1st Sunday of Advent
The Community Feasts at the Table of Hope: Liturgy and Bread Words for Holy Communion
Invitation to the Table
Beloved friends, welcome home! Smell the earthy sweetness of this bread and the fruity tartness of this juice. Let the aromas draw you to this table where Christ is host and all God’s people are family.
At United University Church, we believe that Christ’s table must always be open to all who come. It does not matter whether you are here because your stomach is growling with hunger or because you find the aroma of fresh baked bread irresistible. It does not matter whether you are clothed in a well-tailored suit or wear ripped jeans and a t-shirt. It does not matter whether you live in a house or sleep on the streets. It does not matter whether you are a citizen of this nation or someone who crossed the border without documentation. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, clean or dirty, healthy or sick, old or young. It does not even matter whether you are a member of this church or of any church at all. The only thing that matters is you are here. And because you are here, you have a place at this table. You are invited to eat this bread. You are invited to drink from this cup. This is your home. We are your family. This is the table of Christ – the hope of our world.
The Prayer of Great Thanksgiving
May the Spirit of God be with you!
And also with you!
Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift our hearts to God.
Let us give thanks to the one who brings us hope.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Maker of the universe, creator of stars and planets, giver of signs and seasons, we look to you with wonder and awe. In the midst of this cosmos of vast proportions, we feel so small and insignificant. We are tossed about by forces we do not understand. We are governed by powers beyond our control.
Though the world seems chaotic and dangerous, we turn to you with hope. Confronted by earthquakes, tsunamis and floods, we trust in your faithfulness. Threatened by famine, disease and mortality, we place our hope in your love. Terrorized by violence, war and poverty, we wait for your justice.
Knowing that our weakness is surpassed by your strength, we look to that day when you redeem your people. Then will your children know justice and freedom. Then will they find security and joy. Then will they practice righteousness and peace. Salvation is coming to the earth. We know it! Love is making the way.
That is why we join with people in every corner of our globe to sing your praises:
Singing the Sanctus
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord
Words: Traditional; Music: Iona Community (Scotland)
Published as # 2256 in The Faith We Sing
We see your holiness in the beauty of nature. We see it in the abundance by which you provide for your creatures. We see it in communities practicing justice and peace. We see it in compassionate care for the sick and the dying. We see it in the loving embrace of outcasts and strangers. Most of all, we see it in Jesus.
Jesus healed our diseases, expelled our demons, satisfied our hungers, taught us the truth, raised us to life, and invited us into the kin-dom of your people. In the holiness of love, he lived as human among humans. He was born into homelessness and exile, suffered poverty and oppression, experienced rejection from the religious leaders of his own people, submitted himself to torture at the hands of imperial soldiers, and suffered public execution on a cross. But, violence could not stop him; the grave could not silence him. The holy power of your love raised Jesus again to life and forged a new community of people in his name.
We gather at this table as a part of that community to tell the tale again and to commit ourselves to it anew. We remember that Jesus gathered with his friends on the night before he died to celebrate the Passover meal and to re-enact the ancient story of his people’s liberation from slavery. We remember how, during that meal, he took the bread of freedom, broke it, passed it to his friends, and said:
Take this bread and eat it. This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
We also remember how, at the end of the meal, he took the cup of hope, blessed it in traditional fashion, passed it to his friends, and said:
Drink from this, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you and many for the forgiveness of sin. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
But, we do more than remember, O God. We also gather to restore our community for faithfulness in this time and this place. We come home to the family table to smell and taste the bread, to share a common cup, to experience your love in the love of our sisters and brothers, and to dream of that banquet where all will be present, where all will be at peace, where all will have enough, and where all will rejoice together. We ask you to nourish us in this meal so that we may always remain alert for the signs of your presence within and between us. Transform and redeem us by the power of your Spirit, that we may live our lives in courageous faithfulness to you and so stand strong as powerful witnesses of your good news for all people.
Pour out your Spirit upon us. As we feast upon this bread and drink from this cup, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in love for all the world. Amen.
Beloved, these are the gifts of God given in hope for all of God’s people. Come now – whoever you are – be part of this family, sit at this table, share in this feast. Come home!
Prayers of the People
SINGING DURING COMMUNION
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Words: 12th Century Latin; Music: 15th Century French
Translation: John Mason Neale & William Sloan Coffin
Published as # 9 in The Presbyterian Hymnal
BREAD WORDS
The theme which emerged from my reading of the Lectionary passages for the first Sunday in Advent was "keeping FAITH," believing in God's promise. It was the Jeremiah passage that inspired the symbol for the shape of the Communion bread: a Star of David.
