Prophets of Hope

Song: God Has Chosen Me (Bernadette Farrell)

Opening Prayer

Leader: O God, you call us to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with you. We hear your words as a call to be prophets of hope in our world. Fill us with your spirit so that we might see as you see and work for a world of justice for all of creation.

Reader:
The word of God came to me thus:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
Before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
Then God extended a hand and touched my mouth, saying,
"See, I place my words in your mouth!"
The word of God came to me with the question: "What do you see?" --Jeremiah 1:4-5, 9, 11

Litany of Prophets of Hope

Leader: Our response to the naming of each prophet will be:
Prophet of Hope, tell us, what do you see?

Reader 1: Mary of Magdala.

All: Prophet of Hope, tell us, what do you see?

Reader 1: I see a church which lives the equality of women and men inherent in our baptism. That's why I accepted the call of the Risen Christ to announce the resurrection to my brothers.

Reader 2: Rigoberta Menchu

All: Prophet of Hope, tell us, what do you see?

Reader 2: I see a Guatemala free of human rights abuses. That's why I , a Quiche woman, learned Spanish to keep the story of my people before the eyes and ears of the world.

Reader 3: Craig Kielburger

All: Prophet of Hope, tell us, what do you see?

Reader 3: I see a world in which children in Pakistan are no longer sold into slavery as bonded laborers and shackled to carpet looms. That's why I founded Free the Children in Toronto, Canada, when I was 12 years old. It has grown into an international children's movement with young people in many countries speaking out and taking action to improve the lives of children around the world.

Reader 4: Rosa Parks

All: Prophet of Hope, tell us, what do you see?

Reader 4: I see a world in which every person is valued and respected. That's why I refused to give up my seat on the bus, even though I knew I would be arrested. My action initiated the struggle for civil rights for African Americans.

Reader 1: Dorothy Day

All: Prophet of Hope, tell us, what do you see?

Reader 1: I see a world in which the homeless and hungry are fully welcome at the table for the wealthy. That's why I co-founded the Catholic Worker movement which links charity, political activism and community in the context of prayer and worship.

Reader 2: Aung San Suu Kyi

All: Prophet of Hope, tell us, what do you see?

Reader 2: I see a world where the people of Burma are no longer held down under the weight of a repressive government in the service of global corporations. That's why I continue to speak out fearlessly, despite arrest and threats against my life.

Psalm: The "Condescension" of God

Side 1: Imagine!
God the Most High,
Creating human nature as a receptor of divinity.
The mystery of God's love!

Side 2: Imagine!
The God of love
Choosing to reveal divine love in the Incarnation -
God becoming flesh in the person of Jesus.
The awesomeness of our God!

Side 1: Imagine!
God's own Son, God's Beloved;
descending so that we might ascend;
that we might share the divinity of Him who
humbled himself to share in our humanity.
How unfathomable the love of this God!

Side 2: Imagine!
God, the Almighty One,
Becoming fully human, omitting nothing that belongs to our nature;
nothing, except for sin.
The magnificence of our God!

Side 1: Imagine!
Because God dared to become human in Jesus Christ, all of humanity is deified.
What a gift is ours
through the graciousness of God's love!

All: Imagine!

If we truly believed in the meaning of God's opting to use our very humanity to communicate divine love for us. What would our world be like today, if we really believed?

Reflection/Sharing:
Who is a prophet of hope for you? Why?

Closing Prayer
Leader: May your faithful love be upon us, O God, as we place all our hope in you.
All: Amen!

Leader: No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There's too much work to do.
All: Amen!

Leader: Where there is hope there is life, where there is life there is possibility, and where there is possibility change can occur.
All: Amen!

Leader: There are times in life when a person has to rush off in the pursuit of hopefulness.
All: Amen!

Song: We Are Called