confession: a closet of unused tools

Submitted by the Rev. Teri Peterson, Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church, Crystal Lake IL.

A confession about our talents…parable and otherwise.

One: Generous God, giver of every good gift,
you have offered us abundance
and yet we do not know how to use it.
All: Sometimes we keep it to calm our fear,
saving up for our own security,
insurance against days of scarcity.
One: Sometimes we hoard,
wanting to have the most and the best.
All: Sometimes we insist we don’t have anything to offer,
closing our eyes to the talents you bestow.
One: But mostly we are inertia-bound.
All: We know what to do, but we don’t do it.
You give us the tools to do your work,
but we just look at them in wonder,
then put them away in the closet.
One: Forgive us, O God.
All: Open our eyes, our hands, our hearts,
to know your abundance is enough for all,
to know your gifts are for using, not looking at,
to know we are blessed in order to be a blessing to others,
and to act on that knowledge.
We pray in the name of Christ,
who gave of everything he had.
Amen.