

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18304958986_4d0dd2e448_k-2In recent weeks, I had an endometriosis flare-up.

Those of us who have struggled with this particular illness find ourselves in great pain. I’m the type of person who thinks I know fairly well how to deal with this particular type pain and work through it.  With Advil and ice packs as my best friends, I continued to place work as a top priority and kept moving forward the best I could.

But just like the rest of humans on this earth, I am given finite energy.  Unfortunately, all of the friend-time outside of work as well extracurricular activities in which I would like to participate take a back seat as I only had energy to give to work and healing while tending to my flare.

While sometimes ice and Advil are enough to get over flares, this time it wasn’t sufficient.  The pain increased to pretty much all day, every day.

Growing disappointment filled my heart with shadows, and I realized I was back in the wilderness that I had experienced a couple of times before.

I resigned myself to the next steps of what was necessary to remedy the issue.  After weeks of intense pain and having a minimal life outside of work, I escalated the matter and scheduled another surgery.  Thinking about an upcoming surgery distracted my mind.  Will I get sick after the procedure?  Will there be any complications?  Will I have similar challenges as my other two laparoscopic procedures (which I had in 2003 and 2013)?

Once I had the operation, I was required to rest for at least a week.  Granted, the first couple of days I slept quite a bit and didn’t feel once ounce of guilt.  Then the third and fourth and fifth days hit. My spirit yearned to get up and go but my flesh was still weak and healing.  The contradictory nature of my body and soul made me feel guilty.  I should be doing more, I would think to myself.  But my body is human, and patience and grace is something of which I needed to remind myself as I healed.

My recent time in exile reminded me how much I hate hate hate the wilderness – the time in which all of us must face and even admit our fragility and weaknesses.  Lying on the couch and in bed stirred me to wish even more that I was perfect in body, mind, and soul.  Knowing that friends were able to live full lives while I rested in bed frustrated my extroverted spirit.

And yes – I was tempted to get up and do more.  I was tempted to become tough on myself for being in the wilderness again.

But everyone ends up in the wilderness every once in a while, I tried to remind myself.  Even Jesus, the one who was considered sinless or perfect by some, found himself in exile.

I am grateful that every first Sunday in Lent, the Gospel reading is always Jesus heading into the wilderness.  Granted, the story sounds a bit different in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  But hearing about Jesus’ challenges in the wilderness gives us strength.  It helps to know that Jesus was in the wilderness like all of us have been at various times in our lives.  Besides the day of his death, Jesus’ time in the wilderness was some of his most challenging life moments.  And hearing the story over and over and seeing someone come out of the wilderness with a few additional emotional scars but stronger than ever soothes our hurting souls.

So that’s why I write about my times in the wilderness and speak about my endometriosis: our exile stories need to be told and heard.  Even if your life challenges and your wilderness is different than mine, maybe we all won’t feel so alone.  Maybe someone will feel that you can get through the pain.  Maybe someone will schedule the surgery they’ve put off for months now even if you’re afraid.  Maybe someone will leap into a new adventure in life after feeling stuck for months.  Or maybe we will all remind ourselves to embody grace and patience so that our time in exile is more bearable.

I’ll be back to my normal self in a matter of days.  And just like everyone else – I’m sure I haven’t seen the last of my time in the wilderness.  I’ll find myself back there a few more years down the road.  But if we all keep talking about our times in the exile and encourage and comfort one another in our times of trial, then we will find our strength and resilience and move into a future with hope.

 

The Struggle with Grace and Impatience in Healing

26 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by in Health, Pop

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pexels-photo-27335.jpgFive days ago, I had surgery.

It was the third surgery like this one I’ve had: a laparoscopic operation to remove some of the endometriosis from my pelvis.  Three small incisions were made in my lower abdomen in an effort to get to scope and treat my inside pelvic region.

I never look forward to procedures, but by the time I’ve made the decision to have surgery, I’ve been suffering with pain.  While I’m still working, my life beyond work is minimal.  For someone who is an extrovert like I am, this is not living.

So I had the procedure.  All seemed to have gone well.  But each and every surgery brings worries along with it as well as knowledge of post-surgery living.

In the days following surgery, I’ve noticed a pattern.  The first couple of days, I’m extremely exhausted, and my body is in healing mode.  My days are filled with nap upon nap.  Then I’ll move into the next phase in which I know I’m feeling better.  I can’t do much physically as I’m still very sore.  My body yearns to heal but my spirit wishes I could be among the living again.  My extroverted self is being crushed by the mandatory rest period.

So, besides sleeping, here’s what I’ve done in the past few days:

  • Watched television
  • Watched Netflix
  • Watched HBO Go
  • Watched whatever is On Demand
  • Watched YouTube videos
  • Watched a video I rented from Amazon
  • Watched Jeopardy each night
  • Read many, many articles
  • Tweeted
  • Colored in my Lisa Frank coloring book.

I’ve done a little work here and there as well – from designing some social media posts to making a few phone calls.  Yet I’m exhausted both physically and mentally, so my energy comes in small waves.

I’m not the only young-ish person I know trying to recover from illness or injury.  Friends of mine have been placed on bed rest, and I have this notion that it hasn’t been too much fun for them to rest either. We are “jump into life with both feet” people, and this necessary time off is against our nature.

What we must be reminded of is that the healing process isn’t an overnight thing.  In scripture, we see Jesus healing, and all of a sudden his ailing followers are completely well.  Jesus didn’t ask them to spend a week in bed after he heals them.  Lazarus didn’t take additional time to rest after his resurrection.  The woman with the hemorrhage didn’t need a week to gain back her strength after touching the hem of Jesus.  Their healing was instantaneous.

My healing is not.

