Holy God:
We are glad to be in your house and we are thankful that our brothers and sisters surround us with love and grace. We are thankful for the songs we sing, the Word proclaimed, the closeness of your spirit. Today is a day of joy and we are grateful that we are each and all enfolded into your presence, your care and your embrace.
Deep in our hearts, you know, Holy God, that each of us has something that we hide from the others, something underneath our smiles and handshakes. You know, O God, each of our stories, each of our hearts, everything in our pasts, everything in our present.
We pretend, but we know. And so we temper our passion for you and the joy you call us to because each of us has something for which we are ashamed. Each of us has a hidden concern that we have not been fully forgiven, that we are not fully authentic, that the others remember something about us that we wish we could erase from the past, or that we might serve you with a full heart only to fail you again.
Teach us to take our eyes off of our own limitations and to place our eyes fully on Jesus, whose resurrection shows that there is no limit to the power he has to make us new, whose crucifixion shows that there is no limit to his compassion for sinners, whose sacrifice is so complete that we know that there is nothing too great that he cannot wash away and renew.
Whether in shame or in arrogance, or even in simple distraction, we forget to measure our lives and to focus our lives entirely on the one who is our life. So give us fresh vision and a fresh love for you. Help us to only see Jesus, that the world might see Jesus in us.
Amen.
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