Great Thanksgiving (Juneteenth)
Communion Liturgy by Rev. Mary Johnson
Have you heard the news that we have been set free?
We have all been emancipated!
With mercy and grace we have been redeemed.
Our great trial of bondage has ended.
Hallelujah! When the Lord has set us free, we are free indeed.
Hallelujah! Glory Hallelujah! We are truly free.
Before we were even aware, we were already free.
Even while we were still living in bondage, we were already free.
The world kept this truth from us, but God declares that all are free.
God is the one who demands, “Let my people go!”
Unloose the bonds of sin.
Unloose the bonds of oppression.
Unloose the bonds of discrimination.
Unloose the bonds of racism.
Unloose all that keeps us from being truly free.
We are free today and we join our prayers with all the prayers of thanksgiving given by all who have gone before us.
We are free today and we join our shouts with all the shouts of praise that arises before the throne of heaven, saying:
We sing freedom’s song
Giving God greatest honor
For Pharaoh’s horses
And all their riders
Were thrown into the Red Sea
The Lord is my strength
The Lord is my song
The Lord has won my freedom
The Lord has saved me
My ancestor’s God
Source of Freedom is his name
I will honor him. (Exodus 15:1b-2)
You are the Great Liberator, and we do worship you,
but so is Jesus, your living presence upon the earth.
Jesus left all the glories of heaven,
selling himself into slavery,
so that Christ might set the world free
from bondage to sin and death.
Jesus left the place of honor at the Passover
to become as the lowest slave,
to wash the feet of sinful people:
betrayers, false friends, and deserters,
to free us from bondage to privilege and honor.
Jesus sought to free the world from bondage
when He took the bread of the oppressed,
blessed it, broke it, and shared it saying:
“Take, eat, this is my body broken and given for you.”
Remember the price paid for your freedom.
Jesus sought to free the world from bondage
when He took the cup of God’s anger against those
who keep others in bondage, blessed it and shared it saying:
“Drink with me this cup of my blood,
poured out as a sacrifice to honor God’s eternal covenant of grace,
guaranteeing not only your freedom,
but the freedom of the whole world from bondage to sin and death.”
Remember the price paid for your freedom.
The price paid for our freedom has been high.
It was paid freely, looking forward to the day when all would be free.
We too are ready to pay any price for freedom
as we follow Christ into this holy mystery:
Christ died for freedom.
Christ arose in freedom.
For freedom Christ comes again and again.
Holy Sacrifice, Freedom’s Promise
pour yourself out freely upon these gifts of bread and wine,
so that they may become for us the body and blood of Christ
the price of freedom.
Holy Sacrifice, Freedom’s Promise
pour yourself out freely upon the gift of our own precious lives
so that they may become for those in bondage, your church,
the sacrificial body and spotless bride of Christ
the price of freedom.
Holy Sacrifice, Freedom’s Promise
on this Juneteenth pour yourself out freely upon those present
empower them to speak out for those in bondage,
those without a voice,
those without power,
those who this day live in slavery.
May every oppressor hear on this day the voice of Almighty God saying loud and clear,
“Let my people go!”
With freedom’s joy we praise the name of Jesus our Liberator.
With freedom’s joy we praise the Holy Spirit our Comforter.
With freedom’s joy we praise our Creator who made us free.
Receive our worship, our gratitude, and our thanksgiving, today and forever.
Amen.
Now let us pray following the pattern of Christ:
Our Deliverer who bought our freedom, holy is your name.
Your freedom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today the nourishment we need.
And forgive us when we harm others,
Just as we have forgiven those who have brought harm to our lives.
Keep us from returning evil with evil,
but help us to always respond with good.
For you have set us free, empowering us to set others free, bringing you glory forever. Amen.
Prayer after Communion:
Thank you for sharing with us this holy mystery found in Jesus Christ. It has given us a sense of freedom from all that has held us in bondage. This gift of freedom excites us and we want to share it. Send us out into the world, where too many still struggle. We know the truth that once you have set them free, they are truly free. They just need to know that freedom is already theirs to enjoy. Use our lives to share this good news that is ours through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Rev. Mary C. Johnson is a retired member of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. She earned an M.Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary and a Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Moravian Theological Seminary. She is a member of the Upper Room’s Academy for Spiritual Formation. She has served Congregations in Indiana, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. She now resides in Carrollton, Virginia.
