Cosmos Sunday (Australian Version 2)
Introduction
Cosmos refers to the entire universe, every dimension of time and space, spiritual and material. The cosmos is both the glittering galaxies that humans have begun to explore as well as distant domains far beyond our imagination. In addition, there are unknown domains deep within each minute molecule we have yet to comprehend. All creation is one sacred cosmos, a spiritual universe filled with God’s presence.
Setting
To capture a sense of the entire cosmos in worship requires imagination. We need to move beyond an anthropocentric world to an image of worlds beyond worlds with which our world is connected. One suggestion is to create a massive web of creation, a wide web of coloured cords that stretch from one side of the chancel to the other, with the altar or a cross visible behind the web. At one point in the web, Earth as a green-blue planet can be identified. The sun, stars and other images might be located on the web.
Special Focus
The special focus for this service is not only the cosmos in all its immensity and wonder, but also the spiritual impulse or presence that permeates the universe and is connected with each of us on Earth. That impulse is also called Wisdom!
Themes
In our call to worship we invite all the domains of the cosmos, not matter how great or small, to join us in worship. In our confession we recall how we have focused on our human selves as the centre of the universe and treated planet Earth as a garbage dump. We have also seen ourselves as pilgrims en route to heaven and considered this vast physical universe transitory and disposable. We celebrate the entire universe as our sacred cosmic home.
Optional Liturgies
Additional liturgies which may be considered are Sacred Energy: Mass of the Universe available from Bill Wallace in New Zealand, pathways@snap.net.nz . The Cosmic Walk, and Creation Day or Wisdom Sunday also on this website.
Songs
A special song/hymn appropriate for this Sunday is located in Habel Hymns Volume One. The melody is the well-known Amazing Grace. The words follow.
THE COSMIC CHRIST
1. Amazing is the Christ who died To void all sin and curse, Just as amazing is his life That fills the universe.
2. The risen Christ is more than one Who waits on some far shore; In, with and under ev’ry thing Christ is the living core.
3. The hidden Christ sustains for us The blueprint of the skies, The wisdom in each fragile form, The soul that lights the eyes.
4. The cosmic Christ moves deep below To heal the wounds within, When all creation groans in pain Because of human sin.
5. The cosmos hails the Christ, the One Who reconciles all things, ‘Til all creation rises new With healing in her wings.
6. As Christ unites the universe, Restores this Earth once more, A cosmic song reverberates, A rich symphonic score.
Words: © Norman Habel 2004
Final Sunday in the Season of Creation (Australian Version 2)
Cosmos Sunday We worship with the entire universe
“Praise him you highest skies” Ps.148.1
GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME
This Sunday we worship with the entire universe, conscious that the cosmos is a vast sacred space of which we humans on Earth are a minute but privileged part. We join the Psalmists and call on the skies above and the deeps below to shout with songs of praise. And we celebrate that wonderful spiritual force called Wisdom that permeates, activates and unifies the web of worlds that is our cosmos.
In the name of the Creator of the cosmos, In the name of Christ who fills the cosmos, In the name of the Spirit who animates the cosmos. Amen. Holy! Holy! Holy! The Cosmos is filled with God’s presence
The Cosmic Christ be with you. And also with you.
Risen Christ, Your presence fills the cosmos.
Cosmic Christ Your presence pulses through all galactic space across light years of time.
Living Christ, In this nano-second we call ‘now’, in this nano-space we call ‘here’,
We celebrate your presence among us. Christ, make your presence felt! Amen!
We invite the cosmos to worship with us. We invite glittering galaxies high in the sky to radiate the splendour of God’s presence.
We call distant domains of space to celebrate with us. We invite nebula, nova and black holes to thank God for their fascinating formation.
We summon that piece of stardust called Earth, To pulse with the rhythm of God’s presence and celebrate God’s glory in this planet garden.
We invite millions of living species to dance with life, The turtle, the toad and the elephant, the earthworm, the ant and the dragonfly.
We invite every creature in the web of creation To consciously connect with others in this community called the cosmos.
Dance, creation, dance! Dance with cosmic energy!
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
As we rub this fragrant symbol in our hands we remember times when we were acutely conscious that we were intricately connected with a vast world of time and space.
We are conscious of our place in the cosmos. We remember moments of wonder, sensing the infinite world of space, connecting with endless networks in time and feeling the mystery of the moment.
We remember and rejoice. Thank you, God, for making us aware of our special place in your web of creation.
We remember and confess that we have striven to discover other world, while polluting our own atmosphere and ignoring the needs of others with whom we are closely connected in that part of the web of creation. We are sorry. We have polluted Earth’s atmosphere and cut a hole in the ozone layer. We have turned our greed into global warming. We have ignored our crucial connection with those parts of creation where we live. We are sorry.
Christ hears your confession and forgives your sins against your part of the cosmic community. Christ, teach us to love the domains that surround and sustain our planet.
I speak for Christ: I invite you to come home to Earth by rejoicing under her galaxy. Shalom! Shalom! We are coming home!
As we come home to Earth, Christ, have mercy.
As we seek to love our home, Christ, have mercy.
