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Tag Archives: orphans

Showing Hospitality to Strangers: A Communion Liturgy

27 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by mictori in Liturgy, Pop

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Tags

aliens, Communion, Communion Liturgy, Hebrews 13, immigrant communion liturgy, Immigrants, Leviticus 19, Liturgy, Matthew 2, non-violent Communion, orphans, progressive Christianity, radical hospitality, refugee, refugees, strangers, widows

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This communion liturgy was written for a Sunday in which we were featuring the musical The Sound of Music.  I was preaching on welcoming the stranger and caring for immigrants and refugees.  Scriptures included that morning were of the Holy Family’s escape to Egypt as found in Matthew 2, Hebrews 13:2, and the Leviticus 19 text in which we are given the following command:

“When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” 

SERVICE OF COMMUNION

Invitation
One: God be with you,
Many: And also with you.
One: Open wide your hearts!
Many: We open them up to God.
One: Let us give thanks for this time and space,
Many: Giving praise to God for this meal we will share.

Prayer
One: We are surrounded by a world of hunger and hurt.  We are surrounded by injustices, loneliness, illnesses, and hate.  Yet through you, God, we know a different story.  

Our sacred story tells us of many times when our ancestors dined with the Divine. When the Israelites left Egypt, they escaped with little resources.  As refugees, they moved into the wilderness. In their exile, God rained sacred sustaining bread from heaven.  

Our sacred story tells us of times when our ancestors dined with those who hungered.  When Abraham was approached by three strangers, he offered them bread to rebuild their bodies and refresh their souls.

Our sacred story tells us that when sojourners listening to the teachings of Jesus became hungry, Jesus gathered loaves and fish, ultimately providing enough for all in attendance with twelve additional baskets to share.

Our sacred story tells us that on the night before Jesus died, as he and his friends gathered in a room, Jesus clenched a loaf of bread.  He broke the loaf and said “do this in remembrance of me.”  And after supper, as the night grew long, Jesus took a cup.  As he blessed its contents, he exclaimed “Drink in remembrance of me.”

And our sacred story tells us that two of the disciples were on their way to Emmaus and came upon a stranger on the journey.  In a spirit of hospitality, they invited him to stay. As their new friend broke the bread, they were able to see the Christ.

Our table extends beyond this time and space: to food pantries, to community meals, to dinners shared with home-bound friends, and to coffee shared with friends who grieve.  When two or three are gathered, the Christ is present. As scriptures detail, in showing hospitality to strangers, we entertain the angels in our midst. As we have experienced, while sharing bread and cup, we have encountered angels among us.

May the Spirit of God encircle these gifts with love.  May the Spirit of God bless these gifts and, in doing so, bless the connections between all here and all in our hearts.  May the Spirit of God bless the widows and spouseless ones, children without parents and children from foreign lands, the last and first, the poor in spirit and the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness.  May all of your children in each space on our earth feel your love and experience the winds of your righteousness. Amen.

Distribution of Elements

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

We celebrate our gratitude, Divine Companion.  As this spiritual meal has nourished us, inspire us to feed our neighbors and journey with the lonely.  Through our co-creation together, may we spread love throughout our world and extend your hospitality to people in need.  Amen.

(c) Rev. Michelle L. Torigian.  Free to use with attribution.

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When We Aren’t the “Good Guys”

26 Monday Nov 2018

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

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Tags

aliens, border, Central America, Immigration, Immigration to United States, injustice, Jesus, Mexico, orphans, progressive Christianity, refugee, refugees, widows

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“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.

 

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Are We Helping the “Widows”?

06 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by mictori in Current Events, Life, Pop, Pop Culture, Religion

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

divorce, God, God's call, orphans, single moms, welfare, widows

Do we really help the widows and orphans?

Now let me reframe who today’s widows are: single moms/parents.  Any of them.  They could have become a single parent because of the death of spouse, divorce or experiencing a unplanned pregnancy.  Orphans are kids who have lost a parent or both parents, kids who have minimal relationship with or who are minimally provided for by a parent, or kids are estranged from parents.

People of all political perspectives will donate food over and over again to make sure they have food.  I’m just wondering if we need to do more to make sure that the system is fair?  What steps are we missing so that they can have a life of joy?

Today’s widows often feel shame when they have to go on welfare/food stamps/Medicaid.  Many don’t believe that they would face a time when they would need government assistance.  Political pundits keep making them feel “less than.”  Politicians keep voting for them to receive less and less aid.

To some, taking care of the widows and orphans has become an optional faith mandate.

Shame and guilt and cutting programs doesn’t really help the widows and orphans.  Food helps some on a shorter-term basis.  (If someone has a disability, they should receive assistance to live, but that’s another blog for another time.)

When it comes down to taking care of those who struggle, I think there’s something greater: helping them live into God’s call for them.

Single moms often don’t have child care or health care or money to go back to school to strengthen their future and acknowledge God’s call.  When their child gets sick, the child MUST go home from school or daycare.  Who takes care of them?  The widow is forced to miss a day of work or school.  Such circumstances requires them to leave their achievements and God’s call behind.

The Bible says over and over and over again to take care of the widows and orphans.  It’s time we truly take care of them by walking along side of them and helping them grasp God’s dream for their lives.  If you want women to get off welfare: create a system where they can do what’s need to achieve their degrees.  Create daycare options where working moms can drop off their sick child for a day.  Do not have “points” systems at work so that a widow will go on probation if she has to miss a day of work to take care of her child.

As a single woman without children, it’s tough enough to make sure I have the energy and resources to follow God’s call.  I can’t imagine what it would be like for a woman with children.  So maybe it’s time for all of us to work together to make sure this mandate of “caring for the widows and orphans” actually takes place.*

*And please don’t play the blame game and say “having a child out of wedlock was their choice when they had sex.”  Seriously?  Like most people haven’t made those choices at some point?  Some just have the privilege of birth control and great support systems.

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