Theme: Radical Hospitality: Welcoming Christ in One Another
Welcome and Gathering
Presider: Beth
Today's readings remind us that every act of hospitality, every gesture of kindness, and every welcome extended to another person becomes a sacred encounter with the Divine Presence.
In our first reading, the woman of Shunem welcomes the prophet Elisha into her home and discovers an unexpected blessing. As we gather today, we also remember Phoebe, Prisca, and Aquila, whose generous hospitality helped nurture the early Christian communities. They opened their homes, shared their gifts, and created spaces where all could experience belonging as beloved members of God's family.
Jesus teaches that whenever we welcome another—especially those who are vulnerable, forgotten, or in need—we welcome Christ.
May the witness of these faithful disciples inspire us to build communities where all are welcomed, all are valued, and all are loved.
Gathering Song
Gathering Song All are Welcome by Marty Haugen
https://youtu.be/qRcdtSrHzp0
Transformation Rite
Presider: Bridget Mary
God's love calls us beyond fear and self-interest into lives of generosity and compassion.
(Pause)
For the times we have failed to recognize Christ in one another,
Community: Loving God, transform us in your love.
For the times we have closed our hearts to those who are different from us,
Community: Loving God, transform us in your love.
For the times we have chosen comfort over compassion and silence over justice,
Community: Loving God, transform us in your love.
Presider:
May the Holy One heal our hearts and renew us in love.
All: Amen.
Gloria
https://youtu.be/udjH7EON5IY
Opening Prayer: Beth
Loving God,
You come to us in surprising ways:
in friends and strangers,
in prophets and seekers,
in those who comfort us
and those who challenge us to grow.
Open our eyes to recognize your presence in every person we meet.
Teach us to welcome one another as you welcome us.
May our homes, our communities, and our hearts become places of hospitality, healing, and hope.
We ask this through Jesus,
our brother and companion on the journey.
Amen.
Liturgy of the Word
Reader: Jeanne S:
First Reading: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a
One day Elisha was passing through Shunem, where a prominent woman lived. She urged him to stay for a meal. Whenever he passed that way, he would stop there to eat.
She said to her husband, "I am certain that this is a holy person of God who regularly comes our way. Let us prepare a small room on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes, he can stay there."
One day Elisha arrived and went to the room that had been prepared for him and rested there.
Later Elisha asked, "What can be done for her?" His servant replied, "She has no child, and her husband is getting older."
Elisha said, "Call her."
When she came and stood at the doorway, Elisha said,
"At this time next year, you shall embrace a child of your own."
The Word of God.
All: Thanks be to God.
Prayer Leader: Andrea
Responsorial Psalm -An Original Psalm based on Psalm 89
ALL:Response: Forever I will sing of your steadfast love.
Beloved Presence,
your love is the song beneath all songs,
the quiet melody woven through creation.
Before the mountains rose,
before the stars found their places in the night sky,
your compassion embraced the universe.
Your faithfulness is older than time
and fresher than each new dawn.
All: Response: Forever I will sing of your steadfast love.
You call us by name
and invite us into a covenant of love—
not written on stone,
but inscribed upon our hearts.
When we walk through seasons of joy,
your delight surrounds us.
When we journey through sorrow,
your tenderness holds us.
All: Response: Forever I will sing of your steadfast love.
Even when we lose our way,
your love remains steadfast.
Even when fear clouds our vision,
your light continues to shine.
The heavens proclaim your beauty,
the earth reflects your generosity,
and every living being bears the imprint
of your sacred presence.
All: Response: Forever I will sing of your steadfast love.
May we become instruments of your peace,
voices of compassion,
and bearers of healing in our world.
For your faithfulness endures through every generation,
and your love is the foundation
upon which all life rests.
All: Response: Forever I will sing of your steadfast love.
Second Reading
Reader: Jeanne
Romans 16:1-7
A reading from Paul's Letter to the Romans
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae. Welcome her in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a benefactor and leader of many, including myself.
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their lives for me. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
Greet also the church that gathers in their home.
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and fellow prisoners. They are outstanding among the apostles and were in Christ before I was.
The Word of God.
All: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation- Sung
https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
Gospel: Beth
Matthew 10:37-42, Matthew 25: 35-40
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Those who cling to their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives for my sake will find them.
Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me.
Whoever welcomes a prophet because that person is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. Whoever welcomes a just person because that person is just will receive the reward of the just.
And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because they are my disciples, truly I tell you, that person will not lose their reward."
Jesus said:
"I was hungry and you gave me food.
I was thirsty and you gave me drink.
I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
Whatever you did for one of the least of these sisters and brothers of mine, you did for me."
The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
All: Praise to you, Jesus Christ.
Bridget Mary: Homily: Radical Hospitality—Making Room for God
One of the most beautiful experiences in life is to feel truly welcomed.
Not simply tolerated.
Not merely allowed to enter.
But welcomed.
To be greeted with warmth.
To be seen.
To be valued.
To know that your presence is a gift.
I suspect most of us can remember moments when someone opened their home, their table, or their heart to us during a difficult time. Perhaps it was a friend who listened without judgment, a neighbor who showed kindness when we felt alone, or a faith community that embraced us exactly as we were.
Those moments stay with us because hospitality is holy.
Today's readings invite us into a spirituality of radical hospitality.
In our first reading, we meet a remarkable woman whose name is never given. We know her simply as the Shunammite woman. Yet she becomes one of the great examples of hospitality in the Hebrew Scriptures.
She notices Elisha passing through her town and recognizes something sacred in him. She doesn't wait to be asked. She takes the initiative. She invites him to share a meal. Then she persuades her husband to build a small room where he can rest whenever he comes by.
What strikes me most is that this unnamed woman becomes the spiritual leader in the story. She sees the need. She proposes the solution. She creates a sacred space where God's work can flourish.
Her hospitality becomes a blessing not only for Elisha but also for herself and her family.
This story reminds us that hospitality is not simply about providing food or shelter. It is about creating space for God's presence to be revealed.
Many years ago, when a small group of us gathered in a living room to celebrate Eucharist, we didn't know what would happen. We simply opened our doors and our hearts.
One person invited another.
A neighbor brought a friend.
Someone who had felt excluded from the institutional church discovered a place where they belonged.
Before long, a community began to emerge.
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community was born through countless acts of hospitality.
Not grand gestures.
Simple acts of welcome around my living room, expanded to St. Andrew UCC, and now to a global circle on Zoom!
There are smiles and sometimes tears.
Conversations before liturgy and through our emails in which we check in with one another and continue to share our lives each week.
There always seem to be listening ears and loving hearts reaching out among us and to those in need.
Like the Shunammite woman, we discovered that when we create space for God's Spirit, unexpected blessings emerge.
Then in our second reading, Paul introduces us to some of the most important leaders of the early Christian movement: Phoebe, Prisca, and Aquila.
Phoebe is called a deacon of the church at Cenchreae and a benefactor who supported many, including Paul himself. She was entrusted with carrying Paul's Letter to the Romans to the Christian communities there—a remarkable responsibility. Phoebe's ministry was one of leadership, service, and hospitality. She welcomed and cared for others in ways that helped the Gospel spread throughout the early church.
Prisca, often called Priscilla, and her husband Aquila offer another beautiful example. After being forced from Rome, they opened their home to Paul and worked alongside him as partners in ministry. Their home became a gathering place for believers. It became a house church—a sacred space where people prayed, shared meals, celebrated Eucharist, and supported one another.
Together, Prisca and Aquila welcomed the gifted preacher Apollos and helped him deepen his understanding of the Gospel. Their hospitality was not passive. It was transformative. By opening their home and sharing their wisdom, they nurtured new leaders and strengthened the growing Christian movement.
Paul also greets Junia, whom he names among the apostles. Here again we see that women and men worked side by side in the early church, sharing leadership, ministry, and hospitality.
Hospitality and leadership are intertwined.
The early Christian movement did not grow because it had magnificent buildings, wealth, or institutional power. It grew because ordinary people like Phoebe, Prisca, Aquila, and Junia opened their homes, shared their resources, welcomed strangers, and created communities where everyone could belong.
Their tables became altars.
Their homes became churches.
