So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.
Ezekiel 37:7–8

Module Four: Inextricable

Study:

In preparation for this week's liturgy, please read Introduction and Chapter 4 of Jesus Wants to Save Christians.

After you have completed the above, choose one or more of the the following:

• “Isolation Stories” on the Learning How to See Podcast

• “Three Dimensions of a Complete Life” a sermon by Martin Luther King Jr

• Honeypot Ants and Bunny the Talking Dog

The Liturgy

Inextricable

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.
Ezekiel 37:7–8

And all I’m saying is simply this, that all life is interrelated. Somehow we are tied in a single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, where what affects one directly affects all indirectly. As long as there is poverty in this world, you can never be totally rich, even if you have a billion dollars. As long as diseases are rampant and millions of people cannot expect to live more than thirty or thirty-two years, you can never be totally healthy, even if you just got a clean bill of health from Mayo Clinic or John Hopkins Hospital. Strangely enough I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the way the world is made; I didn’t make it that way, but it’s like that. And John Donne recorded it years ago and placed it in graphic terms: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” And then he goes on toward the end to say: “Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind. Therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Only by discovering this are we able to master the breadth of life. Martin Luther King Jr, “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life”

Opening Prayer

Creator God, who quickened the world, we gather in the name of life and breath. Spirit of Inspiration, nourish our souls. Save us from despair, apathy, and cynicism. Friend of the broken, teach us your definition of abundance. Show us the way that leads to life, truth, and joy—and console our weary minds who were looking for an utterly different salvation. Attune our hearts to the length, depth, and breadth of our cosmic experience, and help us to revel in the mystery of hope.
Amen.

Confession

Merciful God, we confess that we have believed that you, triune love, created those who could think of themselves as singularities. You tangled every mote of our beings in a whirling dance of triune atomic particles, and we dare to think of the world as at our disposal. Savior of all that has been and will be, forgive us for hoarding your love. Show us how broad your concept of abundance is. Holy Spirit, unhinge the gates of our souls until we grasp the ecology of love.

Amen.

Passing of the Peace

Exchange this acknowledgment of confession.

From the freedom of confession, I greet the Christ in you.
From the freedom of confession, I greet the Christ in you.

The Inquiry

These questions will be used each week to guide a time of sharing. 

What joy have you encountered this week?

What suffering have you encountered this week?

What longs for salvation?

After each person shares, the group will offer a blessing to each person:

[Person’s name], in the name of Jesus Christ know you are beloved of God 

The Reflection

Read aloud:

A single queen bee will not survive. For all of her royalty, she cannot be a hive unto herself. There is such a thing as a honeypot ant: an ant whose existence is to eat and hold nectar in a special stomach. As the colony requires, the honeypot ant dispenses the nectar to nourish the community. If an apple tree is pollinated with pollen from a different tree, it will bear more fruit. Grown in isolation, apple trees will not fruit according to their potential.

How is it, in light of all this richness of wisdom, that we have built altars before individualism. We have swallowed whole the ideology that it is our right to be individually happy, no matter the cost. We have refused to believe that we are part of the whole of creation, spending untold hours and gallons of ink trying to define what is means to be human. We have striven to see ourselves as set apart from the bees, ants, and apple trees, and, in so doing, have ravaged our home—as if drawing a distinction between humans and everything else makes us able to breathe without algae and eat without chlorophyll.

We have been convinced that this individual life is easier. Things are just more fun if they are customized to suit not only your needs but your preferences as well. Don’t worry, your playlist is individualized just for you! I appreciate that my algorithms make my back-and-forthing free from the doldrums of the top forty, and I am not sure that there is anything wrong with getting your pizza topped with what you want. Because some times need ham and pineapple, and some times only sausage and mushrooms with do. But we must refuse to be duped into thinking that we not enmeshed in all of creation. The more we learn about our companions in the universe, the more we realize that our lines of distinction are illusory. Language, consciousness, compassion, playfulness, joy, hope, love: if you look, you will find them everywhere. We are inextricably woven within a creation brimming Spirit, so, perhaps, our salvation can only be wrought with the whole.

The Practice

And You Shall Live centers on breathing spiritual practice. Each week, participants will be offered a breathing practice with an optional silent prayer mantra.

This breathing practice is a pyramid practice. The metronome below can be used to provide a measured rhythm to the breaths. The practice starts with an inspiration for one beat and an expiration for one beat without pausing between breathing in or out. After each expiration, one beat is added to the next set until you are breathing in for seven beats and out for seven beats. At that point, the process is reversed, the breaths becoming shorter by one beat after each expiration.

For Thought

The question . . . is whether there is Spiritual healing, and if it exists, how it is related to the other ways of healing, and further, how it is related to that kind of healing which in the language of religion is called “salvation.” (Tillich, Systematic Theology, Vol. III, p 277)

Read Aloud:

The dry bones of hopelessness and despair can learn to dance again, but salvation and healing come through death and resurrection. Teach us to dance. Amen.

The Response

These questions can be used to help the group engage with the reflection.

What did you notice during the Practice?

What did you notice during the Reflection?

How would you like to grow in response?

After each person shares, the group will offer a blessing to each person:

Christ, give us the courage to hear and be heard.

Responsive Reading

Adapted from Luke 19 and Ezekiel 37

A. The people cried out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”

B. So I prophesied as I had been commanded;

A. Some said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

B. As I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

A. As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

B: I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.

Closing Prayer

Spirit of Truth, we live in a world enmeshed in deceit. We are assaulted by images of what we should be, what we should desire, what it means to be happy. We learn that the world cannot be trusted—no one is coming to save you. Source of Love, we long for you to make sense of the brutality of life. Hold us in your embrace until we are saturated by love. Let that be a baptism of salvation for the world.

Blessing

Go, love the world, knowing that you are accompanied and encouraged by Love. This, then, is salvation, to be loved and to love even though you die.