As we seek to care for our planet, Christ, have mercy.
Glory to God in the highest! And peace throughout the cosmos.
Let us pray.
The community may pray silently. The following collect is said or sung.
God, our Creator, as we reflect on the mysteries of the cosmos, we celebrate the wondrous design of the universe and the Wisdom that guides its course. Help us to discern how we are connected with living members of the cosmic community. Teach us to sense the presence of the cosmic Christ, whose presence fills and reconciles all forces in creation. Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
This is the word of God. Thanks be to God.
15. A reading from Proverbs chapter 8 verses 22-31. ‘The Wisdom Behind the World’. Wisdom is portrayed as a woman speaking. She claims to have existed before God created the cosmos and was a partner with God in the design of each part of the universe.
‘A World Created by Wisdom’. The whole world is formed by the Wisdom of God thereby giving it all its parts, laws, design and purpose. That world even includes domains where God ‘plays’ with wild creatures in the ocean.
‘Christ, the Cosmic Power’. Christ is here introduced as the Cosmic One who is not only a force before all things existed but the one who is now the unifying impulse in all creation.
18. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John chapter 6 verses 41- 51.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
‘Living Bread from Heaven’. Jesus claims to be have been sent by the Father, the Creator of the cosmos. As such, Jesus is that bread from another cosmic realm who offers life to those on Earth.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
God creates all things, renews all things and celebrates all things. This we believe.
Earth is a sanctuary, a sacred planet filled with God’s presence, a home for us to share with our kin. This we believe.
God became flesh and blood a piece of Earth, a human being called Jesus Christ, who lived and breathed and spoke among us, suffered and died on a cross, for all human beings and for all creation. This we believe.
The risen Jesus is the Christ at the centre of creation reconciling all things to God, renewing all creation and filling the cosmos. This we believe.
The Holy Spirit renews life in creation groans in empathy with a suffering creation and waits with us for the rebirth of creation. This we believe.
We believe that with Christ we will rise and with Christ we will celebrate a new creation.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Jesus Christ, teach us to empathise with Earth. Make our spirits sensitive to the cries of creation, cries for justice from the air, the clouds and the sky. Jesus Christ, make our faith sensitive to the groans of the Spirit in creation, groans of longing for a new creation. Jesus Christ, make our hearts sensitive to the songs of our kin, songs of celebration from the stars, the rains and the light. Christ, teach us to care. Amen
THE GREETING OF PEACE
Christ has reconciled us to God in one body by the cross. We meet in Christ’s name and share God’s peace.
The peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you.
God, our Creator, through your love you have given us these gifts to share. Accept our offerings as an expression of our deep thanks and signs of our concern for those in need, including our fellow creatures on planet Earth. With all creation, we praise our Creator.
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
25. A Prayer of Thanksgiving. The presiding minister takes the bread and wine for the communion, places them on the Lord’s Table and says the following or an authorised Prayer of Thanksgiving.
The Creator be with you and all creation. And also with you.
Open your hearts. We open them to our Creator.
Let us give thanks to the Maker of the universe. It is right to join the cosmos in thanking God.
God our Creator, source of everything in the universe, we bring before you this day, bread and wine and with it we bring before you the whole cosmos to say: Thank you, Creator God, thank you!
Thank you for joining the web of creation for living and dying among us to redeem us and all creation: Thank you, Redeemer God, thank you!
Thank you for rising to life permeating the cosmos with your Spirit to sustain and heal all things: Thank you, Spirit God, thank you!
Therefore with voices of thanks echoing through the cosmos from the first day of creation until this very moment in time, we praise and thank you saying: Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God of all life! The cosmos is filled with your presence!
THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD AND THE COMMUNION
Come, for all things are now ready. Come to the table and share with all in need: the gift of healing for those in pain, the gift of forgiveness for those in sin, the gift of assurance for those in doubt, and the gift of hope for those in tears. May we who share these gifts share Christ with one another and all our kin in the cosmos.
Lamb of God, who takes away all sin against God, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, who takes away all sin against Earth, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, who takes away all sin from the world, receive our prayer.
THE SENDING OUT OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Let us give thanks for this meal.
The people say the following prayer or another suitable prayer.
We thank you, Christ, for the meal we have celebrated with you, and we pray that through your body and blood we may be healed and become agents of healing for Earth. Amen.
Christ calls you to be his disciples, to serve him with love and compassion, to serve Earth by caring for creation, especially those domains of the cosmos with which we are connected. We will follow our crucified Lord, listening for cries of injustice from Earth, and groaning with creation.
We will follow the risen Christ to become partners in healing our planet.
We will care for creation, honouring the cosmic community and celebrating life.
Now may the penetrating power of Christ’s body and blood reach deep into your heart, your mind and your body to heal your wounds and, through you, to bring healing to Earth, in Jesus’name. Amen.
or
May the Spirit of God, who is the cosmic power above all and in all and through all, fill you with the knowledge of God’s presence in Earth and the pulsing of Christ in creation, through whom all things are reconciled and renewed. Amen.
Go in peace, serving Christ and loving Earth! We go in peace, serving Christ and loving Earth.
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