On a journey

Hopes and dreams for the journey

A Communion Liturgy written for a RevGals event in Scotland

Prayer

God of familiar paths and new discoveries

We greet you here

God of ancient texts and fresh insight

We open our hearts

God embraced by some, rejected by others

We make room for you this day

As you make room for us.

Remove all that would keep us from recognising you as we worship you here

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Luke 24:28-35

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Two women walked the road

And as they walked

they talked - 

of death and resurrection

of hope and promise

of faith and discernment

of love and discipleship

Sharing a vocation

that is costly and demanding

Sifting through the detritus

for the jewels that are buried.

And between them

was the risen Christ

listening and encouraging

consoling and affirming

making his presence known

in the breaking of the bread of life

- the sharing of stories

of joys and disappointments

of comfort and longings

Souls laid bare

not seeking answers

or solutions

not even congratulations

or commiserations

But simply the sacred gift

Of listening

in which the work of healing is begun.

(This week has been a week of revelations, of companionship, of listening and of healing and now, as we share Communion together, let's hear Christ's invitation to us.)

Invitation

We come from North and South, from East and West.

Christ invites us to sit at table, one with each other and with God.

Narrative

Christ walks alongside us opening our eyes to the things of the Spirit

Inviting us to enter into a deeper relationship, a new understanding, changing us one step at a time.

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus shared super with his disciples, one who would betray him, one who would deny him and the others who would run away.

Knowing all that -  Jesus invited them into a new relationship made possible because of his death.

Today in the midst of our pilgrimage, Christ invites us to do the same.

To break bread and to share the cup in memory of him.

Let us give thanks;

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Walking and talking

Going ahead

Hanging back

Jesus meets us on the road

The road that is strewn with pebbles

The road that is full of pot holes

At times with strident steps

At times with faltering shuffle

Sometimes matching our pace

Sometimes slowing us down or moving us on

God we thank you for this time away from our daily routine

Sharing with strangers, now friends

We thank you for all the evidence of your presence as we have travelled

Breadcrumbs dropped along the way

For expectations met or exceeded

For hopes kindled or fulfilled

For challenges laid down or taken up

We bring to you those we have met on the way this week

Those physically present

Those we have carried in our hearts and minds

And those whose stories we have heard and shared

We thank you for causing our hearts to burn within us

as you have revealed to us new insight

as you have unlocked mystery

and upset our certainty,

uprooting, changing, bending and breaking

And now as we break bread together with you in our midst

send your Holy Spirit on these your gifts

May we be nourished and inspired to continue our pilgrimage

In the name of Christ our beginning and our ending

Amen

Sharing Peace

Gods peace is here, not to make us content, but to make us restless to find our way home.

Let us share the peace together.

RevGals Pheeto