Here’s a prayer of confession and commitment written by John van de Laar and posted on his Sacredise.com website.
(inspired by Exodus 33:12-23)
We seem to have lost the ability to see glory, God;
We look at money, or medals,
last-person-standing triumphs,
and exclusive, only-for-the-privileged-few accolades,
and we call these glorious,
forgetting how they tarnish after just a few moments.
We have forgotten how to recognise the glory that lives
in the sacrifices of a mother
for whom feeding a child takes monumental effort each day;
in the compassion of a stranger
who gives his time and talent to care for sick and dying souls;
in the humility of a well-qualified professional
who uses her connections and skill to ensure the success
of small projects that bring life to the least;
in the courage of a peace-maker
who stands empty-handed against tanks and bombs,
or who chooses to serve and love an enemy;
Open our eyes to the glory all around us,
the glory of crosses and opened graves
in hopeless situations;
the glory of your presence and creativity
in dark and ugly and fearful places;
And teach us to be both heralds and couriers
of this glory,
so that it may be seen to cover the earth
as the waters cover the sea.
Amen.
— John van de Laar, on his excellent website Sacredise.com. Visit that site for other good resources and prayers.
For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 16, 2011 (the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 24A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
