Confession: You invite, but…

One:    You, Lord, invite us into relationship

All:     but relationships are messy and hard work, so we turn you into an idea instead.

~silence~

One:    You, Lord, invite us to trust,

All:     but we insist trust must be earned, so we turn back to what we know.

~silence~

One:    You, Lord, invite us to come in,

All:     but we aren’t sure we want to commit, so we stand in the doorway, undecided.

~silence~

One:    You, Lord, invite us to go out,

All:     but we don’t want to offend anyone, and we don’t know enough,

            so we stand at the threshold and look but never leap.

~silence~

One:    Forgive us, O God,

All:     for our chosen captivity to the kingdoms of this world.

Open wide the door of life, and give us courage to walk through.

Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL.