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Ordinary 18C

Prayer: Mercy and Justice

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written for National Day of Prayer, for the government.
Lord, as we delicately balance a relationship between mercy and justice
Give us a prudence for Good News when only Sheol surrounds us.
Suffering is real, death is real, this pandemic is real, and you are real.
Those who discern their power in the midst of crisis through wisdom
comfort the poor, shepherd the vulnerable, feed the hungry, and heal sick.
May their work translate from the language of illness to the celebration of wholeness.
Those who discern their power in the midst of crisis through foolishness
ignore the poor, endanger the vulnerable, hoard from hunger, and heal only some.
We know now that you show no partiality and we search to find you in all creatures.
Make our leaders grow as people worthy of their civic calling.
Make us uneasy when they act with injustice, and proud when they pursue peace.
Dissuade any political entity or party from propaganda, misinformation, & scapegoating.
Bring forward in our government the best of who we are when we are fully human
And actively decide to love our neighbor as ourselves.
We do this because you first loved us.
In Jesus Name.
submitted by Brian Merritt, First Presbyterian Church of Hackettstown, NJ 

communion: our faithfulness comes from you

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Blessed are you, O Lord our God, ruler of the universe,
for you have loved the world into being,
formed it with a word, enlivened it with your breath,
cared for it with your life.
We give you thanks for your faithfulness,
upholding your promise even when we fail.
As you created in love, so you call in love—
again and again, bringing us together, making us your body.
When we lost our way, or turned away,
still you sought us.
Through the voices of your prophets,
you showed us your vision and offered us your hand.
Though we do not often show it well, we are grateful, O God.
We give you thanks for Christ who came to walk among us,
living our life and dying our death,
teaching and eating and healing,
drawing us close to you,
feeding us with your word and your presence,
and showing us the extent of your love.
Though we did not recognize you in our midst,
our hearts full of our own ways and gods of our own making,
you stretched out your arms and gave us your last breath,
and then in the shadows of the morning you broke the last barrier,
bringing life yet again into your world,
proving love always has the last word.
It is still hard to see you, Lord Jesus, in the world today.
Love is elusive, healing seems far off, peace an impossible dream.
We pray that just as you fed the multitudes,
you would once again make your abundance known.
Where your children go hungry, break us open like bread.
Where your people are thirsty, pour us out in streams of clean water.
Where the earth groans, let your dew refresh and your shade protect.
You promised flourishing life, abundant,
and we beg you to continue your promise, O God.
Make your reality seen among us, even now.
May your Holy Spirit open our eyes and ears, hearts and minds,
to know you and your call,
and to serve you with every breath.
Give us courage to be makers of peace and doers of justice,
courage to confess our own shortcomings without highlighting the sins of others,
courage to trust your word of hope in a world of fear.
God of grain and grape,
from our many stalks and vines we pray that you would create one body,
as we share one bread and cup,
broken and poured for the healing of your world.
Lift us into your presence yet again, that we may feast at your heavenly banquet,
and then send us out nourished and prepared to build your kingdom here on earth.
We pray these and all things in the name of Christ, whose healing spirit overflowed into all who even touched his cloak, and who taught us to pray together…

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

confession: limited love

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Holy Love, first and last, you offer yourself to us completely and call us to your life. Yet we are afraid, for your Way demands much of us. We confess that we are often quick to judge and slow to forgive. We confess that we choose that which does not satisfy, even as you offer us abundant life. When our fear overrides your call, forgive us. When we act from our own limited love rather than your expansive grace, forgive us. Reach down to us again, lift us up as a mother lifts a child to her cheek. Cast out our fear and fill us with the breath of your Spirit, that we may live the love we see in your Son, Jesus the Christ, in whose perfect name we pray. Amen.

confession: You, O Lord…

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You, O Lord, are our strong tower, our refuge and help in every trouble. Forgive us when we hide away from the challenges of following your call, using your word to build walls that insulate us from your world.

You, O Lord, are everywhere present. Forgive us when we want you to walk alongside us, when we ought to ask for the grace to walk alongside you wherever you are going.

You, O Lord, are the one who hears and answers our cries. Forgive us when our prayer is only self-serving, asking your stamp of approval or your help for our desires, and not for your glory.

You, O Lord, are our counselor and comforter. Forgive us when we seek only comfort, ignoring what we have done wrong and refusing to be confronted or challenged.

You, O Lord, are the one who calls us to come and follow. Forgive our blindness to your people in need, our deafness to your creation groaning for relief, our hearts hardened against the new thing you are doing. Teach us to pray, teach us to listen, teach us to serve, teach us to follow you wherever you are going.

~silence~

One:  Help us, O God,

All:  to know you so well that we cannot help but love you, and to love you so much we cannot help but serve you, sharing your good news in every place, for it is in doing your will that we find perfect freedom. Amen.

 

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