While lighting a candle to remind you of God’s Presence, have someone read the candle prayer.
Share a consolation (what you are most grateful for) and a desolation (what you are least grateful for) from the past week.
Read aloud:
Luke 4:14-21
Luke 6:17-26
The poems below come from “God Speaks Through Wombs” by Drew Jackson, a collection of poetry written in response to the gospel of Luke. Each poem holds together a particular ‘blessing’ and ‘woe’ from Luke 6. Read these poems aloud, including the verses that are referenced after the title.
HANDS FULL OF HEAVEN
Luke 6: 20, 24
Hands held out.
The bottom edges pressed together,
making the shape of a metacarpus cup.
Nothing in them
except the air of aspiration,
anticipating grace from passersby.
I never miss
the gifts that heaven drops.
The crumbs from this table are decadent.
These people rushing by me
to arrive at their importance
miss so many riches.
Their hands
full of briefcases
and ambition.
I will take all the heaven
I can gather for today.
Tomorrow I will sit,
again,
with these hands cupped
to receive my enough.
LATE NIGHT COMMERCIALS
Luke 6: 21, 25
my eyes can’t unsee
rib cages. emaciated.
bloated stomachs
like balloons.
late night commercials
asking for a pledge
to end world hunger,
while I wipe chip grease,
Lays, yellow bag,
on my Nike sweats.
I click past the sad music
that sounds like angels weeping.
my quick-twitching finger satisfies
my appetite for apathy.
blessed are those who hunger now.
tell me again what happiness is.
HATERS
Luke 6: 22, 26
a proverb from the block:
if you have haters
you’re doing something
right.
and by right I mean living
as a conduit of Love.
let come the words
of those who feel exposed
by my spirit,
which insists on light.
it is an honor to be numbered
among the ancestors who
have been labeled as evil,
pegged as villainous,
agitators who pillage the world for the loot of justice.
this is my heavenly reward.
if you have no haters,
beware. you are probably
in bed with mine.
The communion table reminds us of the “great reversal’ where the hungry are fed, the sick and hurting are healed, and sinners forgiven. If, as Brian Zahnd says, “grace runs downhill”, then this table is at the bottom of the hill.
With some bread and some juice, serve each other the body and blood of Christ as a sign of the good news we share in Jesus.
Close with someone reading the blessing over you all as the candle is blown out.