In real life, the way Jesus healed is not how realistic recovery works.  When God gives us healing, our responsibility is to rest and follow medical advice as part of the recovery process.

Let’s face it: instant gratification is a drug in our world.  We consider the rest time as a luxury and not a mandate.  When we realize that we can not escape a mandatory rest period with an illness, surgery, or injury, then we often feel guilty.  Our work has always taken top priority – why rest when we should be carrying a normal work load only days after a surgical procedure!

This is when the Sabbath commandment is crucial.  Sabbath is not only about building our relationship with God, but caring for the relationship with ourselves.  Our self-care is needed for us to heal properly so that we can follow God’s call for our lives and work diligently down the road.

I’m trying not to feel guilty about all of the naps I’ve taken in the past few days or zoning out as I color in my Lisa Frank coloring book or rewatching old episodes of Parks and Recreation for the billionth time.  God needs me to take this time right now to build my body as God will need me to work hard a few days and weeks down the road.

On Being a Lily of the Field

20 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by in Life, Pop

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water-lilies-bud-pond-green-99548.jpegI’ve always been the type of person who worries excessively.  This has always been part of my personality from the time I was a small child, and making drastic changes to such an embedded character trait takes time.

I go about my daily business worrying about how well I accomplish things and if I will have all the resources I need for the future.  I worry about the well-being of those I love and what will happen in the future to all of us.  I worry about small things and large things alike.

So when I read a text like Matthew 6:25-34, I want to laugh.  “God, you’re trying to tell me that I shouldn’t worry.  Easier said than done.  Releasing the worry won’t be happening here!”

And then I am faced once again with surgery.  I’ve tried everything I can to avoid surgery, but I must undergo the procedure once again.  For a while, I worried about having to endure this operation once more and did what I could do to avoid it, but there was little I could do.  I need to have it.

I will be on the surgical table in the very near future, so worry clouds my mind.  There is nothing that I can do once I lie down to have surgery except pray, believing that God knows what I will need and care for me in ways that will strengthen my well-being.

During the procedure, I know that I will be like a lily of the field—unable to care for myself in that period of time.  I will be enduring a period in which I am just “being” instead of “doing.”  My dependence will be on God and those working with God to bring about my health.

Most of us do not want to be like lilies of the field.  We want control, and we want solutions right now.  But now and again, life happens, and our time to be like flowers in a field arrives. We come and go with the winds.  We allow the rains to wash upon us.  Neither we can control.  And God wants us to embrace this time so that we can find our well-being again soon.

So I ask for God to take care of me while I am like a lily.  I ask God to heal me so that I can work hard once healing happens.  And like Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer, I ask God to help me always figure out what I can control and what I need to give to God.

This post will be in St. Paul UCC’s March 2017 messenger.

Faithful Badassery

29 Saturday Oct 2016

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faithful-badasseryAccording to Google, the word “badass” is defined as “a tough, uncompromising, or intimidating person” and “a formidably impressive person.”

I have avoided using the word as it hints at some vulgarity.  When you are a leader in the community and church, you look to separate yourself from bad words as to keep a clean image in the eyes of others.

And yet, that’s not exactly what Jesus did…

From experience I can tell you that being a good girl goes only so far.  While being a good girl most of the time is fine, only being a good girl results in people walking all over you and God’s call going mostly unanswered.

Being a good girl keeps a person in two dimension mode, forgetting that adventures are beyond her comfort zone, and that God is sometimes drawing us to those new places.

As time goes on in life and we experience how the world really works.  Life and its brokenness begin to bang up our good girl souls.  The good girl begins to be replaced with something a bit more edgy.  Unfortunately, this loss of innocence happens with all of us.  What we are called to realize is that our scars and screams actually work to God’s and our benefit. You know when the remnants of the good girl need to shine and when the good girl needs to have a seat while the faithful badass takes her place.

The faithful badass is powered by the Holy Spirit.  Just like the lyrics to Pink’s song “Raise Your Glass” we must “raise our glass when we are wrong in all the right ways.”  We stand with the faithful badasses in every age as they walked with God.  We see the faithful badass in the Bible when Vashti says no to Ahasuerus, when Esther stands up for the Jewish people, and when Ruth decides to stay with her mother-in-law in her deepest grief.  We see this faithful badassery when Hagar does everything she can to survive with her son Ishmael, when Tamar fools Judah into giving her offspring, when the daughters of Zelophehad fight for their inheritance, and when Jephthah’s daughter negotiates time to fully live before her slaughter.  And we see many faithful badasses in the women who have lived since the life of Jesus – from Thecla who refused to get married and, instead, evangelized the good news to Joan of Arc who managed to lead in ways young women were not allowed to lead during her time.

Faithful badassery comes from our savior Jesus the Christ when he healed on the Sabbath, ate with the undesirables and turned the tables over when people were unjustly marketing goods in the Temple.

This faithful badassery has been woven throughout all spaces and times.  When I see caregivers spending each pellet of energy ensuring their loved ones are well, I see this faithful badassery.  When I see people of color or women marching because they do not feel that others believe their lives or bodies matter, I see faithful badassery.  When I see men and women speaking out against fraud or sexual assault, risking their own reputation in the use of their voices, I see faithful badassery.

All faithful badassery comes directly from the Holy Spirit.  Without this Spirit of God, we could not exit our comfort zones, risk the death of our bodies or souls, or radically care for one another.

As a leader in the Christian faith, I believe we should claim faithful badassery as part of who we are because it absolutely was a part of who Jesus was and who the Christ is that resides with us today.  It was a part of the lives of God’s children throughout history and it will be a part of the faithful until the end of time.

So when we place our feet on the ground each morning, will we ask ourselves “How will I be a faithful badass today?”