Prayer of Confession, A1A

Call to Confession 

On that day I will raise up
    the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its[c] breaches
    and raise up its[d] ruins
    and rebuild it as in the days of old ...

(Amos 9:11) Let us confess our breaches and our ruins and the places where we need to be rebuilt before the God of David and seek God's mercy:

Prayer of Confession 

God, forgive us.
In baptism you claimed us,
you called us to be servants of Christ,
you set us apart
to share the Good News of the gospel,
You have gifted us with grace beyond measure
and made us apostles 
for the purpose of bringing about
obedience of faith
for the sake of Christ's name.
But we have forsaken our call. 
We have distorted your Good News,
excluded the marginalized from its 
all-encompassing nurture,
and failed in every manner of the love Christ lived.
We hoard food from the hungry,
restrict access to resources for the poverty-stricken,
humiliate and endanger the stranger in our midst,
and resort to violence through word and deed
when others point to the log
sticking out of our eyes.
Lord, in your mercy, forgive what we have become:
a people who demand obedience 
to a law so divorced of the love you exhibited on the cross
that it is no longer recognizable.
Our hypocrisy is disgusting,
and the darkness feels overwhelming.
Send your light to shine anew, we pray,
into our hearts
and into the battle-scarred corners of the world
where hope is most needed
that your promises of peace and joy
may reach those who desperately need to see you
in us.

Assurance of God's Grace

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit[k] offered himself without blemish to God, purify our[l] conscience from dead works to worship the living God! (Hebrews 9:13-14) Hear the Good News: in the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God!

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another.
The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to all whom you encounter this week.