Remembering
Our Baptism and Holy Communion
It
is a holy day indeed when we celebrate our two sacraments together.
This morning we remember the sacrament of our baptism as we partake
in the sacrament of communion. One celebrates birth and new life, and
the other, our continued nourishment and growth as we live into all
Christ calls us to be.
RENUNCIATION OF SIN
AND PROFESSION OF FAITH
When we approach the
font or the table, we first renounce the power of wickedness in our
lives. And so, let us confess together:
Nourishing
God, you tell us not to fear for you are with us. But we are so full
of fear that we cannot love you with our whole heart. We use the
freedom and power you have given us, not to resist evil, injustice,
and oppression, but to rebel against your love to hurt our neighbors
and ignore the cries of the needy. Cleanse us of our fear. Feed us
the courage to put our whole trust in your grace.
ASSURANCE
The
Holy Spirit has not abandoned us. We are still God's beloved, and the
Holy Spirit continues to work within us.
We remember our
baptism are thankful!
And
now we come to the table, for God continues calling us each by name
to bring us into the fullness of the new life we glimpsed at our
baptism.
We
offer ourselves anew to God, listening for the guidance of the
Spirit!
PASSING OF THE
PEACE: Now let us share signs of that peace which we find in Christ
with our neighbors!
THE GREAT
THANKSGIVING
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 our thanks and praise.
It is right, and a
good and joyful thing,
always and
everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God,
creator of heaven
and Earth.
In the beginning,
darkness covered the face of the deep, but You swept over the face of
the waters and brought forth abundant swarms of life. And you blessed
them, seeing that it was good. You watered the face of the ground and
formed a human creature from the dust and mud, breathing life into it
and leading it to life in a garden. You created a second earth
creature so it would not be alone, and man and woman were created.
But these earth creatures, these humans turned their backs on you,
and were expelled from the lush garden.
Yet you did not
abandon them then, and you do not abandon us now. Throughout our
history, you have come through the sustenance of water and bread to
call us back to paradise. In the days of Noah, you saved those on the
ark through water, and after the flood you set in the clouds a
rainbow. When you saw your people as slaves in Egypt, you led them to
freedom through the sea, and then sustained them with manna, bread
that covered the dessert like dew. Their children you brought through
the Jordan to a land flowing with milk and honey.
And so,
with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise
your name and join their unending hymn.
Holy, holy, holy
Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth
are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the
highest.
Blessed is he who
comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the
highest.
You told us when we
pass through the waters, you will be with us. You told us that you
love us so much, because we are precious in your sight, you will
redeem us. You saved our biblical ancestors and us through water, but
the story never ends there. You continue to nourish us through the
fullness of time, sending Jesus, nurtured in the water of a womb.
When he grew up,
your Spirit descended on him like a dove, proclaiming his belovedness
as he emerged from the water. He began his ministry preaching new
life because the time of redemption had come. He healed the sick, fed
the hungry, and ate with sinners.
Yet
so many feared and still now fear the new birth he offers all of us.
We reject the fullness of the feast he give to us. And so we turned
our backs on Jesus, on the nourishment he offered. And we gave him up
to die, even after sitting at table with him.
On
his last night with us, Jesus sat at a table and fed his disciples as
he feeds us now. He
took bread,
blessed it, broke it, and shared it with us, saying “This is my
body, which is given for you.”
When
supper was over he took the cup, blessed it, and shared it with us,
saying, “Take, and drink. As often as you do this, remember me.”
The
cup reminds us of the new covenant, a covenant by water and the
Spirit in which God reminds us again of our belovedness and calls us
to new life.
And so, in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died;
Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Pour out your Holy
Spirit to bless this gift of water and those who receive it. Pour out
your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and
wine. May these two gifts, the water and the meal, redeem us again by
washing away our sin and filling us with good things.
By your Spirit,
incorporate us into God's new creation, making us one with Christ,
one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until we
all come to the table, cleansed of all hatred and sin to welcome all
people in joy and thanksgiving as members of the family of Christ.
May your spirit work within us, that being born through water and the
Spirit, and fed through Christ's body, we may be faithful disciples
of Jesus Christ.
And now, with the
confidence of the children of God, let us pray for our daily bread,
praying the prayer Jesus taught us: THE LORD'S PRAYER
BREAKING THE BREAD
The bread of life.
The cup that saves
us, and sets us free.
GIVING THE BREAD AND
THE CUP
The table is set and
all are invited. In the United Methodist Church, we practice an open
table. This means you don't have to be a member, you don't have to be
baptized, you don't have to take classes, you don't even have to be
in a good mood. You are invited to come and know that no matter who
you are and where you are on your journey, you are a beloved child of
God and God's grace is sufficient.
As
you approach the Table, you will first come to the Font, where you
are invited to remember your baptism and be thankful. And, as you
remember your birth through water and the Spirit, you will come to
the Table, where you will be offered nourishment to sustain you on
that journey of new life. You will be offered a piece of bread, which
you can take and dip into the cup. Now come with joy to meet God
anew.
BLESSING
The God of all
grace, who has called us each by name as Beloved, establish and
strengthen you by the power of the Holy Spirit, that you may live in
grace and peace.
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