"The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and in that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safely. And this is the name by which it will be called: 'The Lord is our righteousness.' " (Jeremiah 33:14-16)
The Star of David is a familiar symbol, a hexagram consisting of two interlaced, equilateral triangles. I presumed that the symbol had been associated with the House of David for centuries, alluding to the Hebrew roots of our Christian faith, making it an appropriate shape for Communion bread. Now that I have lived nearly six decades, it did not surprise me very much to discover that my presumption was erroneous. Though the hexagram has been a popular symbol in many cultures from ancient times, the Star of David (also known as the "Magen David," the "Shield of David") has only been universally recognized as the sign of Judaism for the past 200 years. Prior to modern times, the hexagram was most commonly used as an amulet to ward off evil spirits.
Though the Star of David did not have the significance originally imagined, I found out that anthropologists identify the downward-pointing triangle as a representation of female sexuality and male sexuality is represented by the upward-pointing triangle; when the two triangular shapes are combined, the resulting hexagram is said to symbolize unity and harmony. In alchemy, the two triangles in opposing positions symbolize fire and water; when the triangles are overlaid, it represents the reconciliation of opposites. This additional information only serves to enhance the power of the symbol, making it much richer than had been initially imagined.
Because it's still Autumn and the abundance of the harvest is everywhere apparent, the recipe for the Star of David is a fairly coarse, Multi-Grained Bread. The recipe makes 2 loaves of bread and the whole, two-loaf recipe was used to make the bread shown below:
(As I was once told before attempting to knit, don't read through the entire instructions before beginning. It's too intimidating. Assemble the required ingredients, and then proceed.)
3/4 cup warm water
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 1/2 - 4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats (or multi-grained cereal)
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water to dissolve the yeast. In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm milk, olive oil, brown sugar, oatmeal, cornmeal, salt, and whole wheat flour. Add the yeast mixture and one cup of all-purpose flour. Beat the mixture for at least 100 strokes. If you have the time, let the dough rest for about an hour, the proof. If you don't have the time, add the all-purpose flour, one cup at a time, and mix. When you aren't able to mix in the flour, measure the remaining flour onto the kneading surface, and scrape the dough out of the bowl. Knead the dough, incorporating adequate amounts of flour (and whatever prayers are necessary) for about 8 minutes. Oil or butter the bowl and place the dough in the bowl, reversing it at least once so the exposed surface will be covered with oil. Let the dough rise for at least one hour. (I usually put it in the unlit oven with the door closed.)
To create the Star of David, punch the dough down and divide the dough into two equal portions. Make two ropes of dough, about 30-inches long. Loosely shape a triangle onto a greased baking sheet with the ends of the triangle meeting about 1/3 of the distance along any leg. (For aesthetic reasons only, don't have the ends meet at any point of the triangle.) Intertwine the second rope to create an inverted triangle. Tuck the ends of each triangle under the leg of the opposite triangle. (Remember that it's easier to look at the photos and do it than it is to describe how it's done.) The dough is very forgiving and can be arranged (and re-arranged) until you are satisfied.
Because I wanted for the points of the "star" to be evident, I made triangles of foil, greased them with butter, and stuffed them into each point. Without the foil, the bread will still have six, soft points and they will fill in as the dough rises and is baked. Either method "works." It's all a matter of preference.
During the worship planning process for Advent at UUC, one member of the group suggested that the Communion breads be the basis for our Advent wreaths. To be certain that the Star of David would accommodate a 3-inch candle in the center, a ceramic cup was greased with butter and inverted in the opening in the triangle. The bread was allowed to rise for about one hour and then it was baked for 45 minutes at 375-degrees. The following pictures give some idea of how the bread was made and how it could be used as an Advent wreath/Communion bread.
Copyright United University Church, 2006
Nice work, Sharon!
Posted by: Carlos | November 29, 2006 at 10:33 AM
Very Creative, Beautiful and not to mention tasty. Thank you Sharon!
Posted by: Leslie | November 30, 2006 at 10:45 AM
You are well trained in your pastoral duties & preach a good sermon, but is their no light at the end of the tunnel? I mean other than redemption? Do you not feel that the Creator has given us certain tools to work with & that we have something to do with creating our own world? Just another point of view? Please note my mission statement below?
Posted by: lynchmpls | December 06, 2006 at 07:14 AM
My mission statement is - We all need to find our truth so we can be set free?
Posted by: lynchmpls | December 06, 2006 at 07:16 AM