Unison Prayer of Confession: Proper 17A

Prayer of Confession
(based on Romans 12:9-21 and Matthew 16:21-28)

God of Moses and Mary,
we could live at peace with others,
   but we choose to do wrong to them;
we could welcome those we do not know,
    but choose to close our hearts;
we could make outsiders our best friends,
    but choose the safety of our cliques.

Forgive us, Genuine Love, for our foolish choices.
Hold on to our shaky lives,
    until we learn to clasp your goodness to our hearts,
    so we can give it away to those around us.
Whisper your grace and hopes to us,
    until we can stop cursing our enemies,
    and bless them as our friends.
Smooth the rough edges of our arrogance,
    until we become polished enough
    to win the gold in being honorable.
Then, we would put aside our stumbling blocks
to discipleship, so we can follow Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Savior, as he leads us to your way
of denial and life.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon

L:    In our love for others, we discover God's
        love for us.  In our forgiving of others,
        we learn once more how deeply God
        has forgiven us.  Friends, this is the
        good news offered to us!
P:    We are God's children, called to be different,
        called to act different, called to live as new people. 

        Thanks be to God.  We are forgiven.
        Amen.

— Thom Shuman, Lectionary Liturgies. 

Visit his site for more wonderful resources for August 28, 2011 (Proper 17A).

For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for August 28, 2011 (the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 17A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page. 

 

For other resources related to confession, click on Confession or words of assurance in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page, or see this Confession & Assurance index.