Here’s a beautiful prayer of commitment, written by John van de Laar (Sacredise.com), based on the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-16).
In the times when we give - however generously
it becomes blatantly clear, O God,
how ridiculous our attempts are to balance the scales;
We cannot repay Your abundance of supply
Your extravagance of grace;
Nor do You require it.
So, why should we expect it of others?
In truth, we cannot.
Like You we can only love – by giving, by serving, by praying.
And so we ask…
Free the score-keepers in our world and in our hearts
Restore the fallen in our world and in our hearts
Strengthen the merciful in our world and in our hearts
Heal the broken in our world and in our hearts
Uplift the lowly in our world and in our hearts
Bring down the tyrants in our world and in our hearts
Erase the lines of division in our world and in our hearts
Create a Christ-guided humanity in our world and in our hearts
And use us to make it so.
In Jesus’s Name.
Amen.
—copyright John van de Laar on Sacredise.com. Visit that site for many other excellent resources for worship.
For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for September 18, 2011 (the fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 20A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
