Holy & Magnificent Triune God,
Father, Son and Spirit;
Creator, Redeemer, Comforter.
MIghty KIng, Gentle Shepherd, Sweet Wind of Grace:
we cry with the prophets of old,
"Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
The whole earth is full of your glory!"
We are glad and grateful for the fellowship you share
as One God in Three Persons,
and for your gracious invitation to us
to step into the circle of your eternal love.
We do not begin to understand the mystery of your Being,
but we are grateful for Who you are,
for how you work,
and for your presence with us.
We hold this mystery with fear and trembling
and with love and devotion,
acknowledging that you are God.
And we are not.
Forgive us for so often living as though the opposite were true -
that we are somehow in charge here
and you are some kind
of accessory,
or Interesting Idea,
or convenient scapegoat,
or junior partner in our many plans and endeavors.
We can sing so easily and beautifully that
'we surrender all,' that 'we give up our rights,'
and 'hand you our dreams,'
but we have this terrile tendency to snatch them back
when the singing stops!
Forgive us for too often forgetting to
offer you the worship you are due,
the worship of a holy and whole life,
lived for your glory,
for the service of others,
and for our own true fulfillment.
And oh, Lord God,
forgive us for searching for that fulfillment in so many other places -
in money
or family
or relationships
or popularity
or good grades
or 'success,'
whatever that is.
We come before you this morning with contrite hearts,
some of us with broken spirits,
some with the burden of dreams unfulfilled,
or of plans unravelled.
We come with the weight of past mistakes,
of present failures,
of future fears.
And we want to take all of that 'stuff,'
and lay it down,
right here on the table,
this altar that represents to us
who you are in our lives,
and we want to say,
"We're sorry."
And we want to say,
"Please help us."
And we want to say,
"Lord, change us!"
By your Sovereign Will as Creator of this Universe,
by your Gracious Forgiveness as Redeemer of the lost,
by your Powerful, Life-Giving, Life-Changing Presence as
In-dwelling Spirit,
forgive us our sins,
help us in our struggles,
change us into holy, righteous daughters and sons of grace.
You've begun that work in us, Lord God.
On our good days, we know this to be true.
So, on this good day,
on this Table-of-the-Lord day,
we ask you to continue that good work,
shaping us into men and women,
students and seniors,
boys and girls,
who live lives 'more righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees,'
as our text for today reads,
who understand more fully what it means to be a disciple of Jesus,
who seek to be among those who will be called 'great' in the kingdom of our God,
great because we have learned your law of love & humility
and have obeyed it with our whole hearts.
We ask these things humbly,
gratefully,
expectantly,
and hopefully,
trusting in your goodness
to forgive,
to heal,
and to transform.
For Jesus' sake,
Amen.