Their hospitality became ministry.
And perhaps that is still true today as more and more people discover the blessings of sharing in inclusive Catholic and Christian communities.
In the Gospel, Jesus takes hospitality even deeper.
He says, "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me."
Think about that for a moment.
Every person we meet carries within them the presence of Christ.
The refugee seeking safety.
The lonely neighbor.
The grieving friend.
The person whose politics differ from ours.
The person whose life experience is different from our own.
The person who feels invisible.
The person who has been wounded by religion.
The person who wonders if they belong.
Jesus says that when we welcome them, we welcome him.
Hospitality is not merely good manners.
It is a spiritual practice.
It is a way of encountering God.
One of the challenges of our world today is that fear often tempts us to build walls instead of tables.
We see divisions everywhere.
Political divisions.
Religious divisions.
Economic divisions.
Cultural divisions.
Yet Jesus continually moves toward people rather than away from them.
He eats with those others reject.
He listens to voices others ignore.
He welcomes those whom society excludes.
His example invites us to ask:
Who is missing from our table?
Whose voice has not been heard?
How can we become a more welcoming community?
What would radical hospitality look like in our families, neighborhoods, churches, and world?
I believe our inclusive communities offer one answer.
Every week we proclaim a simple truth:
All are welcome.
This is God's table.
And God's welcome is wider than we can imagine.
As we gather around this table today, may we remember the Shunammite woman, Phoebe, Prisca, Aquila, Junia, and all those whose hospitality revealed God's presence.
May we become people who open doors.
May we become communities that expand tables.
May we create sacred spaces where others can flourish.
May we recognize Christ in every person we meet.
And may our lives proclaim what we say every week:
All are welcome.
All are valued.
All are loved.
Amen.
Questions for Reflection and Sharing:
When have you experienced radical hospitality?
How can our homes, communities, and ministries become places where others experience God's unconditional love?
Community Statement of Faith
Prayer Leader Andrea and All:
We believe in God,
the Source of Life and Love,
who dwells in all creation.
We believe in Jesus,
who revealed God's compassion through radical hospitality,
healing love,
and inclusive community.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who empowers us to welcome all people
as beloved children of God.
We believe that every person bears the image of the Divine.
We believe in open tables,
inclusive communities,
and the transformation of our world through love.
Amen.
Prayers of the Community
Reader: Jeanne:
Response: Jeanne and All
God of Hospitality, may we spread your love.
For the Church, that it may welcome all people without exception, we pray.
God of Hospitality, may we spread your love
For refugees, migrants, and all who seek safety and belonging, we pray.
God of Hospitality, may we spread your love
For those who feel excluded, rejected, or forgotten, we pray.
God of Hospitality, may we spread your love.
For our families, friends, and faith communities, that we may be living signs of God's welcome, we pray.
God of Hospitality, may we spread your love.
For all who are sick, grieving, or struggling, especially those we now name aloud or in silence, we pray.
God of Hospitality, may we spread your love.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Presider: Bridget Mary
Blessed are you, Holy One,
through your goodness we have this bread and wine,
fruit of the earth,
fruit of the vine,
and work of human hands.
They will become for us
the bread of life
and cup of blessing.
All: Blessed be God forever.
Eucharistic Prayer
Presider: Beth
God is with you.
All: And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to our loving God.
All: It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Presider: Beth
Loving God,
we thank you for your presence among us.
You come to us through acts of kindness by others and in communities of love.
We remember the wisdom of the woman at Shunem, Deacon Phoebe, and early house church leaders Prisca and Aquila, and Junia and Andronicus who were models of gracious hospitality that continue to inspire us today.
Therefore, with all creation and the Communion of Saints,
we sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy by Peter Mayer , Video Denise Hackert Stoner
Presider: Beth:
We thank you especially for Jesus,
who welcomed the outcast,
shared meals with all,
and taught us that whenever we welcome another,
we welcome you.
Epiclesis:
Presider Bridget Mary and All
Pour out your Spirit upon these gifts
and upon this community.
May we become Christ's presence in our world,
welcoming all,
serving all,
and loving all.
Words of Institution-Consecration
Presider Bridget Mary and All:
On the night before he died,
Jesus gathered with his friends.
