empty tomb

All: We come running, looking for you, Risen Christ,
but you are not where we expect you to be.
As always, you are to be found among the living—
those living at the edge, those living with uncertainty,
those living in ways we cannot imagine and may not approve.
We come running, our hands full of things and our minds full of self-reliance,
only to find that you have been here already,
you have rolled away the stone and called us to trust your word.

One: If this good news is true, it means everything is different now.
We confess that our excitement is a little bit nervous—
it’s hard for us not to be in control.

All: Today as we peer once again into your empty tomb,
remind us of all you have told us, and then guide our feet to follow.
Fill the empty tombs of our hearts with your love that cannot be contained.
Breathe new life into us, into your church, into your world,
and overcome our fear of change so that we too may be found among the living.
Turn our expectations upside down,
and lead us into the new and different world you are creating, even now, even here.
Amen.

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