Here’s a prayer of confession written by Rev. Scott Cervas, of the Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church in Lexington, KY. It would be suitable for use on Epiphany 3B (January 22, 2012), or on any other occasion when the subject of God’s call is being explored.
Prayer of Confession
(inspired by Jonah; Mark 1:14-20)
God…you call us…and sometimes…we duck under the table…
hoping you didn’t notice us when you walked into the room.
You call us…and sometimes…we grab a stapler and a stack of papers…
trying to look too busy to be bothered at the moment.
You call us…and sometimes we just say, “No!”
We know that we aren’t expected to do everything…
but we often forget that you call us to be our selves
in the places where our very self is what is most needed.
So give us the grace to say “Yes” to your call…
even now…as we offer our silent confessions…
hoping you didn’t notice us when you walked into the room.
You call us…and sometimes…we grab a stapler and a stack of papers…
trying to look too busy to be bothered at the moment.
You call us…and sometimes we just say, “No!”
We know that we aren’t expected to do everything…
but we often forget that you call us to be our selves
in the places where our very self is what is most needed.
So give us the grace to say “Yes” to your call…
even now…as we offer our silent confessions…
— written by Rev. Scott Cervas, and posted on the LiturgyLink website.
For more worship resources for the third Sunday after Epiphany (January 22, 2012), click on Epiphany 3 B in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
For more prayers of confession/words of assurance, see the Confession Index at the upper right.