He took bread,
blessed it,
broke it,
and shared it, saying:
Take and eat.
This is my body given for you.
Do this in memory of me.
(Pause)
Presider and All: Beth
After supper he took the cup and said:
Take and drink.
This is the cup of the new covenant,
the covenant of love.
Whenever you do this,
remember me.
Memorial Acclamation:
Presider: Beth Ponce and All
Christ lives among us.
Christ inspires us.
Christ calls us to love.
Remembrance of the Communion of Saints
Presider: Bridget Mary
Remembering Jesus' life of radical love,
his inclusive table fellowship,
his justice-seeking heart,
his death and resurrection,
and his enduring presence among us today,
we offer ourselves as living bread for the world.
In gratitude, we remember all who have gone before us in faith,
whose lives revealed your compassion and hospitality.
We remember Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles;
Phoebe the Deacon, Junia and Andronicus Apostles, Prisca and Aquila, a missionary couple
and all the women and men who led the early Christian communities of hospitality and faith sharing.
Presider: Beth and All:
We remember our ancestors, teachers, mentors, family members, and friends,
especially those whom we now name aloud or hold in the silence of our hearts.
(Pause for names)
United with the Communion of Saints,
with the countless generations who have sought justice, loved mercy, and walked humbly with God,
and with all creation singing your praise,
we join our voices in gratitude and hope.
Doxology
Presider Bridget Mary and All:
For we are one body in Christ,
one communion of love,
across time and eternity.
Through Christ,
with Christ,
and in Christ,
all glory and honor are yours,
now and forever.
https://youtu.be/Dy76fpfkNsg
Communion Rite:
Prayer of Jesus
Presider Jeanne and All: Let us join hands, and pray together the prayer that Jesus taught us.
Gracious Spirit,
Who loves us like a mother,
Whose realm is blooming among us now.
And within.
We pray that your compassion guide us in every action.
Give us what we need for each day,
and help us to be satisfied with the miracle of that alone.
Forgiver, whose embrace brings us to wholeness without our asking, may we reconcile ourselves to one another in humility.
And may we cancel the crushing debts that imprison our neighbors, so that communities of joy and health may flourish.
May we neither profit from nor ignore evil.
But ever work to thwart it with non-violence, as we co-create the realm of peace in this world, now and each day.
Amen. (Bret Hesla/wsj)
Sign of Peace: Andrea
Presider: Let us share a sign of Christ's peace.
Presider: Jesus said to his disciples, “My peace I leave You. My peace I give You.”
(Let us share a sign of peace with each other.)
Presider: Bridget Mary
Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread
All:
Holy One, you call us to speak truth to power; we will do so.
Holy One, you call us to live the Gospel of healing and justice; we will do so.
Holy One, you call us to be Your presence in the world; we will do so.
Presider: This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Blessed are we who are called to Christ’s table.
All: We are the Body and Blood of Christ for the world.
Pease receive/share Eucharist now.
Communion Song:
The House that Love is Building by Sarah Hart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM69BAgvuXw
Prayer After Communion:
Presider: Beth
Loving God,
In this sacred meal
you have nourished us
with the bread of life
and the cup of blessing.
May we go forth
as people of radical hospitality.
Help us recognize Christ
in every person we meet.
May our homes,
our communities,
and our hearts
be places where all are welcomed,
all are valued,
and all are loved.
Amen.
Bridget Mary and All: Prayers of Thanksgiving, Introductions, Announcements
Final Blessing- (Let us raise our hands in mutual blessing)
Presider:Bridget Mary and All:
May the God who welcomed Sarah and Abraham,
the Shunammite woman and Elisha,
and all seekers of truth,
bless you abundantly.
May Christ help you recognize the sacred presence
in every person you meet.
Presider: Beth and All
May the Holy Spirit empower you
to create communities of compassion,
justice,
and hospitality.
And may you know always
that you are welcomed,
cherished,
and loved beyond measure.
Amen.
Go in peace to welcome Christ in everyone you meet.
All: Thanks be to God.
Closing Song
Nuns and Priests Dance Jerusalema All Over the World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0aAkOe87mo
