Here’s an act of confession based on the scripture texts for the fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B (2012)—Jeremiah 31:31-34 and John 12:20-33.
Call to Confession
God calls us in our lives to be like the grain of wheat which dies, which lets go of one form in order to be transformed into new, and fuller life. And yet we often fear the risk and change which new growth involves. Let us ponder for a moment the places of our lives where we may be resisting God moving in our lives.
God calls us in our lives to be like the grain of wheat which dies, which lets go of one form in order to be transformed into new, and fuller life. And yet we often fear the risk and change which new growth involves. Let us ponder for a moment the places of our lives where we may be resisting God moving in our lives.
(silence)
Litany of Confession
When we resist your call to change our hearts
Litany of Confession
When we resist your call to change our hearts
and allow a deepening of relationship:
God have mercy.
When we nurse our wounded hearts
God have mercy.
When we nurse our wounded hearts
and withhold forgiveness which may transform relationship:
Christ have mercy.When fear for our own security leads us to close our hearts
Christ have mercy.When fear for our own security leads us to close our hearts
from those who are in need:
God have mercy.
Assurance of Grace
The One who makes a covenant on our hearts is faithful, and forgives us our sins and failures. In Christ God offers forgiving grace and welcome into a community of trust, abundance, and hope. Let us give thanks for the mercy of God, and pass the peace of Christ in community among us.
God have mercy.
Assurance of Grace
The One who makes a covenant on our hearts is faithful, and forgives us our sins and failures. In Christ God offers forgiving grace and welcome into a community of trust, abundance, and hope. Let us give thanks for the mercy of God, and pass the peace of Christ in community among us.
~ taken from “O God of Our Hearts: Prayers for the Fifth Sunday in Lent,” written by Rev. Kathryn Matthews Huey and the Rev. Susan A. Blain. Posted on the United Church of Christ’s Worship Ways website.
