The Lord is here.
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Open yourself wide to God’s presence.
With open spirits we feast on Christ’s goodness!
Let’s proclaim our thankfulness together.
Yes! Thankfulness is a good thing to do.
It is good and joyful to give you thanks,
Loving God, who kneaded primordial waters
and called your creation good.
It is good to remember
that your hand created us out of the dry land
and your Spirit inspired our spirits to start singing.
It is good and loving of you
to seek us out in our darkest times
and giving us the good word of your prophets
whose word from ages ago
still proclaims
good news to the poor,
release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
liberation of the oppressed,
and the arrival of the year of the Lord’s favor.
It is good of us, then, to join our voices
with the prophets and all the company of heaven
who forever praise your name and sing their endless hymn:
Holy! Holy! Holy are you, God of goodness and power!
All creation is full of your glory;
Let hosannas ring everywhere!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Let hosannas ring out into all the ages!
Holy are you, and blessed is your son, Jesus Christ,
who comes to us as your age breaks in,
showing us himself in the children on the margins:
the poor, the widow, the orphan, the immigrant,
the anathematized of every community.
It is good that you sit us with them
to feast on your goodness together.
It is so good that he told us to do it
every time we gather:
To take the good gift of the grain,
to thank you for it,
to break it and share it,
and to hear his words again:
“This is my body, living bread, broken for you.
Take it in. Eat it up. Remember me.”
To take the good gift of the cup,
thank you for it,
share it with each other,
and hear the shocking proclamation:
“This is my blood.
It’s a brand-new promise.
It’ll give you real life.
Take it in. Drink it up. Remember me.”
So we remember, and as you offer yourself
wholly, completely,
we pour ourselves out to you,
and proclaim the mystery that is faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
In your goodness, Lord,
you pour yourself out on us, gathered here,
and on these table gifts we bring.
Make them be your goodness for us;
your body, your blood,
and make us what we eat:
the body of Christ, sanctified by his blood.
It is good that you’ve drawn us together;
now bind us together, and draw us to you,
to love your world as you do
until all the world, all creation, shares your love.
Your love is good.
It is good.
Amen.
