November 1, 2020
Call to Worship
Living God, we have gathered to remember
to remember those who have come before,
and re-member ourselves to those at our side
whose lives, like mirror shards
catch the Light of Christ
and cast a reflected Brilliance
that pierces the gathered gloom
of this broken world
and confronts us time and again
with that thread of truth
from which our every hope is spun:
there’s a Light in the darkness
the darkness did not overcome
Amen
Scripture Reading
A reading from Matthew 5:1-12:
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
A Reading From Liturgies From Below
—
Remembering the Dead
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Song: When Death Came Calling
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Reflecting on Living Lights
—
Poem: “The gathered glories” by Malcolm Guite
Though Satan breaks our dark glass into shards
Each shard still shines with Christ’s reflected light,
It glances from the eyes, kindles the words
Of all his unknown saints. The dark is bright
With quiet lives and steady lights undimmed,
The witness of the ones we shunned and shamed.
Plain in our sight and far beyond our seeing
He weaves them with us in the web of being
They stand beside us even as we grieve,
The lone and left behind whom no one claimed,
Unnumbered multitudes, he lifts above
The shadow of the gibbet and the grave,
To triumph where all saints are known and named;
The gathered glories of His wounded love.
—
Scripture Reading
A reading from Isaiah 25:6-9:
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away
from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him,
so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Benediction
As you go now, may you remember the Light you have received.
Cling tight to the collection of glimmers and flashes of brilliance of those who now sleep, but have a home in your memory.
Tune your eyes to embrace the glimmers and sparks that accompany your journey in every blessed ordinary day.
And may you join the untold numbers before you in raising this gathered Light like the dawn; dispersing the gathered gloom of this long night, reminding yourself and your neighbor of the truth, the goodness, the beauty, underneath it all, until Morning has finally come.
Amen.